<p>I am inclined to think that if someone is such a whiner that they feel they need to seek mental help because of some issue they have, they probably need mental help anyway even if it’s not what they think they’re after-- and they’ll get what they need if they seek mental help. So I’m not really sure what the point of this argument is.</p>
<p>FYI, Asperger’s and Autistic Spectrum Disorders are considered mental illnesses. They are in the DSM-IV. </p>
<p>Personally, I don’t feel like I’m mentally ill. I have Asperger’s. I’m not on meds for anything but ADD type issues. I don’t whine. I’m not crazy. I don’t do stupid things like pigeonhole every person with a “mental illness” into the same category as “whiner”. Seems to me the whiners are the ones complaining.</p>
<p>It’s all about more spectrum people being diagnosed. And until the medical community determines that ASDs are neurobiological and not “mental”, the numbers of mentally ill students are going to continue to go Up.</p>
<p>For those who are jumping to judgment and assume to know more than the professionals who are actually treating that patient…</p>
<p>Please… unless you are someone’s doctor, your opinion about someone’s diagnosis or emotional state is not based on fact. (and yes these are individuals, so please don’t make broad generalizations.)</p>
<p>Maybe you heard that some doctors are weak and hand out unneccesary diagnonsis (shame on them), or maybe you had a friend who said they could “beat the system” to get some meds, or maybe you read an article in a newspaper that some kids are spoiled drama queens instead of legitimately ill, fine. </p>
<p>We’ve all heard such things and it’s really bad that such things go on. But hearing or reading something does not make someone an expert. Peers who use this kind of stuff to tease and judge kids who are suffering – saying kids with issues must be a whiners or spoiled (or must have terrible parents – always blame the parents)… well, you are not the expert on this person. You probably know nothing about their confidential chart, family history, medical complications or reasons for diagnosis. </p>
<p>To the outside eye, lots of people with disorders can look as though they’re fine so must be “faking” it. And some are. But for those who are literally working everyday to battle against the terrible disorder they are faced with… they deserve the right to find the treatment. They don’t deserve the condescension that some posters have expressed on this thread.</p>
<p>"i’m 17 and i think people my age whine, complain, and expect things to be handed to them. "</p>
<p>I am 50 and I find the implication that this is new to be ironic and amusing. </p>
<p>Or as great people <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirtysomething_(TV_series[/url])”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirtysomething_(TV_series)</a> once said</p>
<p>“what about MY needs?”</p>
<p>they should call this Armchair Psychologist Confidential</p>
<p>There are some bitter people on here making conclusions about the mental health industry because they think kids are whiny. Believe it or not, most Dr.'s don’t just hand out certain meds. Good Dr.'s know what they are doing. Maybe those whiny kids go to therapy, but that doesn’t mean they’ve been diagnosed with anything. It may be one of those things you don’t get until you have been around it.</p>
<p>I am 17 and I don’t see a lot of people whine in my age group. Everyone has problems that may lead to depression. They might seem less of concern to you, but it might be a concern for them. Seeking help does not mean they are overreacting to their problems!</p>
<p>Going back to the original post (I will not even comment on some of these posts, which amaze me):</p>
<p>One reason more students are at college with psychiatric disorders is that the Americans with Disabilities Act (early 1990’s as I remember) has made it possible for kids with all kinds of disabilitlies to attend college, and college disability offices and other resources have been developed to lend support to students and their rights, as well. These resources were not available 20 years ago.</p>
<p>The availability of new medications is also a big factor.</p>
<p>Diagnosis rates may have gone up because insurance companies generally want a diagnosis pretty quickly from psychiatrists and psychologists; some even require a diagnosis in the first 45 minute evaluation (the better ones often do not take insurance, except for single case agreements, so that their evaluations can be longer). So diagnoses are necessary for coverage. This would certainly increase diagnosis rates.</p>
<p>Most psychiatrists do medication management, not talk therapy, both due to insurance issues and because the view of psychiatric diagnosis has shifted to the biochemical from the emotional realm. The interplay between insurance and diagnostic philosophy is complicated.</p>
<p>At any rate, genuine psychiatric disorders are seen as distinct from emotional problems that might be responsive to talk therapy alone, with a social worker or the like.</p>
<p>Some of the most brilliant intellectuals and artists have suffered from bipolar and other psychiatric disorders, and students with this an other disorders can make huge contributions on campus and afterward. The link between bipolar disorder and creativity has been studied quite a bit.</p>
<p>There are some good books to read on this by Kay Jamison and Elyn Saks, if anyone is interested.</p>
<p>
cabhax, I’m sure that when you were a teenager, whether you explicitly or implicitly thought it, had the same experience of, “no one understands me”.</p>
<p>The “no one understands me” attitude isn’t born out of some kid trying to be an attention whore; a drama queen; a boy who cried wolf; it’s a pretty regular experience for kids, for college students, for people coming of age, especially about things you perceive as stigmatized. “Wow, I’m gay; no one understands me because everyone here is probably straight.” “Wow, I feel depressed; no one understands because everyone here is probably really happy, they all look like it.” The next question for that person is, who can I talk to? But without a visible role model or a friend in a similar situation, it may be difficult for that person to open up to anyone. It’s not because they feel entitled about whatever is troubling them, or because they want to form some kind of exclusive club, or because they want self-pity.</p>
