Double Edged Depression

However, recent studies show an interesting connection between work (or lack thereof, in some cases) and the onset of depression. For many years, people have always equated being unemployed with the risk of becoming depressed, while stress and anxiety were linked to being employed. This is because of the obvious differences between the two states and the assumed effects such differences had on the average human mind. Being unemployed meant that someone was deprived of income and, in theory, a purpose in life. These things, according to the most prevalent view, are things that a person needs to feel fulfilled, with the lack thereof resulting in depression and other emotional problems. Meanwhile, being employed meant dealing with the pressure and the stress of meeting the demands of one's employer or customers. Yet, recent research has yielded results that these views might not be entirely accurate in today's environment.

For one thing, more and more people are becoming depressed despite having employment. While this has been a problem since the last decade, only recently has a study come to arrive at the conclusion that some people are becoming depressed because of work. According to the recent study, 7 percent of all full-time employees, with the numbers only being slightly lower in those who were employed part-time, had fought off bouts of depression at least once. This is a startling development, though unsurprising, given the nature of work and how employees are treated in the modern business world.