Posted on 11/28/2007 2:43:26 PM PST by colorcountry
Ya think?
Congressman Billybob
probably means the queers at Mental Health America don’t think there’s enough homosexuals in utah.
Ping for later
I’m here in beauuuuutiful Utah, and the only times I get depressed is when (1) I think of Demagogues like Shrillery; (2) when I think of the spineless RINOs who won’t stand up firmly against the Clintonistas, etc.; (3) when I think of New Jersey or Massachusetts, never mind California!! :^)
Something isn’t right in Zion, Ping!
“Something isnt right in Zion, Ping!”
I read a book recently by a an ex-mormon who stated his first reasons for questioning his church were the divorce rates, suicide rates, and rates of depression.
This caused him to reexamine the history of how the church was first formed, and that was the beginning of the end.
The report card by Mental Health America was funded by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and draws together federal health data.Now there's three groups I'm really going to put my trust in. MHA, Wyeth, and the Feds. Surely none of them would ever tell a fib, right?
If you go by depression rates and suicide rates that are higher in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming you come up with most depressed states in the Nation.
“We’ve got the blues: Report labels Utah most depressed state in nation “
In a prior life, I worked in a lab that did medical toxicology.
I got to attend a symposium/workshop at The University of Utah which was
then forming some sort of institute of toxicology.
The two major players in that group told us (attendees) that the use
of anti-depressants among females in Utah was “through the roof” and
there were plenty of over-dose cases.
I don’t know if these two fellows were trying to lay this situation
at the feet of the Mormon faith...I simply stored that as a factoid.
And I have no personal knowlege if the situation has changed in the
succeeding years.
Can’t believe it was more than two decades ago.
There’s not really enough information given, and “mental health” is notoriously difficult to define.
For instance, one day homosexuality is defined as deviant behavior, and the next day it’s admirable behavior, and not long after that it’s being taught to public school children.
This report needs a lot more details to be convincing.
You might be on to something. Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada were at the top of the most depressed States. It is interesting that those same States also have the highest percentages of Mormon residents than the rest of the States.
State Ranking on Depression Status
State Ranking on Suicide Rates
that jives with what a local doctor tells me ( I live here in the Salt Lake area). His theory is that all the pressure on mormon wives to be perfect homemakers drives them to anti-depressants.
from the report at the linked site: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/state-ranking
The Ranking of the States
Using data from nationally representative surveys conducted by the United States government, Mental Health America created two different rankings of the states: one showing the state rankings of depression and one showing the state rank in terms of suicide rates.
Four different measures of depression and mental health status were used to develop one composite measure of the level of depression in a given state. The four measures were: (1) the percentage of the adult population experiencing at least one major depressive episode in the past year, (2) the percentage of the adolescent population (ages 12 to 17) experiencing at least one major depressive episode in the past year, (3) the percentage of the adult population experiencing serious psychological distress, and (4) the average number of days in the past 30 days in which the population reported that their mental health was not good.
Age-adjusted suicide rates were also examined since suicide is the most significant negative outcome of depression.
Utah? Not buying it ... beautiful state, excellent weather, great skiing. No way ...
Old and recurring news, proven false every time....
Miror, mirror, on the wall....
OK. The statistics are interesting, although I notice that some states that are way down on depression status are fairly high in the suicide ratings, and vice versa.
For instance, my state of Vermont is good on depression but bad on suicide. I’m not sure what that says.
I suppose that it may raise questions about Mormonism, although that’s even more speculative. Secularists have often argued that religion makes people feel repressed, guilty, and depressed, but I’ve seen many studies that show the opposite—that religious people tend to be happier and more fulfilled.
By religion, that mostly meant Christianity, in the studies I’ve seen, since that’s still so much the majority religion in this country. Is Mormonism different in this regard? No idea.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.