<p>Granted, there are people like that. And they suck. But there are people who are not like that who either will A.) grow out of it or B.) need treatment, because it’s something more serious than typical coming-of-age baggage: someone to talk things over with, medication if the doctor deems that it’s necessary, a support group of likeminded students, a counselor. The drama queens may eventually grow out of it as well, or they may not take responsibility for their behavior, who knows. Regardless, should we penalize and stigmatize those people just because there are a few immature young people out there? </p>
<p>Also, I believe that our mental health is just as important as our physical health, and I feel like that is discounted in our culture. When it comes to mental health, we’re expected to “play through”, which can lead to a lot of negative consequences: worsening of the condition, decline in academics, a feeling like you’re wasting your tuition money, a loss of self-worth, and so forth. This attitude actually holds true for physical health as well: athletes of every skill level are expected to “take the pain” and keep going, or else they are “whiners”, or some how less valuable than the other players, or less of athletes, or even morally degenerate in some way. And guess what? There have been a lot of studies making prominent headlines about how playing through a game with a concussion can either lead to death within the game, or later suffering/early death from a Lou Gehrig’s-like disease of neurodegeneration. (See articles from NYTimes, CNN, Scientific American [here](<a href=“football players concussion - Google Search”>football players concussion - Google Search)</a>). Now you’ve got a lot of disabled football players, who because they could “tough it out” are walking in wheel chairs and thinking a lot more slowly than their younger selves. A lot of them are developing dementia and depression, usually at unusually young ages.</p>
<p>So should we do the same thing with our mental health, our brains? The first twenty years of your life are very formative (brain is still growing, values are becoming set in stone, etc etc). We ought to be supporting youth by helping them to make the mature decision about their mental health, not stigmatizing them and calling them “little s***s”, as an earlier user so derisively posted in this thread. Such an attitude reveals nothing but hate and condescension. Shame on you, sir: by your words, you’d think you’d never lived in the other person’s shoes.</p>
<p>^Extremely well-stated.</p>
<p>Some of you so stupid, babbling about “emo kids” - what does that have to do with mental illness? Do you think people can magically give themselves Schizophrenia or Epilepsy or something? Stop trying to relate “mentally ill” to 14 year old boys in black skinny jeans running around Hot Topic. It must be nice to be 17 yrs old and taken care of by Mommy and Daddy all your life and know everything. Gotta love CC. </p>
<p>Cancer rates have also gone up in the past 50 years, but if you got diagnosed with that I wouldn’t say “Another whiner out to get meds from an oncologist!”, I would assume you have some problem that needs to be fixed like any other patient, even if you gave yourself skin cancer by fake tanning for the past 20 years like a moron. </p>
<p>Counseling Centers are for people with all kinds of problems. I’m 19 and trying to declare myself legally Independent before 24 to estrange myself from an abusive stepmom - part of this process involves talking to a Social Worker, so I ended up at the counseling center. People go there for all kinds of reasons.</p>
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<p>First of all, epilepsy isn’t a “mental illness” any more than meningitis or a brain tumor is a mental illness. And the vast majority of diagnoses are for things like depression, which has vague symptoms that almost literally everyone experiences at some point in their life (particularly in college) to varying degrees. </p>
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<p>But, according to the article, if they go to the counseling center at college, there is a near-100% certainty that they’ll be diagnosed with a mental illness. And again, maybe students experiencing depression or anxiety benefit from having somebody tell them that their feelings are valid and that they’re not a crybaby faker who needs a smack in the face.</p>
<p>First I want to say compmom is correct on the reason why psychiatrists hand out medications. It is due to insurance reasons.</p>
<p>I see some really good points made here. Now the the argument about whiny, complaining teenagers getting diagnosed may be true. Many mental illnesses are cultural based. In the U.S., we are more focused on the individual. America’s mentality is a person should get out on their own and make something of themselves. It seems like a simplistic idea but for some given their environment can create huge amounts of pressure. </p>
<p>The insensitivity in some of these posts stems from that. Until any of these people or someone close to them have to go to a counseling center they will continue to be insensitive. </p>
