For you downers who were upset about Cleveland falling from number one to number four in the “poorest city rankings,” here’s a stat that might cheer you: In a first-time ranking of the most and least depressed states, Ohioans have been named the seventh most depressed. (If you believe Men’s Health, it’s probably because we don’t drink enough.)
Mental Health America, which issued the report, studied state statistics on depression and suicide rates from 2002 to 2006, and concluded that living in a state with approximately one month of sunny weather makes you want to desperately jump off of a tall building. According to the report, many, many Ohioans have experienced “serious psychological distress,” and at “least one major depressive episode in the past year.”
We’ll drink to that! — Rebecca Meiser
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 4, 2007.
Hey, given Ted Strickland, Sherrod Brown and George Voinovich as leaders, it’s a wonder we aren’t #1!