Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2023 July 2

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July 2

What depressed people did before tv and radio were invented?

What depressed people did before tv and radio were invented?

Using computers, smarthphones and tv seems to be a pretty deal among people with depression, what they did before those things existed? 179.134.97.75 (talk) 17:42, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Talk to other people? In Britain, working-class people socialised in the pub, meaning that depression often led to alcoholism. Alansplodge (talk) 19:10, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

One of the hallmarks of true depression is an unwillingness to talk or associate with others. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:05, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Classic New-Yorkese picture with the solitary girl in front of her empty glass at Bronsky's 9:30PM ? --Askedonty (talk) 21:40, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

I'm talking about not having the motivation even to rise from your bed or couch or wherever you last ended up, much less get dressed, go shopping, or sit morosely in a bar where you know you're the target for all manner of grifters, or even nice people, but to do with any of whom you want nothing. Including the bartender. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 00:53, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

where you know you’re the target for all manner of grifters. I was with you up until that point. No idea where that comes from. Is that what some people with depression think? Viriditas (talk) 02:48, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

A single lonely-looking looking woman in a bar knows she will receive attention - some pleasant, some not so much. That's all I meant. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 08:42, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

Thank you, that’s what I thought you meant, but wasn’t all that sure, so I had to ask. My reply is, it really depends on the type of bar. I’ve worked in bars (in my early 20s) that weren’t like this at all, as it depends on the regular clientele. Then again, on some days of the week (or when the Navy gets shore leave) that could change in a moment. The thing is, we always looked out for people, and the bartenders wouldn’t even have to use words; all they would need is a wink or a head gesture, and we knew what to do. The good, smaller bars take care of their customers, and that often means ejecting people who bother others or make them uncomfortable. Viriditas (talk) 08:48, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

Before radio, they listened to their gramophones. Before that, they'd go out and enjoy live bands/orchestras. Before TV, there were these thin paper thingees and theaters and music halls. Beside, have you seen what's on the news these days? Very depressing. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:21, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Unpopular opinion: in the US, manual labor didn’t see a major decline until the 1960s, and with it, an increase in sedentary behavior and a decline in physical activity, which is associated with depression. I would therefore suggest that depression was extremely rare before TV and radio were invented. Viriditas (talk) 22:46, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

Do you have a source for that? Our article History of depression suggests that depression has existed for thousands of years. There was even an explanation for it in the ancient Humorism system of medicine -- depression was thought to be caused by an excess of black bile. CodeTalker (talk) 23:57, 2 July 2023 (UTC)

I didn’t say depression didn’t exist, I said it was rare. I’m not sure what part you are asking a source for here. There’s a recent large survey in China,[1] but the association between sedentary behavior and depression is well known. The literature on physical activity and depression goes back several decades.[2] Viriditas (talk) 00:03, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Maybe it's because leisure time has increased? People working hard to get by have less time to brood. Clarityfiend (talk) 11:27, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

Ah, one of my favorite topics! It was interesting to see this subject trend yet again during the 2020 pandemic and lockdowns. I've written a bit about the so-called leisure society hypothesis, a topic that was previously much discussed from the 1960s to the 1990s. As it turns out, "despite the common view that widespread free time is a corollary of the movement beyond subsistence, the fact remains that the average peasant in feudal society had significantly more free time than his or her American counterpart." (Bloch, 1961, as cited in Sobel, 2013). It's entirely possible, however, that if you live outside the US, you may have more leisure time, I don't know. Viriditas (talk) 08:42, 5 July 2023 (UTC)

My answer to the original question here is that they read. HiLo48 (talk) 00:32, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Our article on bibliotherapy lends weight to your answer. Viriditas (talk) 06:52, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Or they made music, which has old roots as being thought to have a healing effect on the mind (see Music therapy). Performing jointly with other family members, which was a traditional activity before the Industrial Revolution, at least in Europe, has a particularly uplifting effect.  --Lambiam 08:35, 3 July 2023 (UTC)