<p>And to the other mom in thread…I cannot let this go. Oppositional Defiant Disorder is not some fake disorder from bad parenting. That’s what I’m sensing from your implications. ODD is diagnosed in children which may develop into Antisocial Personality Disorder. I’d think you’d want to know about those people. They could be your Jeffrey Dahmer’s in the world or politicians/lawyers. Although there is very little research on nonviolent adults w/ APD.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is this huge insurance company conspiracy. Medications are incredible compared to 20 years ago, and if a patient comes in with a sprained ankle, a doctor is going to prescribe something. If a person comes in with mental health problems, doctors prescribe something because they want to help that person. Prozac changed the mental health industry. “Listening to Prozac” is an excellent read about how medications have improved people’s lives, even if they aren’t very depressed. What’s wrong with prescribing a drug if it improves a person’s life? Believe it or not it’s not some big money scam by insurance companies. I would like to think doctor’s become doctor’s to help people, and they take an oath to keep the patients best interest in mind. I don’t think many doctor’s would prescribe something if they didn’t think it would help a person. </p>
<p>It is ignorant to think the reason why there is an increase in diagnoses is because kids are whiny. The stigma attached to going to a shrink in my mind means people who are just whiny won’t actually go to the doctor’s just to go. There are plenty of people with actual problems who are too scared to go see someone because of how judgemental people are: just look at how people on here dismiss mental illness as people just being whiny. Yes, there are abuses, but that does not mean people are making things up. People are more open to getting help now that the field has advanced, than 10/15/20 years ago. Also, there are some mental illnesses that are not permanent, such as depression. Many people have episodes of depression, and the idea of starting a new chapter in life can set one off, and people should feel comfortable getting help and shouldn’t be criticized for being whiny. I don’t think many people would take RX drugs for mental illness to get attention. Many people with serious conditions don’t even like taking meds. </p>
<p>I am going to guess that a lot of people who posted such comments haven’t been around true mental illness much in their lives. When you have friends who attempted suicide or who have been molested you get an idea that mental illnesses are serious health problems and not made up.</p>
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<p>You’re promoting a serious misconception here, and it needs to be addressed. Your interpretation of the word “Depression” stems from the fact that the word has become a colloquialism to be used in any situation in which an individual’s mood is low. That is not how the term is used in clinical psychology. In the same way that the word “theory” is used in a quite different manner among scientists, the use of the word depression amongst psychologists is not the same as the use of the general population. You might confess to a friend that you’ve been feeling depressed because you did poorly on an important exam, or because you had an argument with your mother; in the usage common to the English vernacular, this would be acceptable. It would not, however, be equivalent to the depression used by Clinical psychologists.</p>
<p>Major Depression is a serious physical illness. We have not, at present, identified a clear medical cause; this does not mean, however, that it isn’t a legitimate illness. Until recently, ulcers could not be explained by medical science. This did not mean that they did not have a physical cause, it just meant that we couldn’t identify it.</p>
<p>I will agree that it is often overdiagnosed. There are plenty of individuals that have suffered the usual slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (if I may borrow a phrase,) and have confused their reasonable reaction to poor circumstance for true depression. My command of the English language is not strong, but the best way that I could hope to distinguish it is as follows.</p>
<p>In depression, life loses all meaning. There is no joy to be had in activities that you once found pleasurable; even participation in previously enjoyable endeavors becomes insufferable. The fundamental actions of daily life may be pushed to the wayside; there is no motivation to eat, to bathe, to groom. The worst aspect of it is the hopelessness. In our darkest hours, hope provides the fuel to push forward, to keep going. We may suffer unfathomable loss, but the hope and understanding that things may be improved, that your life may be repaired provides enormous motivation. In depression, this feeling is gone. There may be no future happiness, no reconciliation. You are miserable, worthless, and alone, and you always will be. There is no desire to go on because there is nothing for which TO go on. As the shroud of hopelessness takes hold, suicide invades your every thought. While brushing your teeth you consider the positive outcomes of downing the bathroom cleaner. While drinking a glass of water, you contemplate smashing the container and eating the pieces. </p>
<p>To me, the the fact that students are more willing to visit a counselor is wonderful. It demonstrates that the stigma surrounding mental illness is lifting, and that people who are truly sick and suffering may seek help without being ridiculed. To undermine depression, even through misunderstanding, helps to reinforce that stigma, and those posting here claiming that mentally ill patients need 20 mg of grow the **** up should be ashamed of themselves. Bother all that could be said about other psychological problems, a book could be filled with the stigma of seeing a therapist about psychosis.</p>
<p>“the article reports that an astonishing 96% of the ones who did last year were diagnosed with a mental illness.”</p>
<p>This is likely a function of changes in insurance and reimbursement.</p>
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<p>It hasn’t “become” a colloquialism; it was a colloquialism long before it was recognized as a mental illness. And if your narrative is any indication (though I strongly suspect you didn’t pull it out of the DSM), there’s not really much of a disconnect between what people think depression is and what it actually is (in contrast to, say, the term “psychopath”). Which is why a whopping 41% of students who show up at college counselling are diagnosed with at least moderate depression.</p>
