Are You Depressed or Is It Just Capitalism?

I recently watched CAPITALISM, a music video written and performed by Céline Tshika, where she paired cheerful music with lyrics depicting a grim and sadly realistic message: capitalism is wreaking havoc on our nervous systems in a multitude of ways. With burnout often masquerading as depressive symptoms, you could be mistaking capitalism’s ill effects for a mental health disorder, thus internalizing a more systemic issue*.

What is Capitalism?

Capitalism is an economic framework where private individuals and organizations own the means of production. The main goal of capitalism is profit, often by any means necessary. This focus on monetization comes at the expense of working-class worker’s rights, dignity, and sanity. Through capitalism’s eyes, we are seen not as human beings with feelings and needs, but as machines to produce as much as possible, enabling corporations to maximize profits. Therefore, if you cannot meet the arduous and taxing standards of production, you are number that is replaceable. Capitalism is the route by which the top 10% of households own more wealth than the remaining 90% of the population combined. This money is earned through exploitation of the working class.

The Interconnectedness of Capitalism, Individualism, and Loneliness

Individualism is capitalism’s bosom buddy. Capitalism rewards individualism, seen through the need to outperform your colleagues in order to get a raise or simply avoid being terminated during company layoffs. This juxtaposes collectivism, a lynchpin of socialism, where workers collaborate together to create impactful societal and systemic change. Individualism’s downstream effects are extreme isolation, loneliness, and misunderstanding of one another. The loneliness epidemic, which scientists equate to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, has detrimental effects on both our physical and emotional health.

Loneliness is a frequent issue that arises in the therapy room, with clients coming into sessions feeling utterly alone and disconnected from others. Capitalism has even monetized various means of connecting, making meeting people often inaccessible for income insecure folks. Clients feel overworked by their company’s incessant demands, leaving them feeling burnt out and too exhausted to complete even basic self-care tasks, let alone exploring ways to feel more fulfilled. Clients also feel under-appreciated and under-paid by their workplaces, leaving workers dissatisfied with their jobs and uncommitted to their work. This dissatisfaction takes a toll on mental health, considering we spend a significant portion of our waking time at our jobs. Many workers are underpaid to the point where they cannot save up for big or unexpected life events. These ramifications are discussed in some of Tshika’s song lyrics, such as requiring a GoFundMe for surgery due to the privatization of insurance companies, the cost of living being excruciatingly high, and subsequently never being able to retire. Let the statement “cost of living” sink in a bit more and radicalize you.

How Do We Unlearn the Learned Helplessness of a Capitalist System?

Considering the United States has known capitalism since its inception, it is deeply rooted in our society and will take dedicated and collective effort to dismantle and find liberation. In the meantime, how do we unlearn the learned helplessness from existing in a capitalist system? Learned helplessness occurs when you experience the same consequences of stressful situations repeatedly, for example, working long hours at a job with minimal pay and benefits no matter how hard you work. Actively pushing against capitalist notions is a strong way to unlearn learned helplessness. Find a community of like-minded folks who deeply understand and empathize with your experience. Can you join a mutual aid group, a political organization, or a book club centered around liberation in your community? Organizing is the strongest way to push back against oppressive forces. When we are united as individuals, we’re harder to defeat. Unpack how internalized capitalism is affecting you. Do you feel the need to constantly be busy or productive to be worthwhile? That is a capitalist concept, since the more you produce, the more money you make for capitalist oligarchs. Take time for yourself to rest and reset, so that you can show up better for others. Finding community and centering the needs of the collective, amidst a highly individualistic culture is an empowering way to fight towards liberation.

*This article does not constitute mental health advice or substitute for a mental health diagnosis. If you are in crisis, below are a list of warm lines that don’t call the police:

Dial 1.800.NYC.WELL, 988 or 800.273.8255 to speak with a 24/7 crisis counselor. Call Blackline: 800.604.5841, Trans Lifeline: 877.565.8860, Wildflower Alliance Peer Support Line: 888.407.4515, Trevor Project: 866.488.7386, RAINN: 800.656.4673, NEDA: 800.931.2237, National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: 833.943.5746, NYC Anti-Violence Project: 212.714.1141, National DV Hotline: 800.799.7233, THRIVE Lifeline: 313.662.8209, LGBT National Help Center: 888.843.4564