Article by Mark Rego, psychiatrist and a clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine1
We live in a time of crises. The opioid crisis, the adolescent mental health crisis; suicide, gun violence, loneliness, burnout, and compulsive social media use to name but a few.
Unfortunately, the list of mental health crises is much longer. In fact, most mental disorders have become more widespread or severe over the last few decades. To worsen matters, our individual sense of well-being has been sinking lower for just as many years.
Depression, anxiety disorders, suicide, alcohol and other substance abuse, ADHD and autism have all become more common at least since 1990. Although supporting data is lacking due to a lack of earlier scholarship, things appear to have been worsening since the 1960s or even before.
