It’s interesting to look at how mental illness is more prevalent in the modern world. However, I’m not sure how useful it is to compare to eras gone by and other cultures in a way that suggests we are weak or lacking in some way.

One of the first things I say to the people I support is you can’t compare yourself to others because some people have it worse. Some people have it better as well so there’s really no use in invalidating your struggles.

Mental health isn’t such a taboo subject in this culture anymore. It’s not good enough and we still have a way to go, but we are able to be more open. Treatment can still be hard to access but treatment is there. If eras gone by and other cultures had this then maybe mental health problems would seem more prevalent in those situations too.

I’d also say that it’s a mistake to assume people are coping better than others and using people who have been through trauma as an example, like one of the central park 5. We cannot possibly know what goes on in his head. People can get through stuff because we have to, but it doesn’t mean they’re “fine". I say this as someone who has been through trauma, was complimented for my grit and not letting it get me down, but it fucked me up. You can’t see that though. To this day people have no idea.

It also reminds me of the argument that “there’s too many kids with autism" and there was no such thing before or there’s no such thing in other cultures. The more we learn about something and when it’s given a name, it will seem more prevalent but in actual fact it’s existed forever.