Just a question: Hasn't it also been said in the literature that the incidence of depressive and bipolar illnesses have grwon so fast because they have been picked up a lot more by doctors since the 60s and are now often being over diagnosed, especially in children?
I understand the factors you are talking about re instant gratification etc and the need to do something meaningful and worthwhile like play a sport or make a meal - I agree totally -but is it not true that these huge numbers are largely due to the indidence of diagnosis and the higher numbers of those actually seeking treatment due to increased awareness?
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Hi, Narelle. There are a number of theories out there, and I don't think Dr Selgman's accounts for all of the increase by any stretch of the imagination. The one I go with is that modern life sets us up for all manner of mental illness. Jam kids into classrooms on rigid schedules with ridiculous pressures and jam adults into cubicles on rigid schedules with ridiculous pressures and watch what happens. Our brains weren't meant for 20th-century living.
On top of that, add Dr Seligman's line of thinking. Then add the possibility of environmental toxins we are exposed to and our bad diets. Then add your suggestion that we are better these days in spotting mental illness. It all adds up ...
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How much do you know about bipolar disorder? 
I will be forever grateful for losing my car due to the financial impossibility of keeping it running. Before that, I never walked anywhere and even got tired walking around WalMart's supercenter. With the car, I would even drive the half a block to my mental health agency. Without the car, I HAD to walk to get anywhere. At first, I was incredibly slow -- and extremely tired. Only I had no choice but to keep at it. Before I knew it, I had shaved 10 minutes off the walk to my daughter's house that took the average person only 10 minutes to walk. In the beginning, when I had to think, "Just one more step," with each and every step, it took me 40 minutes.
After 3-4 months of persisting with walking at least 30 minutes each day (it was the time, not the distance that was important), people close to me started to notice an improvement in my depressed moods. I just wasn't as low as I had before I started walking. The more I walked, the more my mood lifted up towards "normal."
I was also acting on the basis of the following saying:
We don't THINK our way into right acting; we ACT our way into right thinking.
And, yes, Ms. Rubin, it takes a TREMENDOUS amount of effort for those of us who are in the pits of bipolar depression to do this, but it is worth FAR MORE than you can even begin to imagine until to have made it a habit!!
I am considered stable now.
Hi, GeekStyle. Very interesting. I'm ging to take this up in my next sharepost.