My internet pal Ben Chatwin, a young, london based musician with an office day job, once told me that he knew very few people his age in London who weren't suffering from one form of depression or another.
"It starts in the schools here." he typed. "There is absolutely no encouragement to develop your personal interests into careers, none of that "follow your dream" crap that you get from day one in the states. It's drilled into you daily that any student who steps out of his or her pre-ordained path towards a mindless office job will regret it in the worst possible way."
I saw this this morning and it reminded me of what Ben said.