I've noticed a lot of people are unhappy. So many people feel stuck in a cycle of misery and don't know how to get out. Within the last twenty years there has been an increase in mass shootings, suicide, anxiety, and depression. I feel that rampant advertising, competition, and jealousy contribute to the widespread unhappiness we feel as a nation.
- Increase in mass shootings since the year 2000
- 37% increase in suicide since 2000
- 63% increase in anxiety and depression in young adults
Advertising
In the United States of America, private companies sell goods and services to make the economy run. In order to sell goods and services companies must advertise. A main goal of advertising is to make people feel as if they need the product or service a company is selling.
Advertising convinces us that we are inadequate.
I believe that advertising creates problems for our mental health. One problem that advertising creates for our mental health is: it has to convince us that we are inadequate. It has to convince us that who we are, and what we have, are not good enough, so that we will want to buy more.
For Example: A decides to make money by selling shampoo. To sell shampoo, they have to convince you that you need shampoo. Their advertising has to convince your mind that your hair isn't good enough, or that your current shampoo should be doing a better job. If your hair was good enough as it is then you would not need to buy their shampoo.
Advertising is persistent and nonstop.
Another problem that advertising creates for our mental health is: it is constant. Everywhere you look, everywhere you turn: radio, billboards, busses, TV, magazines, email, social media, push notifications--there is advertising programming us to believe that we are not good enough and that we need more, more, more.
I feel that the constant bombardment of these messages of inadequacy are making us unhappy, and contributing to our depression and anxiety.
Competition
Another contributing factor to the unhappiness we feel as individuals, and as a nation, is competition. Everyone wants to be the best. To give our kids the possibility of the best future outcomes we enroll them in music, sports, and tutoring as early as possible; even 2-3 years old. We push them to be better than others so that they can get into the best schools and programs, or simply just be the best.
Our self-worth is tied to our accomplishments.
No one can be the best at everything, all the time. With pressure to be the best we unknowingly tie our emotions and self-worth to being better than others. This is a problem because there is always someone better than you.
When confidence and self worth are tied to being better than others, then sadness, anger, anxiety, and decreased confidence arise when we encounter someone who is good at something.
Unhealthy competition destroys community.
Additionally, in order to feel better than others and restore self-confidence, we may resort to sabotage or other negative behaviors to feel a sense of superiority or self-worth. This encourages feelings of sadness, unworthiness, anxiety, and anger in others. It also robs us of having the positive feelings associated with being a part of a healthy community, further contributing to the unhappiness we feel as a nation.
Jealousy
Another thing that I have noticed that is contributing to the feelings of unhappiness in our society is jealousy. Dictionary.com defines jealousy as feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages. People who are happy and content with themselves don't dwell in resentment about other people's success. While jealousy and envy are natural human emotions, they can contribute to sadness and depression when not used in a healthy way. I feel that the widespread jealousy that exists in our society is a symptom of the unhappiness that we feel. I feel that the rampant competitiveness of our society contributes to people feeling anger and resentment at other people's success.
I believe that there are tools and techniques that can be used to help retrain the brain to think positively and experience happiness everyday. In my BEE HAPPY series I plan to explore some of the causes of unhappiness as well as provide solutions to help people get unstuck.