um, no. the majority of people know why they are depressed or anxious.
say youre depressed because youre ugly or your husband died on 9/11. yes there is that 'impending doom' that you will be alone and ..I don't know...never find true love again. but very often that DOES happen. so....
personally, (laymens speculation here) I imagine its more a DISTRACTION from what is causing your depression or anxiety. You can remove the depression/anxiety from your personal self because 'its happening to everyone'. ie the NWO is going to ruin everyone. everyone will be miserable. everyone will die. etc.
the bottom line is trying to psychoanalyze CTs (or anyones) as a group is silly. for example I really believe for most young people its just a stage.. the whole "fighting the Man who is evil" thing.
Hi. I studied these things in university, so it's not the layman's definition of 'depression/anxiety' I was talking about, but rather the clinical thing; not just being sad, disillusioned, unhappy, grumpy, moody, or any of that normal stuff. It's unfortunate that the clinical term 'Depressed' is the same name we all use everyday, 'depressed'.
Saying people KNOW why they are depressed is confusing the two things. People often know the reasons they're feeling sad, anxious, or upset, for sure. But if someone is Depressed with a capital 'D', I'm talking about something else, and I'm bringing up a particular symptom that goes along with it.
Being 'depressed' because of things like 'youre ugly' isn't the same as the more medical conditions of a Depressive Disorder. It's the difference between saying 'sad' and 'sick'. Same things with Anxiety disorders. They're often without a 'cause' like 'youre ugly', but rather come on out of the blue. Or, if there is a cause, it's likely a stressor that sets the wheels in motion of the underlying condition. Maybe you don't buy into that, which is fine, but that's what I'm talking about.
The 'feeling of impending doom' symptom isn't as specific as you're thinking. It's not 'oh, I'm going to be alone' or 'never find true love'.. those are thoughts, cognitions. This 'impending doom' feeling is a part of the symptoms you can get when depressed/anxious, and it's very general. It's similar to saying a symptom of Schizophrenia is paranoia. You wouldn't say, "Oh, most people know why they're Schizophrenic, it's because they're ugly and people are talking behind their back, and that's why they feel all paranoid."
'Impending doom" is part of your body going into a chronic fight/flight state, where it seems you're always ready for something terrible to happen.. although you can't really say what the heck it could be. It's just a deep, unsettling sense that won't go away. The 'doom' isn't something so specific as the reasons you listed, which sounds more like the normal reaction and thoughts people would have.
And yup, analyzing CTers as a group is likely futile, which is why I was going over a situations with people I know, personally, and noting that for them, the onset of CT belief seemed to coincide with personal tragedy, taking a hit to their faith in something they trusted deeply in, and perhaps some of the symptoms of conditions like depression and anxiety. And you're right, teens might be particularly susceptible to CTs as a 'phase'. It's a very sensitive time of life, and many psychologists joke that the teenage years is almost like going in and out of a psychopathic state.
I knew another man who was actually schizophrenic, btw, and his paranoia involved all sorts of things. Crazy creatures he saw chasing him up his stairs, that car parked across the road with tinted windows, the NWO, etc. Except when he was on his meds, and then suddenly the paranoia went away, and he didn't see threats everywhere.