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<p>Except the article doesn’t mention that more students are visiting counselors, just that a slightly higher percentage of the ones that do are diagnosed with a mental illness.</p>
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<p>That is a big assumption to make. Can you not comprehend the possibility that some of us may think this way while knowing very well the effects a serious mental illness can have on someone’s life? Several people very close to me have been through very serious treatment for mental problems and one even went to a psychiatric hospital. We can identify serious cases as we see them, and acknowledge that many do exist. We also then can identify non-serious cases of people believing they are depressed when they clearly are not depressed and really just need a behavior adjustment and realize that their proclamations of being “depressed” really aren’t valid excuses for anything and should get on with their lives. These people envy the attention that depressed people receive, so they convince themselves that they too, are depressed. That is what this whole emo movement is about. A bunch of whiny punks who envy the attention and success of others, so they decided to join a social movement where everyone participating feels bad for every other person. It’s a mess. It’s embarrassing.</p>
<p>I see so many people use “mental illness” as excuses to why they are failing in life and in school. As someone who actually suffers clinical depression, that is bull ****. I have managed to get straight A’s , work a job, write for a newspaper column, etc WITHOUT medication.</p>
<p>People need to stop making excuses.</p>
<p>^
Good for you, but there is a variance in severity. Some people don’t need meds, some find them helpful. Based on the anger of that post, maybe meds wouldn’t be a bad alternative. People are different, illnesses differ, severity differs, environment differs, treatments differ. Depression is considered curable, and after 9-12 months of anti depressants, many doctors will take patients off of SSRI’s. Yes, some people don’t try to overcome, but there are so many serious and debilitating illnesses that make it difficult for people to function at times, such as schizophrenia of bipolar disorder. I’ve seen people who are trying everything they can- meds, therapy etc;, and still struggle. It’s great that you were able to beat depression, but that doesn’t mean everyone can just get over it. </p>
<p>For example, my two buddies are twins and both have really bad ADD. When they were little they would bang their heads against walls, etc; it was bad. They decided not to take meds, and even though they are functional now, they dropped out of school after a year because they either were zombies by taking meds or couldn’t focus. They don’t blame their lives on ADD, and they both work FT and everything, but it’s obvious their ADD has held them back.</p>
<p>I’ve had multiple friends attempt suicide, and yes, things got better, but the meds and therapy helped them get over it. None of my friends with mental illnesses blame their illnesses for their life situations, but a lot of times their friends blame the illness for situation. Nothing’s wrong with people getting help and trying to fix things, not all people whine and blame everything on being x/y/z disorder/condition. People use it as an excuse because mental disorders effect people’s lives, which is why they’re diagnosed in the first place. If medication didn’t help people get better, they wouldn’t exist. When certain disorders aren’t treated, people can wind up institutionalized or make some major mistakes. Depression can be cured with anti depressants, so even if you are doing well, after 9-12 months you may not be clinically depressed in the future. I can see why you wouldn’t want to take anti depressants, but stigma’s exist because people on here don’t have any empathy for certain things. Some people can’t control how they feel and how they react to not having control, and people just tell them to get over it. If it were that easy to get over it, people would. Most people don’t want to be labeled as x, and most would prefer not to have x condition. A little understanding would go a long way.</p>
<p>Sure, some people get stuck and blame everything on being depressed or ADD, but I don’t think that is the majority based on my experiences. I’m sorry that you are around people who do not want to get better, that is sad, but I would think at some point they would want things to improve.</p>
<p>I think there is an increase in diagnosis because dr’s want to help people, and diagnosing something makes it easier to get that person treatment. I would think diagnosis in college counseling centers also has something to do with liability issues, as in if some kid walked in with anger issues and they didn’t diagnose him, and he went and hurt someone else, the school could be in trouble. I really don’t think there is this huge insurance company conspiracy, because I would think more diagnosis would increase the cost on insurance companies. As in, if they have to pay for meds and dr’s appointments, they lose money. </p>
<p>Also, I think the spike may have to do with the stress of college, as stress causes a lot of symptoms of mental illness, and moving may cause depression if the student can’t make friends or feels alone. I don’t think people are really that enthusiastic about going to a counseling center, either. Obviously if you read some of these posts you can see the stigma still attached to mental illnesses and getting help for them. People need to realize other people have problems, and people deal with these problems in different ways, and there isn’t anything wrong with conseling or medications for things like depression/mood disorders/etc;. People can’t always control what they feel, and trying to fix that shouldn’t be frowned upon. </p>
<p>I am surprised at the reaction to this considering so many CCers are openly progressive/liberal.</p>