Studies Show that Depression, Self-Isolation Are On the Rise
But Not for Us: For Us, There Are Only GAINZZZ

The kids aren't all right:

In 2021, suicide and homicide rates for children and young adults ages 10 to 24 in the US were the highest they've been in decades, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Suicide and homicide were the second and third leading causes of death for this age group, both causing about 11 deaths for every 100,000 people ages 10 to 24. The homicide rate for this age group in 2021 was the highest it's been since 1997, and the suicide rate was the highest on record, since 1968.

Suicide rates surpassed homicide rates for this age group in 2010 and have continued rising for the past decade. But a large spike in homicide rates during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic brought the rates for both types of violent death together for the first time in a decade.

For children ages 10 to 14, however, a large gap remained. The suicide rate in 2021 was twice as high as the homicide rate, according to the CDC report.

...

Another CDC report said that the rate of suspected suicides and suicide attempts by poisoning among young surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially among children ages 10 to 12, with a 70% increase from 2019 to 2021.

For teens ages 15 to 19, the homicide rate remained higher than the suicide rate, according to the new report.

A lot of the depression is due to previous trends being exacerbated by Fauci's Lockdowns.

But the trend was already there. It started about the same time as smartphones became widespread.

Fewer teens are having sex or doing drugs, but more are depressed.

Fewer high school students are having sex than ever before, federal health officials reported Thursday. And they're also less likely than some earlier generations to abuse drugs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual survey on teen behavior finds.

But kids report that bullying at school is common and a third of students report persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, the report finds.

I would say the "having sex later and being less likely to abuse drugs" would be an unmitigated good... if that came from a healthy place, like a renewed spirit of moral restraint.

But what if that's due to the same phenomenon causing the depression? What if kids are having less sex not because they're more moral, but simply more despairing?

Or are simply... lower in testosterone?

US men are now more likely to be "self-isolated."

In Japan, an estimated 1.5 million people -- many of them young men -- now live in complete isolation.

The problem has grown so severe that the Japanese have a term for it: Hikikomori, one who literally withdraws from society.

Some 6,000 miles away, the United States is experiencing its own form of hikikomori.

During a recent interview with Chris Williamson, a British podcaster based in Austin, Texas, the political economist Nicholas Eberstadt discussed the fact that 7 million men of prime working age are currently without employment and not seeking jobs.

Many of these men, said Eberstadt, spend inordinate amounts of time indoors, totally withdrawn from society.

They play video games, watch pornography, and tend to engage in heavy drug use, according to the author of "Men Without Work."

Work carried out by academics at Kyushu University in Japan has found that a low testosterone level is one of the common metabolic signatures of hikikomori in young social recluses -- which is important to note because testosterone levels among young American men are plummeting and have been for years.

The drop now reportedly affects 1 in 4 men in the US.

It's commonly assumed that testosterone fuels anti-social behavior.

In December, "Avatar" director James Cameron made headlines when he claimed that testosterone is "a toxin" that needs to be worked out of one's system.

Last month, NPR discussed the association between "toxic masculinity" and testosterone.

But this belief is not supported by science: There is no strong evidence to suggest that men with higher levels of testosterone are overly aggressive or violent.

On the contrary, testosterone has been linked to more social behavior in males -- while low testosterone levels in males are associated with social anxiety and socially submissive or avoidant behaviors.

People with social anxiety are at an increased risk of developing depression (moreover, according to the Cleveland Clinic, low testosterone levels often mimic symptoms of depression).

Research carried out by Dr. David Terburg, an expert in human behavior, has shown the many ways in which testosterone improves both individual behavior and broader cooperation.

In one study, Terburg and his colleagues identified a clear association between the administration of testosterone and increased levels of social cooperation and better moral judgment.

Low testosterone -- otherwise known as hypogonadism -- meanwhile, was associated with brain fog, poor memory and focus, and an overall lack of mental clarity.

Men lacking testosterone are also at an increased risk of developing noticeably larger breasts, a condition known as gynecomastia.

Research carried out last year by scientists at Emory University identified the ways in which testosterone influences the hypothalamus, the part of the brain responsible for the creation of oxytocin -- the so-called "love hormone" which also mediates the risk of social withdrawal and rises in tandem with testosterone.

...

His research has also shown that testosterone stimulates the growth of brain-derived neurotrophic factors. BDNF plays a vital role in memory recall, learning, and decision-making.

"Social isolation and other stressors," noted Dr. Spritzer, "cause adult neurogenesis to decrease, and we found that testosterone can help reverse the negative effects of social isolation on the brain."

So what's the cure for all of this?

That's right: Getting outdoors, and getting some GAINZZZ.

The below video is good. It's by a Tolkein YouTuber, who notes that the Lord of the Rings (and the Hobbit before it) are basically just stories about really long walks.

Bilbo (I think) said:

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."

She talks about Tolkein loving a ramble in the countryside because in his youth his parents had moved to a more urban area, and he missed seeing the trees and the paths through them. And how many people champion walking not just for its physical benefits, but for giving someone time to just think and even commune with God.

There's a global outbreak of cat doing sit-ups. Scroll down -- cats are improvising outdoor gym equipment wherever they can to work on their core.

So do you have any GAINZZZ to report? Or PROJEXXX you want to share?

Or even SHOWZZZ?

In the meantime, I'm trying to follow the advice of this fitness podcaster. Warning: TikTok.

posted by Lamont the Big Dummy at 05:10 PM

| Access Comments