The Rich have it easy

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It's better than being poor and depressed.

Not really. Having a lot of things and being depressed feels the same as not having a lot of things and being depressed. Again, money doesn't make you happy.

I'm not saying money makes you happy. I said Rich people have it easier. They don't have money worries, they can buy all the stuff they want. They can afford to get their bodies perfect. They can travel.

I'm not talking about inner happiness. I'm talking about life/society worries.

Well yes, rich people don't have to worry about financial issues (as much - they do still have to worry about investments and so on, but obviously those worries are of a completely different nature to those of people lower down the scale, so I accept your point there). But that's it. There's still a lot more things besides that which can affect all humans, such as emotions and relationships and so on, and those can make you depressed regardless of your socioeconomic status. That's all I'm saying.

I'm fully aware that physical and mental health doesn't just affect the poor. What I'm trying to say Is I'd much rather have these problems rich than poor.

Well your opinion is your opinion, so fair enough. I still say it makes very very little difference in terms of emotional issues though.

Honestly, I think when you're depressed, you are depressed, and you can hardly think about all the good stuff you may have or all the stuff you don't have to worry about.

I dunno. I feel like being homeless, living under a bridge, getting your food out of the garbage, wearing the same clothes for a couple years without being able to wash them or yourself, getting beaten by random groups of thrill seeking privileged teenagers, and having pneumonia for 3 months in the winter adds a whole new level of depression to the depression that maybe, just maybe, the rich are spared from.

They are spared from that, but it doesn't mean anything for them if they are depressed. When you feel like crap, you can hardly make yourself feel better by saying: "at least I'm not homeless".

On the other hand, not all poor people are depressed, even though poverty and other bad life circumstances affect people deeply (both on physical, financial and emotional level).

I mean, take comments made by so many people here. Do you think it helps them, when they're down, to think: "well, at least I live in the US". Or "at least I'm male"?

In some cases you can say: yes, I've got pus coming from my genital area but at least I haven't got AIDS. I might not have a girlfriend but at least I don't have a vulture for a girlfriend. And so on.

You can ALWAYS say that in situations like this one, but that's not how it often goes, especially not with people who are depressed.

That actually does help me when I'm depressed. If I'm too depressed to work and end up homeless, at least I can always find free food somewhere in the USA. Yes, I've been there. There is food in the garbage here. Not so in Mexico.

The depression doesn't hit as hard when I have a roof over my head and heat in the winter and food in the pantry. It just doesn't.

Exactly. I'd also like to point out that very few people are homeless in the UK (where I live, and for the record, "at least I don't live in the US" often makes me feel better ) because the benefits system looks after the poor really rather well. But that's just getting off-topic.

Fact is, assuming you have enough to have a roof over your head and food to eat, more money will not actually make you any happier. There have even been studies that show once you have enough to live comfortably, more money makes no difference to your happiness. And it's true. Being depressed in a mansion and being depressed in a small flat feel exactly the same because material wealth does not make you a better person, a happier person, or a more content person. It just makes you the same person with more stuff.

"I live in the US" was just an example. To be honest, I'd be a bit scared to live there because of the health insurance issues, but that's another story.

At least I live in Lebanon.

Ha!

Money can't buy me love... more like money will get me a one night stand.
Then again, those rich guys will say "At least I am not a virgin."