In Europe, we live in societies that witnessed two world wars, a Holocaust, and the less lucky corners of it Stalinism and also civil wars. That is enough trauma for anyone to take. And these are not edge cases.
We are children and grandchildren of people who went through all that and did not have any meaningful way to process it.
Our society is not sicker than it used to be. It is likely the opposite. And that is partly because we understand mental health better today so we can process our trauma. Including that which was handed over to us in the form of alcoholism, abuse, or neglect by our less fortunate ancestors.
