The Great Divide: Social Anxiety

What is status anxiety? Just from the name of it, you can probably deduce it has something to do with the anxiety one feels about their status. More specifically, status anxiety makes us worried about how we are valued by others. Before you read the article, think- do you have status anxiety? How severe do you think it is? Why do you think you may have it? In high school, it would not be surprising for most of us to have at least even a little bit of status anxiety. But, hey, I'm babbling.. why don't you go ahead and click here to read the article, "How Inequality Hollows Out the Soul" by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. 

We have this tendency to equate outward wealth with inner worth. As you can well imagine, this isn't very good for our psyche and can result in feelings ranging from dominance to subordination. We also treat each other differently because of these feelings. Have you ever felt superior or inferior to somebody because of your differences in wealth? What is more interesting- aka, something that you may not have come to on your own- is that major and minor mental illnesses were three times as common in societies with bigger income differences between rich and poor. Remember, though, correlation does not necessarily imply causation. What do you think about the income gap between the rich and poor- enough to cause noticeable difference in depression and anxiety rates? One study combined data from over 100 surveys in 26 counties and found that schizophrenia was about 3 times as common in more unequal societies as it was in more equal ones. Are these studies compelling, or do they seem forced by someone trying to prove a point? 

According to a study published by Sheri L. Johnson (a psychologist at UC, Berkeley) many mental disorders can originate in a "dominance behavioral system." This part of us is almost universal in mammals, and enables us to recognize and respond to social ranking systems based on hierarchy and power. Apparently there are particular areas of the brain and neural mechanisms dedicated to processing social rank. Pretty cool, huh? I mean, I knew the brain was specialized, but who woulda thunk- did you? Johnson continues that psychiatric conditions like mania and narcissism "are related to our striving for status and dominance, while disorders such as anxiety and depression may involve responses to the experience of subordination." Does this sound familiar to you? Logical, at least? 

Good to know: depression exists on all levels of the social ladder (though it is more common lower down) Paul Piff says that high status is associated with more unethical and narcissistic behavior. I feel like that's what all TV shows about people in power are about. What's your favorite TV show with a rich, narcissistic and/or unethical character? A weird fact that he found is that wealthier people are more likely to take a candy designated for children. First of all- isn't that an odd thing to account for? And secondly- why would they do that? They have enough money! And yet...

This article seems to be pushing the agenda that one of the adverse side effects of the social inequality in this country- and in all countries with such a great divide, for that matter- is the mental disorders that come as a result. Do you think status anxiety and social inequality play key roles in mental disorders? After reading all of this, what do you think of your social anxiety (or lack thereof)?