Scott Burgess, who has begun posting again at The Daily Ablution, beats the living crap out of emphatically discredits Oliver James, profiled in the Telegraph:
Pop psychologist Oliver James has lately been making the promotional rounds, with an eye to further hawking the pet theory he’s been expounding for a few years now; namely, that the blame for rising rates of mental illness – along with “rising levels of depression, addiction, violence and anxiety in the developed world” – can be firmly placed on the shoulders of ….
Do I really have to tell you who’s responsible for these evils?
Of course I don’t! The culprit is, needless to say, America – specifically, ”the American capitalist system”.
It turns out that Mr. James uses WHO data in a very interesting way to support his contention.
Scott’s peroration is somewhat devastating:
Concerning Mr. James’ conclusion that we should follow the lead of “mainland European countries” – which, he tells us, “have three times less illness”, one final observation may be of interest. Broad nation-by-nation data on prevalence of mental illness seems pretty hard to come by, but it seems that suicide rates might be a reasonable proxy – especially since “mental disorders (particularly depression and substance abuse) are associated with more than 90% of all cases of suicide”, according to the WHO.
So, one wonders, which “mainland European countries”, if any, have higher suicide rates than the US? The list, again from the WHO, is as follows (from highest to lower):
Lithuania
Russia
Belarus
Slovenia
Hungary
Estonia
Latvia
Belgium
Finland
Croatia
Switzerland
Austria
France
Moldova
Czech Republic
Poland
Romania
Bulgaria
Denmark
Germany
Sweden
Slovakia
Luxembourg
Norway
Yeah, but that’s only because Americans have Wal-Mart and Cheetos.
Otherwise we’d be piling up our despairing dead in oxen-carts.
I notice the UK doesn’t appear on that list. Looks like our work isn’t done yet.
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
It’s the end of the world as we know it,
And I feel fine!
(Thanks to prozac).
Right, DG, but we’d have to make the UK mainland European first.
Bring out yer dead!
clang!
Bring out yer dead!
clang!
/Monty Python
OK Dan, You work on that, and I’ll get to work on more jokes about British Dentistry or Irish alcoholism. I’d add the Scottish in there, but since they invented both Scotch and golf they are immune. As for Wales, I’m not really sure it even exists.
I Must have missed the mainland part. However, I will assert that the chunnel is the same as a land bridge and that the UK is now essentially a French province.
DG–
I’ve been to Wales, so I’m pretty sure it exists. Mind you, that was 5 or 6 years ago I was last there.
When the Chunnel was finished, some network news was covering the British reaction, and they interviewed one man on the street who said the following:
“Well, it goes to France, doesn’t it? I mean, if it went to Spain, that would be something, right?”
Worldwide depression!? Say it ain’t so! The price of antidepressants would go through the roof—and this at a time when I’m depressed because I live in metro Atlanta instead of a remote ranch in the Rockies, and my wife is depressed because she’s married to somebody who’s depressed because he lives in metro Atlanta instead of a remote ranch in the Rockies.
McGehee, Yeesh! Now I’m depressed that your wife is depressed because she’s married to somebody whose depressed… (yada, yada, yada)
Chain Depression! Pass on the Pain!!
If you live on the prairies at the foothills of the Rockies, you become to susceptible to ear infections.
Is what I’m told.
BTW: some more countries that have higher per capita suicide rates than the US are:
Australia
New Zealand
Iceland
Canada
Seychelles
When I build that fly-directly-into-the-sun spacecraft for Dr. Phil, I would be more than pleased to include Mr. James for the trip.
No extra charge…
If we have a higher rate of “mental illness” in this country, it’s probably just because we have a glut of pop psycologists who declare every mood swing or personality quirk to be an illness in need of their expensive care.
Suicide and depression, how sad.
As opposed to socialist success stories like the former Soviet Union, where the life expectancy without suicide has been declining sharply and is now down to around 52 or something like that, which is about what it was in the US almost a hundred years ago. Not to mention that the population is shrinking so fast you better not blink or it’ll be gone.
Damn those capitalists!
Greed is good.
Seeing as how I got back from Glasgow on Monday, I’ll share a Scotish joke:
What does a Scot wear under his kilt?
Insect repellant.
[T.W.: return64.
Jeff, please CUT THAT OUT!!!!]
Can you imagine what those numbers would look like if the Euros had guns?
If I was French, I’d commit suicide too.
You right wing zealots are pure scum. You try to argue that Wales doesn’t exist simply because you don’t like what the AP is reporting about Iraq.
Heehee.
Let’s ask Dianne Sawyer, everybody’s sixth grade teacher. My ex-wife loves her, which to me is tantamount to living in the ever more expanding world of the late elementary school state of mind.
Here’s the real question. Is growing cynicism a sign of mental illness? Or am I just a curmudgeon?
W.C. Fields
They may have three times less illness because a diagnosed illness needs treatment and that’s expensive and may just bust that national health budget.
Growing cynicism is a sign of mental health.
I much prefer the psychological term “Mr. Grumpy Pants.”
In any event, ask Dr, Phil because he knows EVERYTHING!
Truthfully, now! Isn’t it, for you more of a way of life?
It could be, but back when I lived in California I had to grow it under heat lamps in the attic, so the man wouldn’t bust me.
I can be so much more open about it here in Georgia.
This seems pertinent, somehow:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/01/11/airport.security.ads.ap/index.html