What is really going on?

I mentioned to my therapist once that there seems to be a mental health crisis happening in the United States. I haven't traveled out of the country yet, so I can't speak for the rest of the world, but something here feels very off. Maybe it's like this in the rest of the world and I was just raised to expect something else, some kind of idyllic reality where people's opinions make sense, wars happen for easily discernible reasons and for the most part, people are happy. This isn't what I see though.

I struggle with mental illness myself, and I often ask myself what this even means. I doubt that my anxieties, addictions and depression stem entirely from neurochemical imbalances. I wonder almost too much whether or not ADHD actually exists, or if it's just a way to classify a certain type of person that doesn't fit into the one-size-fits-all school system. I wonder why there's so much heroine use everywhere, and why people I've known personally have been sucked into a methamphetamine addiction. What is it that drives people to chain smoke cigarettes, binge eat, binge drink and shoot addicting chemicals into their arms to escape reality? Not that I do. My addiction isn't so severe, fortunately. I smoke too much marijuana. It's not as bad as something like a Xanax addiction or even alcoholism, but I still struggle with the fact that I can't stop. All these compulsions, all these issues. Why do we feel the need to buy things when our surroundings feel too silent, or when we feel lonely? And most importantly, why does society as a whole seem to avoid confronting these issues?

All of this breaks down to consumption. Uncertainty. Insecurity. Why?

Because there is a void within us that we instinctively seek to fill.

But what fit into that space before we sensed its absence?

Perhaps community. Maybe that's what fit there. Our families do seem to be fracturing. Our neighborhood communities are nonexistent. We have no faith in something greater than ourselves.

But I don't know. One of these days I hope to know. But for now, if we consider it, maybe together we can find an answer.