Washington is known for its beautiful natural scenery, lively culture scenes, and strong economy. Still, not every place in the Evergreen State is as great for living in as others. A recent study by the nurse education website CEUFast found that Spokane, Washington, is one of the most depressed cities in the whole country. Spokane is the second-largest city in Washington and the economic hub of eastern Washington.
How the Study Figured Out Depression?
With information from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CEUFast did a study that looked at depression rates in 200 U.S. towns. The study looked at four important signs of depression:
- The number of adults who have been told by a doctor that they have sadness….
- The number of people who have had frequent mental distress in the last month.
- That portion of people who have bad physical health.
- The number of people who have mental health problems.
The study then used these factors to give each city a depression number. Higher scores meant that more people in that city were depressed.
Why I Feel Sad About Spokane?
The study found that Spokane has a depression score of 76.6, making it the most unhappy city in Washington and the 15th most depressed city in the United States. The study shows that 23.8% of people in Spokane have been diagnosed with clinical depression, 14.9% have experienced frequent mental distress, 17.1% have poor physical health, and 17.8% have poor mental health.
Spokane has a reputation for being sad for a number of reasons:
Problems with the economy:
The average household income in the United States is $62,843, which is higher than Spokane’s median income of $53,274. Also, 16.5% of people in the city live in poverty, which is higher than the national average of 11.4%. This economic trouble is partly caused by Spokane’s struggles to recover from the loss of jobs in its manufacturing and mining industries, which used to provide a lot of work for the people who lived there.
Isolation from others:
Spokane is in the eastern part of Washington, far from big cities like Seattle and Portland, which makes people feel alone. There are 3,526 people living in the city per square mile, which is less than the national average of 4,272 people per square mile. Additionally, Spokane has a higher than average divorce rate (13.7%), which makes its people feel even more alone and disconnected.
Having seasonal affective disorder:
The weather in Spokane is cold and cloudy. The average yearly temperature is 50°F, and 17 inches of rain fall each year. The city has a low sunshine rate of 47%, which means it gets less than half of the possible sunshine hours each year. This can affect people’s energy and happiness, especially in the winter.
How to Cope with Depression?
Millions of Americans suffer from depression every year, which is a dangerous mental illness. It can make you feel sad, hopeless, guilty, and worthless all the time, which can get in the way of your daily life and general quality of life.
There are things you can do to help yourself or someone you know who is depressed:
Seek Professional Help: Get help from a professional. You don’t have to deal with your sadness on your own. Treatments that work, like psychotherapy, medicine, or a mix of the two, are available. A mental health worker can help you find the best treatment for your needs and keep an eye on your progress.
Connect with other people: Depression can make you feel alone, but having friends and family around is important for your emotional health. Stay in touch with family and friends, or think about joining a support group where you can talk about your feelings and experiences with people who know what you’re going through.
Take care of yourself: Depression can hurt your body and mind, so it’s important to take care of yourself. Stay away from drugs and booze, eat well, and work out regularly. These habits can improve your happiness and give you more energy. They can also help you avoid or deal with other health problems.
Do things that make you happy: Depression can make you lose interest in things you used to enjoy. Still, doing good things can help you deal with bad feelings and make you feel better about life in general. Find something that makes you happy, like a hobby, an interest you love, or a personal goal. Every day, try to do something that makes you happy.
Conclusion
Spokane may have a reputation for being one of the saddest places in the country, but that doesn’t mean it always is. There are many tools and services that can help its residents get over their depression and find happiness.
People in Spokane can improve their mental health and general well-being by getting help, connecting with others, taking care of themselves, and doing things that make them happy. Spokane has some problems, but it also has many great things about it, like its long past, wide range of cultures, and beautiful scenery. Spokane is still a strong community, despite its bad image.