Associated Press, (2004) “Survey: Americans are sad three days a month” MSNBC,
7/29 P.1-2

Sad and lonely? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sampled 166,000 adults in 38 states from 1995 to 2000.

The results:

WOMEN REPORT 3.5 DAYS OF DEPRESSION A MONTH
18-19 YEAR OLDS 3.6 DAYS OF DEPRESSION A MONTH
MEN 3 DAYS OF DEPRESSION A MONTH.

I suspect that there are some problems with this study but want to say that it probably underestimates levels of depression.

Here are the problems.

1. Poor people have more depression and yet may not have phones.
2. More financially successful have answering machines to block out unwanted callers, thus results are not recorded.
3. The sample was not random.
4. It was based on recall.
5. Americans feel obligated to be happy and optimistic in this culture. So there is under-reporting.
6. There are millions of people who are clinically and biochemical depressed. We do not know if they are in the sample and if there is a bias.
7. Only 38 states were involved. They are not listed in the report. As a generalization folks who live in cloudy areas are more likely to suffer from seasonal affect disorder. We don’t know what the states are as indicated in the report.

I suggest that depression is dealt with over the counter uppers such as caffeine and nicotine and tranquilizers such as alcohol. There are numerous options with herbs such as St. John’s Wart that also act as anti-depressants. Television, cable, and the internet act as mood enhancers.

All the above and more would indicate that the total number of days of depression is probably underreported. I will be the first though to suggest that I could be wrong.