The detrimental effects of increasing mental health issues are felt throughout the United States. Suicide rates are getting higher, diagnoses are more prevalent, and the issues are only increasing in severity as the systems that are supposed to help cannot keep up with the demand. Whether you’re an old conservative policy maker watching the news or a teenage girl on TikTok, you have one thing in common, you want this discussion off your feed. There is an easy solution. The 1950s! Starting in 2025 we will fully revert to the 1950s, in every aspect; well of course we wouldn’t bring back Jim Crow laws and oppression of women. Discrimination was never a good thing, so we are just going to keep our progress but 1950s ideals.

For starters, social media will be banned. There is no need to see what Great Aunt Judy has to say about racism on Facebook and we can survive without cats wearing diapers on TikTok. Social media can spread mental illness like wildfire. Instagram is full of body tuned models, basically promoting anorexia. Snapchat is begging you to compare yourself to others with filters, furthermore Snapchat scores only add to anxiety. Do you know when these problems were non-existent? The 1950s! Social interactions consisted of talking to the people you sit next to in class or waving at your neighbors as you passed by. The only form of bullying in schools were insults to your face or a physical punch. Simpler issues lead to simpler solutions. Human nature will always allow for comparisons, however it is by far easier to avoid depressing realizations without multiple platforms screaming them at you.

The 1950s American dream can finally make a comeback! The United States has altered this dream without altering our ideals. In the 1950s, the American dream was materialistic. With dreams of cars and televisions with jobs so secure you have a set schedule ideal for raising a family. That is not much different from today. Well, women are much more respected in today’s society than they were in the 50s. Someone should tell the Supreme Court. Of course, when we implement the 50s way of life, the TVs can be upgraded, and the man does not necessarily need to be the breadwinner. Today’s version of the American dream lies within the idea of finding one’s passion and making money. That is an anxiety inducing thought. Why did we alter society so much that we are supposed to have passions before we are even educated? The materialistic view of happiness in objects is much more attainable. Passion is a bonus, not a requirement. After all, with two kids and perfect marriage who really cares how you spend your 9-5.

With anxiety and depression mitigated by changes, leaves the severe stuff. In today’s world we treat with therapy and anti-psychotics. But who really has time for hours of therapy every week? The 1950s still had widespread use of anti-psychotics. With much higher doses of course, if you’re contemplating death what is a little liver disease for some extra happiness. The 1950s is also when society decided letting people wait in mental institutions until they died was not good enough. They performed lobotomies or shock therapy, leaving people cured or gorked. It is a guaranteed ways for the amount of people in the United States experiencing psychiatric conditions to decrease, seems like this method was always effective.

Enough about what will decrease, let’s talk about what will increase. Freedom that will become widespread. Without tracking phones and the addicting capabilities of videogames we can go back to letting boys be boys. It is commonly known that movement releases endorphins reducing the effects of many psychiatric conditions. It is hard to be a depressed couch potato when you’re scamming convenience stores, going to movies and fixing cars. Wouldn’t you rather the biggest concern facing teenagers being cigarettes and alcohol instead of suicide and mass shootings? This may seem like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole, but at least that will prevent parents from literally doing that.

Friendship would be a million times healthier without the burden of confessions of mental illness. It would be virtually impossible to call your best friend and explain the severity of your depression and suicidal thoughts with your phone being a landline in the kitchen. Without that burden placed upon your friends you can finally enjoy the memories without feeling like everyone is staring at you like you are made of glass. This boundary set by circumstance would benefit everyone.

The use of diaries was prevalent around the 1950s and would undoubtedly return. Journaling is a healthy outlet for all forms of stress. Can you imagine a world where “I want to kill myself” was a lighthearted thought written only in a diary instead of a serious text received by thousands daily?

Negative pop culture displays would end almost entirely. After a long day at work the breadwinner of the family (it’s 2023 people, do not assume that is a father), would gain control of the television. No more watching as Meredith Grey tries to drown herself after McDreamy stopped cheating on his wife or watching drugs be normalized on Euphoria. Today’s society is so concerned about the effects of literally everything on children, why do we let them watch hot people try to die in every show? Amelia Shepherd being queer may be the least influential part of Grey’s Anatomy. Not to worry with parental control over the singular TV in a 1950s lifestyle would solve all of this controversy!

While much has evolved since the 1950s the nature of people hasn’t, we are just as judgmental and materialistic. Why not use it to our own advantage? If we want to continue to evolve as a society while keeping each other safe and sane we need to go back to when society was most advance but missing this issue. Unfortunately, that was seven decades ago. So, get ready to go back to 1950 because no parent deserves to get the news their child is not important enough to be fit into a broken system of mental health support.