When the economic theories of the Classical Economist were not sufficient to put an end to the Great Depression of the 1930s, government leaders began to look for other ideas to help end the problem and came across Keynesian economics.
What can be done to avoid a depression in the first place?
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For starters, shop anywhere but Walmart.
Buy local when you can.
Utilize free-cycle so you have more money in your pocket by re-using others items and acquiring space by ridding yourself of what you don't need. That saved money can help pay bills, buy something (even stock at low prices), or save the money.
Stop being a marketer's dream. Stop buying unnecessary stuff.
Utilize libraries.
Invest in your community.
I don't really know how to answer the question.
First of all we have to find out what is the source of depression after that than we might be able to avoid or even overcome the depression.
Nervous exhaustion caused by stress can likewise produce depression. Among such stressful situations the following are listed by specialists: ‘a bad marriage, unrelieved slum living, an unkind boss, chronic warfare,’ and trying to follow a daily routine “that is clearly beyond one’s mental, emotional, and physical resources.” An environment void of love, wherein one feels lonely, dejected and hopeless, can also bring depression. Many persons find themselves in such situations.
A specific stressful event such as a death or a divorce can cause major depression. Yet one recent study found that, out of 185 clinically depressed individuals, only one fourth had a discernible stressful event preceding their depression. Psychiatrist Dr. Fieve feels that the stressful life event “is simply the tip of the iceberg.”
Comparing a depressed person to a car that breaks down while climbing a steep hill, Dr. Kline says this of his belief: “Now, in one sense it was the fact that you went up the hill. On the other hand, if the engine was in good condition, you would not have had the trouble. So the environmental stress may precipitate the breakdown, but there has to be the biological deficiency, or engine weakness, to begin with.”
However, is it possible that the mind itself can create this chemical imbalance without there having been some prior physical defect?
The Role of the Mind
There is sound evidence that many persons are relieved even of major depression by having their thinking adjusted by trained counsellors. This would indicate that in some types of major depression the thinking of the person or what he puts into his mind, not some physical defect, plays the vital role.
Recent research has shown that the way we think can affect our brain chemistry. For instance, in a 1979 study some patients who had just had their wisdom teeth extracted were given injections of a salt solution, a placebo, and were told that this would ease the pain. Despite the fact that this injection had no pain-killing ability, reportedly one third “soon found that their pain was dramatically subsiding.” It was felt that naturally occurring brain “pain-killer” chemicals (endorphins) were put to work by the person’s thoughts. This was verified when another drug was given that blocks the effects of the brain’s natural “pain killers.” The pain returned.
The power of the mind to respond to love has been seen in numerous cases. Conversely, anger, hatred, jealousy and other negative emotions also have been found to produce biochemical changes in the body.
The Bible recognizes the important role of our inner feelings and attitudes. It states: “The spirit [the inner feelings and thoughts] of a man can put up with his malady [disease]; but as for a stricken spirit, who can bear it?” (Prov. 18:14) If the “spirit of a man” is “stricken” by faulty thinking; if it is crushed by jealousy, resentment or a bad conscience, then the bad situation becomes unbearable. Major depression may follow.
Also, if a person feeds his mind on depressing thoughts—perhaps through television, motion pictures or pornographic literature—this will color his moods and breed depression. Especially if a person regularly spends much time in front of a TV set, this can adversely affect his outlook. But for other persons something else might be at the root of the problem.
Other Possible Causes
“The brain is much more sensitive than other organs to changes in [blood] plasma concentrations of certain nutrients,” stated two Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers. In Nutrition and the Brain (Vol. 3, 1979), these doctors, Wortman and Wortman, published material that shows the effect of what we eat on our mood and how certain nutritional deficiencies can alter the chemical balance in the brain and produce depression.
Even when regularly eating balanced meals—keeping “junk food” to a minimum—one may still have nutritional deficiencies leading to depression. Some medications, oral contraceptives, such strains on the body as pregnancy, pollution and exceptional stress—all can create nutritional deficiencies.
Allergy to certain foods or to chemical fumes and the hormonal changes in women have brought on depression. Also, one study of 1,100 patients treated for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) found that 77 percent of these complained of depression.
So there are many causes of depression besides just having a wrong attitude. A seriously depressed person may suffer from any one of a combination of factors. An individual’s heredity and childhood experiences also play a role. All these influences can affect how one responds to a stressful event or environment.
Apple, learn to read. She was referring to an economic depression, not a mental one. Yeesh. Trying to come off as so smart but end up discussing the wrong thing.
I really do not think there is much we can do to avoid a depression to be quite frank. We can as a society be less greedy and try to cut back but that does not always work. With over 300 million Americans alone it takes one hell of a lot to convince that many people to conserve and consume less, to buy less unnecessary items. We are all guilty of buying things we do not need.
Will we ever hit a depression similar to that of the 1930s? Highly unlikely. Too many policies and other safeguards in place to prevent it. We are in a mild recession but I think this is all political. I feel it will change once a new president is elected. That's how this game works.
There's no such thing as a depression in economics just recessions. They just called it the great depression because things got so bad. Recessions are typically good for an economy as part of a business cycle. It's wishful thinking to expect only economic booms. Plus it tends to cool things off and purge out the excesses during inflationary spending periods. The concern this time around is that we've gotten addicted to financial bubbles that have replaced genuine recessions. Politicians don't get relelected when the economy is bad so they encourage bad behavior by banks and wall street. There is no way to avoid recessions short of becoming a socialist state. It's just something that happens and we try and ease the pain of just like the try and slow too rapidly expanding economies from inflation.