The Epidemic of Despair

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW222893898 BCX4"> <p><a href= "https://twitter.com/RobertMSterling/status/1682876865772503045"><span data-contrast="none"> In a viral post back in July,</span></a> <span data-contrast= "none">entrepreneur Robert Sterling described what many people feel: </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">"There is something deeply unwell in our society right now. … I’m sure social media, economic malaise, Covid lockdowns, fentanyl, and every other reason we hear about factor into it."</span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559685":720,"335559739":160,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">Yet, all these reasons, he continued, “in aggregate, still feel insufficient.” Something “metaphysical,” seems to have shifted. </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><a href= "https://breakpoint.org/the-restless-heart-of-generation-z-and-the-mental-health-crisis/"> <span data-contrast="none">A</span> <em><span data-contrast= "none">Breakpoint</span></em></a> <span data-contrast= "none">commentary in April described the mental health crisis of American teens, especially teenage girls.</span> <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/13/health/teen-girls-sadness-suicide-violence.html"> <span data-contrast="none">As</span> <em><span data-contrast= "none">The New York Times</span></em> <span data-contrast= "none">reported</span></a><span data-contrast="none">, “Nearly three in five teenage girls felt persistent sadness in 2021 … and one in three girls seriously considered attempting suicide.” Boys aren’t doing much better,</span> <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/18/opinion/beyond-deaths-of-despair.html"> <span data-contrast="none">with so-called “deaths of despair”</span></a> <span data-contrast="none">at an all-time high among the male population.  </span><span data-cc