Let's Lay out the World

 

So let's lay out the world, why does it seem that nobody has the desire to be here? Mental Health can be influenced by two main things, genetics and environmental factors. Of course genetics is something that one doesn't have much control over, depression being one of them. And with that being said, the different environmental factors that contribute hugely to the influx of depression within our youth include, our physical environment, our social environment, and intertwined between the two, our financial environment. 

Our physical environment, that being the planet that we live on, is constantly exposed to the threat of collapse. Humanities previous issue being that of CFCs in the depletion of our ozone layer to our current issue being that of greenhouse gasses, majorilly from controlled combustions, contributing to global warming. These controlled combustions are used almost daily in things such as power plants and factories, cars engines, ovens, etc. That famous byproduct, CO2, has increased in concentration within our atmosphere, quickly becoming the primary greenhouse gas. Global warming has and will continue to result in extreme and unprecedented weather catastrophes, leading to numerous deaths, both directly and indirectly, rises in sea level, threatening current infrastructure, and increased ocean acidification, each of these disrupting ecosystems, food supply, and further sustainability. Another threat to sustainability is the Great Pacific Garbage patch, spanning from the west coast of North America to Japan. Plastic litter and other human trash is dumped into bodies of water, floating along currents and eventually getting trapped in a gyre, which is essentially a circular current. Effects of humanities wasteful activities include pollution and devastation to marine life. No nation will take responsibility or provide funding for the cleanup of this as there would be no financial benefit, only deficit. Further escalating the global warming and pollution crisis, overpopulation not only drastically scales their effects, but also participates in the exponential growth in our use of essentially finite resources. More people means an increased demand for food, transportation, water, housing, energy, and much more. The more demand for the resources used to make our lives more convenient, the faster we will plow through them and essentially lead to collapse due to supply chain shortages. One, like Elon Musk, may say that we are actually underpopulated, and while yes, more people are needed to support the stabilization of global and societal systems, one of which being social security, which depends on the working class to support the retired class. These processes are not sustainable for our planet as a whole and I feel that it would be selfish to prioritize one’s own generation over future generations.   

This bridges into the topic of our social environment, that being the systems that humanity is tied into, which are constantly under the influence of individuals with power and wealth. Currently, Individual lives are affected by inadequate governments, unable to come together to fix crises that have been dealt with since the beginning of time. One famous crisis includes to Covid-19 Pandemic, which we are all familiar with. Governments focused more on the financial effects of quarantining individuals until the disease subsided, opting to impose partial laws and regulations that still impacted businesses and finances, the effects now having far surpassed those that would have occurred had we originally quarantined as we were supposed to. It's been over 2 years of imposing regulations then removing them once cases are low enough, just to put them back in place once numbers rise again. History is written with the intent to not repeat it, so why are governments still struggling with things such as systematic racism, the effects of war, unequal treatment and accountability. The effects of these things, such as racism or a lack of empathy, caring, or communication, have been magnified with the unlimited access of the internet, allowing us to witness large events as well as smaller, more intimate ones almost rapidly and even without our consent to a certain extent. In the summer of 2020, you could scroll on platforms like instagram or tiktok and see a man being killed. These sights are abundant and traumatic to say the least, contributing to the increased rates of depression and anxiety in teens. Tying into overpopulation, there is a severe lack of opportunity, everyone competing for spots that aren't even worth it anymore as wages are no longer liveable. 

Our current cost of living crisis is influenced by multiple factors, each having a detrimental impact on the average American citizen's ability to live a life that they would like. The average person can no longer afford a place to live without working multiple jobs or insane hours due to increased rent and housing costs by those in real estate looking to make a profit. The obvious solution to dealing with a crisis such as this would be to work a good paying job, thousands of people opting to pursue a college degree no matter the cost. After throwing themselves into debt and obtaining their degree, they are sorely met with an extremely hard to penetrate job market, the jobs that they are able to get being underpaid. Over half of all Americans are living paycheck to paycheck according to theleadingclub report. In an effort to manage finances outside of the average full time job, one may turn towards the stock market, investing in etfs and other stocks in the hopes of their money growing. Unfortunately, as a byproduct of the pandemic, war, and other factors, the stock market has been subject to multiple crashes and is no longer a reliable place to hold money. To pair, Social Security, as mentioned earlier, is only expected to be payable in full on a timely basis until 2037, after which these payments will no longer be fully payable under current law. Americans are being pushed into poverty from a seemingly unending and impossible to overcome financial circumstance. 

To tie in with both finance and the impact that humanity has on the environment, low income communities are trapped in circumstances in which the cheapest and most convenient option is likely the one that will be chosen. For example, that used car that your neighbor is selling is terrible for the environment and likely wont pass a smog test, but a tesla, although better for the environment, would be a terrible financial move to make because most of your paycheck goes towards rent and food. Or those solar panels that you would like to buy aren’t possible due to the inability to implement them into your rented apartment, as well, you don't own it, and buying a home is insanely expensive. Ideally, one wouldn't want to participate in markets that will worsen the impact that they already have on the planet, but again, due to circumstance, they are either forced to or…. Well…. Die. (SHAMELESS PLUG: SUSTAINABILITY DEPRESSION) Money has the ability to change one's circumstance in life almost completely, and of course it’s a fact that money cannot buy happiness, but it sure can buy the opportunity for you to be happy. You can afford to live the life that you would like, without having to worry about things like rent, healthcare, education, laws, and other stressors that limit one's freedom in a sense. Money is power, money is freedom, freedom is time, and time is money. 

I have this information, now what do I do with it? I didn't intend to make this article and leave you to feel the gravity of your life and others around you, so I will not leave you at that. I cannot sit there and say that with hope, everything will get better, but I can say “start with the little things”. Instead of driving to the nearest convenience store, consider walking, and once you get there, think, “Is the item beneficial to me right now?” If so, continue thinking, “is it harmful to the environment? Can I buy it elsewhere?” It's always best to sit on financial decisions, Try your best not to get caught up in materialism, and always think about your impact on the social, physical, and financial environments that we live in, whether direct or indirect. I cannot give you a step by step list on what to do, because even I do not know exactly what to do, besides my best. Personally, I've taken to limiting my use of social media, minimizing or completely quitting unproductive activities such as endlessly scrolling through tiktok or keeping up with the Joneses, and taking liberties to prioritize my mental health and finances. My next steps include me attending college, trying my best to enjoy my life as much as possible while keeping in mind the atrocities of humanity, working towards a sustainable future for not only myself but for future generations to come, and overall trying my best to be a good person through the multiple mental health instabilities that I keep stumbling upon.