Background
Depressive disorders represent a crucial issue in emotional wellness with all-encompassing consequences. Based on the use of the four lenses, depression has influenced modern society in various ways. Some impacts include prompting pharmaceutical research to cope with post-war declines in mental health, changing religious counseling, addressing the culture of seeing persistent bad mood as a choice, and disadvantaging the already vulnerable populations.
Lens Connections
History
The history lens sheds light on the precursors of effective treatment options to boost emotional wellness. The American nation’s increasing exposure to depressive disorders in the post-WWII period prompted large-scale antidepressant development endeavors, thus affecting the institution of healthcare (Gaudillière & Hess, 2021). The science of curbing depression through pharmaceutical treatment bloomed in the 1970s (Wei et al., 2020). It led to gradual increases in healthcare’s emotional health promotion potential, which is in line with the evolutionary social change theory.
The Humanities
As for the humanities lens, the increasing prevalence of depression causes the institution of religion to incorporate the issue into major confessions’ mindsets and messages. Scrutton (2018) theorizes that the conflict over whether depression is a sin raises the long-term philosophical problem of free will. The phenomenon of negative religious coping linked with depression can inform religious counseling by emphasizing the sense of connection to God (Braam & Koenig, 2019).
Natural/Applied Sciences
Thanks to the perspectives of natural and applied sciences, healthcare as an institution has abandoned the notion of mood irregularities as a conscious choice. Advancements in chemical imbalance and endogenous depression theories and research take the affected populations’ chances of recovery to the next level (Wei et al., 2020). The studies of vitamin supplementation’s role in fighting this major barrier to emotional wellness can promote public health even more (Menon et al., 2020).
Social Sciences
The social science lens reveals that depressive disorders’ negative impacts on social institutions are not random and reflect the existing inequalities and power distribution patterns. For instance, income inequality is positively correlated with depression incidence (Patel et al., 2018). Depressive disorders affect ethnic minority women in the U.S. more than their white male counterparts (Worthen et al., 2021). Such findings illustrate the applicability of the intersectionality theory to emotional wellness research.
References
Braam, A. W., & Koenig, H. G. (2019). Religion, spirituality and depression in prospective studies: A systematic review.Journal of Affective Disorders, 257, 428-438. Web.
Gaudillière, J. P., & Hess, V. (2021). The industry of clinical trials and the rise of medico-economic accounting: The case of antidepressants, 1970–90. In A. U. Huntelmann and O. Falk (Eds.), Accounting for health (pp. 230-253). Manchester University Press.
Menon, V., Kar, S. K., Suthar, N., & Nebhinani, N. (2020). Vitamin D and depression: A critical appraisal of the evidence and future directions.Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 42(1), 11-21. Web.
Patel, V., Burns, J. K., Dhingra, M., Tarver, L., Kohrt, B. A., & Lund, C. (2018). Income inequality and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association and a scoping review of mechanisms. World Psychiatry, 17(1), 76-89. Web.
Scrutton, A. P. (2018). Is depression a sin? A philosophical examination of Christian voluntarism.Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, 25(4), 261-274. Web.
Wei, Y., Chang, L., & Hashimoto, K. (2020). A historical review of antidepressant effects of ketamine and its enantiomers. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 190, 1-9. Web.
Worthen, M., Menchaca, J., & Laine, M. (2021). An intersectional approach to understanding the correlates of depression in college students: Discrimination, social status, and identity.Journal of American College Health, 1‑12. Web.