Tuesday, November 15, 2005

every generation has its own vicious cycle

Public service announcement from the 1980s:



Conversations I have had with more than one person in the 2000s:

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are talking about a conversation with me. You are, as usual, only partially correct in what you are saying.

jeremy said...

I'm talking about multiple conversations, of which the one with you is only the most recent and, as you say, not even that great of an example, even if it did put the idea in my head. Anyway, the post is more about larger dynamics I've been thinking about a lot lately: (1) the costs of putting people in situations where they feel bound to a job by their health insurance and like they cannot make positive changes to their lives as a result and (2) the pharmacological treatment of depression by people in plainly depressogenic and possibly exitable situations.

Andrea said...

I'm with you on #2. I am constantly amazed that people are prescribed medication for depression (with the expectation that this will be ongoing treatment) when their situations, which are clearly substantial contributors to the depression and can be altered or are only transitory, are left untouched.

tina said...

Jeremy, if you do write on this topic, will you please use the term "depressogenic" in that research, thus coining the Next Big Contribution from sociology to the cultural lexicon?

tina said...

I fear that last comment came off snarky, when it was in fact sincere. Your term really effectively captures a shift in analytical perspective away from the individual-as-patient to the context/social setting/job, etc. that is really insightful and important.

jeremy said...

I didn't take it as snarky. But, while I wonder a lot about depressogenic circumstances and use exactly that adjective for it, I didn't coin it.