More and more Americans are dying from "diseases of despair," according to a new study

[marmar]

More and more Americans are dying from "diseases of despair," according to a new study
Salon spoke with an expert behind a new study on the connection between social ills and diseases of despair

By MATTHEW ROZSA
PUBLISHED MAY 21, 2021 9:40AM


(Salon) Nearly two years ago, I found myself standing in a humid, grimy motel room in Pennsylvania, talking to opioid addicts about what drove them to their addictions. At the time I was struck by the many differences in their stories: One was sexually abused and bullied as a child; another accidentally became addicted while taking pain medication. They were, in retrospect, all victims of what public health experts call "diseases of despair" —specifically, medical conditions that are often found in groups that feel despair due to a bleak economic or social outlook.

As evoked by the name, diseases of despair are profoundly political, in that nation-states with poor or non-existent welfare states see such disease more commonly. Drug overdoses, alcoholism and suicide are among the most common diseases of despair. And and those diseases are killing an increasing number of people each year in the United States.

A recent study in the peer-reviewed open access medical journal BMJ Open found that suicide, alcohol-related diseases and accidental drug overdoses were the main factors driving a year-to-year drop in average life expectancy between 2015 and 2017 in the United States. Indeed, deaths in all of those categories have soared over the past decade, coinciding with a large-scale economic decline and the ongoing opioid crisis.

....(snip)....

"The formal category of 'diseases of despair' would refer to people who don't just feel down but actively seek out medical care for suicidality and substance abuse," (Penn State University professor Danny) George explained, adding that not everyone is able to do this because of America's health insurance system. "It's important to emphasize that 'despair' does not merely refer to an aberrant internal state but is rather the consequence of a particular set of political-economic and cultural conditions that are producing distress." ........(more)

https://www.salon.com/2021/05/21/diseases-of-despair-deaths-usa-inequality/

[Backseat Driver]

1. This is where "philanthropy" fails - financial access to opportunity...

to salve the moral compass conscienceness of the 1% while maintaining their position at the top of the pyramid...

On one side:

Enter "transgenerational trauma" - there are "stories" of overcoming these obstacles of the "system" encoded in our experiences...but...it's probably an anomoly

[Backseat Driver]

3. OTOH:

Sorry, link trouble above...

[NNadir]

4. Thank for pointing out this interesting article. K&R.

[RussBLib]

5. I feel it

I am not subject to these particular "political-economic and cultural conditions that are producing distress" as stated in the article, as we are well off financially, but the last year has produced a despair that I am struggling with. Not to the point of suicide, but a general despair creeps in when I watch the news, which I find almost nothing but negative lately. Can't watch historical movies or read books that dwell on slavery or the myriad injustices that we are aware of in this country and throughout history. But you cannot just turn your back on it. And then we uncover yet another killing of a black man at the hands of white cops in Louisiana TWO YEARS AGO. I can't bear it. All the suffering. All the needless, cruel suffering.

I am still reeling from the February freeze too, which wiped out years of work in our garden in no time. I wish it did not affect me like this, but it has. Even knowing that nature is incredibly resilient; even knowing that we have hired a landscaper to come in and basically start over, I don't feel resilient at all. Thank goodness I have a wonderful wife who loves me.

Sorry for the rant. It helps to get it out.

[LT Barclay]

6. We have a serious lack of community social structure

Too much work, not enough time off, so recreation becomes electronics and alcohol.

[appalachiablue]

10. Right on the money, sorry to say

[BigmanPigman]

7. I wonder what these "diseases"

were like in the 1930s during the depression? Were the same amount of people (same percentage) more or less affected by the despair?

[SharonAnn]

8. They new it was the "fat cats" not their individual failure.

[SharonAnn]

9. They new it was the "fat cats" not their individual failure.

[SharonAnn]

11. They knew it was the "fat cats" not their individual failure.