I know its early in the show, and supposedly not much time has elapsed since the outbreak. But they are dealing with mommy issues, daddy issues, ex boyfriend issues, etc, etc, and a lot of dialog is not much different than if this was a show like 30 something or such, and their worst problems are their feelings. They need to deal with zombie issues, then set about rebuilding civilization, not explore their feelings.
A lot of dialog in the early episodes was about how they don't want to face the future with the world like that, and a couple of them commit suicide. But it comes off as really whiney to me. Yes, things stink, and most of the population of the Earth is dead. But 11,000 years ago about 50 families walked over here from Siberia and populated the whole hemisphere. Epidemics only a hundred and fifty years ago would kill millions. My great grandparents, who were quite a bit like the farmer, would take a look at this situation and think, "What's the big deal?"
It's generally acknowledged that season 2 was the worst for the reasons you cite but don't give up - it gets better in season 3.