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In the past year, a wide range of studies have revealed nationwide trends of suicide, middle-aged white men dying young, and opioid addiction. I have a new hypothesis that the tattering of the American Dream is causing individuals who expected more out of life to self-destruct in record numbers.
In my mind, there is a connection between the skyrocketing suicides, drug addiction, and binge drinking we’re seeing across the country and the fact that Americans are struggling so much financially. As the divide between the 'haves' and 'have nots' grows ever wider, one could assume that 99% of the population feel that overcoming economic inequality is insurmountable. Many Americans are hopeless and resigned to the fact that they may never live the American Dream or become part of the 1%.
Millions of Americans Never Bounced Back From the Great Recession
Many experts believe the epidemics of opioid addiction and suicide are the result of the American Dream evaporating, which has created a nationwide epidemic of malcontent. (I first wrote about this trend in a Psychology Today blog post, “Why Are So Many Middle-Aged White Americans Dying Young?”)
In November 2015, Anne Case, Ph.D., and Angus Deaton, Ph.D., of Princeton University, published a study, “Rising Morbidity and Mortality in Midlife Among White non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st Century,” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Their findings were based on data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Census Bureau, individual death records, and other sources used in their analysis. The three causes of death that accounted for the change in mortality among non-Hispanic whites were suicide, drug and alcohol poisoning, chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis.
Along these lines, in May 2016, another CDC study reported that suicide rates in the United States increased by 24 percent between 1999 and 2014. The study showed that the number of suicides began rising sharply after 2006, as economic conditions in the U.S. began to worsen. The Great Recession officially began in 2008.
Between 1999 and 2014, the suicide rate increased for men under the age of 75 by 43 percent between. For women under the age of 75, the greatest rate of increase was among those between 45 and 64. The suicide rate among those women was 80 percent higher in 2014 than in 1999. If you are feeling suicidal, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Or contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline via text or online chat.
In February of 2016, I wrote a post, “What Causes Economic Pain to Morph Into Physical Pain,” based on a study which found that feelings of economic insecurity can create a triple whammy by increasing an individual’s sensitivity to physical pain, reducing pain tolerance, and potentially leading to an abuse of painkillers.
According to a study by the CDC, drug overdoses among those who died from prescription opiate overdose between 1999 and 2013 most were ages 25 to 54. This age group also had the highest overdose rates compared to other age groups. The opiate overdose rate for adults aged 55–64 increased more than seven-fold during this same time period. Drug overdoses now cause more deaths than car crashes, with opioids like OxyContin and other pain medications killing 44 people a day.
Again, looking at this research through the lens of the new study on economic insecurity and physical pain, it appears there is a correlation between people feeling that their lives are out of control, economic insecurity, and the abuse of painkillers.
The statistics on poverty in America are staggering. In 2014, the U.S. Census reported that the official poverty rate was 14.8%. There were 46.7 million Americans living in poverty. However, the poverty rate in 2014 for children under age 18 was 21.1%. This means that more than one in five American children are currently living in poverty.
The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. A full-time minimum wage employee working forty hours a week earns $15,080 annually, before taxes. The current federal poverty level is $24,250 for a family of four. It’s no surprise that the American psyche feels battered and that this hopelessness is leading to substance abuse and self-destruction.
How Can We Curtail the Epidemic of Malcontent and Increase Fulfillment?
A few months ago, in response to these nationwide trends, I reached out to my Psychology Today colleague, Jean Twenge, who recently published a study reporting that adults over age 30 are less happy than they’ve been in decades.
The study, "More Happiness for Young People and Less for Mature Adults: Time Period Differences in Subjective Well-Being in the United States, 1972–2014,'' was published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. In a statement regarding that study, Twenge said,
"American culture has increasingly emphasized high expectations and following your dreams—things that feel good when you're young. However, the average mature adult has realized that their dreams might not be fulfilled, and less happiness is the inevitable result. Mature adults in previous eras might not have expected so much, but expectations are now so high they can't be met."
In my correspondence with Twenge, I asked her, "How do you think someone who is over 30 and unhappy, as reflected by low subjective well-being, can turn his or her life around and create an upward spiral of positive emotions and well-being?" In response, Twenge said,
"Of course, I can't claim to have any easy solutions to the problem. I think the research on gratitude is informative, thoughit suggests focusing on what you have instead of what you don't have, and writing a "gratitude letter" to someone who helped you. Making commitments to relationships is also good advice—we need other people to be happy, contrary to the modern mantra of "you don't need anyone else to make you happy." And my friend Sonja Lyubomirsky, who co-authored the paper, has lots of solutions in her book The How of Happiness."
Another new study, released this week by researchers from Cornell University, dovetails seamlessly with Twenge's advice. The Cornell study offers more proof that shifting the focus away from the instant gratification and sense of entitlement that often goes along with pursuing the American Dream increases happiness.
The May 2016 study, "Between Pleasure and Contentment: Evolutionary Dynamics of Some Possible Parameters of Happiness,” explores why those who feel satisfied with less are more content in the long run. “The findings offer scientific support to the ancient philosophical insights from China, Greece and India, which encourage cultivating long-term contentment or life satisfaction rather than grasping at the fleeting joy of instant gratification,” the researchers said in a statement.
Conclusion: Embracing Gratitude and Self-Love Despite Failed American Dreams
As a society, I think we need to make a readjustment along the lines of what Arianna Huffington suggests in Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. Huffington makes a compelling case for the need to redefine what it means to be successful in today's world.
Unless the majority of us strive to find ways to be content and satisfied with less material wealth—the never-ending economic disparity combined with an epidemic of malcontent and dissatisfaction—will continue to eat away at our bodies and souls while causing us to be self-destructive.
On Christmas Eve of 2015, I was staring at all the presents under the tree and feeling blessed, when I realized on a visceral level that "love trumps hate" and material possesions. I also had an epiphany that until I learned to truly love myself, that it would be impossible for me to unconditionally love anybody else. I wrote this Psychology Today blog post the next morning: "Loving Thy Neighbor As Thyself Makes Us Healthy and Happy."
I know from personal experience, the most difficult part of doing my four-part Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) every day is #4 when I have to genuinely direct loving kindness and forgiveness towards myself. I also know this step is the most important because it breaks the cycle of holding grudges and resenting others.
In closing, here is a simple daily practice that might help you learn how to love and forgive yourself and everyone around you, a little bit more, regardless of whether or not you are living the American Dream. To practice LKM, all you need to do is spend about 5 minutes systematically sending compassion, empathy, and loving-kindness to four categories of people:
- Friends, family, and loved ones.
- Strangers around the world and locally who are suffering.
- Someone you know who has hurt, betrayed, or violated you.
- Forgive yourself for any negativity or harm you’ve caused yourself or others.
Doing LKM for just a few minutes every day can help rewire and restructure the brain, improve well-being, and promote health and happiness for all of us.
© 2016 Christopher Bergland. All rights reserved.
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