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The feeling of being stuck in the middle of nowhere. The feeling of the absence of all guidance and purpose. The idea of not being able to take action or even able to come up with a strategy. Having failed, being useless, worthless. These are widespread thoughts and symptoms of depression. In one way, these are rooted in personal crises. But every once in a while, you hear that depression seems to have become “epidemic”. Talking about such an epidemic, there are several aspects, besides personal crises, that increase the likelihood of the phenomenon of the rise of depression cases ( Major Depression ). What is described, even when talking about an “epidemic”, as an individual mental health issue, seems to have (at least in many cases, mental illness grade depression excluded) it's rooted not solely within ourselves, but in the environment, we share. To line out, what these epidemic cases mean, and how to understand and collectively overcome them, it takes more than ju

Photo: Briana Morrison As a single mother of two and a full-time student, I know the struggle of trying to provide a family. Especially as a single woman, trying to make a living. Sleepless nights, mental breakdowns and occasional burnouts are nothing uncommon to me. I am one of the lucky ones to have a family that is having my back and an ex-boyfriend (father of my eldest child), more importantly, FRIEND, who has been nothing but supportive. I know several examples, other mothers, some of them friends of mine, which are not as lucky as I am. I see them stuck in, some more than others, abusive and dysfunctional relationships. From private conversations, I got to know that one of the main reasons for not breaking up is a) not tearing the family apart (because of the child) and b) they wouldn’t financially make it on their own. I drew the conclusion, that women are still on the lower end of the economy and, though the term feminism has popped up everywhere recently, not

Don’t you dare to stop being productive! Do something, Anything. Just not nothing. You have to keep track. The only known silence is a silence fraught with menace. Work. Plan. Anything. Is it right? Am I wasting my resources? Am I even able? How do I know? Who can tell? Not the silence. Start a project. Schedule a meeting. Work. Work. Silence. Menace. Energy. caffeine. Racing heartbeat overhauls the silence. Work. What is the most efficient way? Am I efficient? How do I know? Who can tell? Silence interrupts the heartbeat. Don’t stop. keep track. Work. My thoughts on pretty much every day. Sometimes I can take a step back and what I do is wonder whether this is just me or if there are other people out there, stuck in this never ending race. The kind of race with no finish line. No meter marks. And without any sense except to keep running. Running. Working. Producing. Contributing. Running. The only temp

Propaganda 2.0? — Revolution 2.0! By now it has become clear, that we have reached a stage of our post capitalist and post-industrial society, which leaves us almost unable to agree upon how we want to live and how to live in a way that leaves the next generations a stable and nourishing environment. We further reached a point in time, at which projections about the outcome of certain events seem impossible to make. Uncertainty but also the frustration about enduring economic imbalances and insufficient far-reaching improvements of the reality of life, has risen and people started (once again), “feel betrayed” by “establishment”. Criticism is legitimate in various ways, but the debate is being undermined by various groups following their own, self-enrichment motivated agenda. One may tell legitimate criticism and “hate groups” apart from “back to old values” rhetoric. The same as “back to the roots” rhetoric used by movements in the 30s and 60s. Over 70 years ago, Karl Polanyi est