Do Mormons have poor mental health?

[creekster]

Originally Posted by Levin

Is it that Mormons have a heightened sense of their mental health, focusing so much on our spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being? Others just tend to live more without stressin' so much about how they're doing.

Or maybe when many people have minor issues they self-medicate and then blame it on the booze (or whatever) the next day but those self-righteous mormons are left with no alternative but to seek a prescritpion for mother's little helper and so the reporting rates are higher.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080306/...ntal_health_dc



Utah has poor mental health despite having some of the lowest rates of substance abuse (or because of low rates of substance abuse?).

So what is the deal here? Are Mormons unhappy?

Interesting.
The table with all the state data is here:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k6state/adultTabs.htm

Total for the US is 11.3, West is 10.9. HI at 8.8 is by far the lowest, but I guess I can undesrtand that. Unless Dog is after you.
Maryland is in 49th place w/ 10.0

[Levin]

Originally Posted by creekster

Or maybe when many people have minor issues they self-medicate and then blame it on the booze (or whatever) the next day but those self-righteous mormons are left with no alternative but to seek a prescritpion for mother's little helper and so the reporting rates are higher.

This has to account for a significant percentage of it; I want something more shocking, though.

[exUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I know that some of you will want to dismiss these findings as inconsequential and without merit. Rather than discussing and exploring them. What are you afraid of?

1) Utah - lowest illicit drug use
2) Utah - lowest alcohol use
3) Utah - Lowest tobacco use
4) Utah - Serious Psychological Distress (SPD) highest at 14.4 % vs. lowest of 8.8%.
5) Utah - Mental Health Problems - decreases in 5 states; one of which was utah.
6) Utah - highest respondent rate at 77.5%. Lowest respondent rate of 57%. Thus the results were 'estimated'.

So let's see. While others in the nation deal with depression, anxiety, etc drink and take drugs, Utah's rates might be higher. But definitely, Mormons are more unhappy based on your skimming of the article and data.

Well done.

[Brian]

On a side note, I read an article in Popular Science about some researchers that were screening the sewage for drugs. The numbers they were seeing were significantly higher than the numbers reported by the cities. Which is understandable as a lot of these numbers are inferred from hospital visit data and interviews with people in the population. Not the most objective way to gather data.

[exUte]

Originally Posted by Levin

Is it that Mormons have a heightened sense of their mental health, focusing so much on our spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being? Others just tend to live more without stressin' so much about how they're doing.

you may die. Much less stressful life if you ask me.

[MikeWaters]

Hey idiot, I mentioned the part about lowest substance abuse, you freaking moron.

[exUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Hey idiot, I mentioned the part about lowest substance abuse, you freaking moron.

Have you ever wondered why, supposedly, Utah has a high rate of births out of wedlock? Could it be correlated to the lowest abortion rates?

[non sequitur]

Originally Posted by woot

I'm inclined to think that Mormons' unwillingness to self-medicate has something to do with it, but I also think it's obvious that many Mormons are unhappy due to feelings of inadequacy and impossible expectations.

I know that when I left the Church, I switched from Effexor to Makers Mark.

[myboynoah]

Mike, I think you are correct that this is a topic that we don't seek to discuss publicly, for obvious reasons. You're the expert, so what are your thoughts? I know, as woot suggests below, that many point to The Church as a cause (too many expectations of perfection). I wonder if there isn't a genetic component, given that most of Mormondom came out of the UK and Scandanavia. Also, does adherence to the WofW play a role? Whatever the answers, it doesn't play as well as low cancer rates.

Originally Posted by woot

I'm inclined to think that Mormons' unwillingness to self-medicate has something to do with it, but I also think it's obvious that many Mormons are unhappy due to feelings of inadequacy and impossible expectations.

Honestly, I rarely experience these feelings of inadequacy. Did you while you were LDS? Maybe age has given me perspective. I don't see my wife feeling that way and don't remember my mother lamenting her imperfections. I do have an over-achieving daughter that I need to reign in occasionally, but that may be her age and personality.

That said, most of my family takes or has taken some kind of anti-depressant, so I wonder if there is a genetic component out there.