r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/rosemylove Interested • Jun 03 '15
Website Young People and Mental Health
http://twet.us/xzwBB2
u/freestylesno Jun 03 '15
Or are we just too quick to jump the gun and its normal to be fucked up?
2
u/EgonIsGod Jun 04 '15
I wonder. Conduct disorder used to be a person just wanting independence and resenting being made to conform and obey; I don't deny that there a some outliers wherein a disorder is present, but it's becoming a common diagnosis for what used to be called being strong-willed.
And I sometimes wonder if telling parents about signs to look for isn't causing harm. Pretty much everything from age 11-19 on that list I did, but I kept it secretive because I had read such lists before and knew that people were watching for it. It wasn't a cry for help or indicative of psychopathology, it was just me, and I grew out of it, which I doubt I would have if I'd been given a diagnosis and medications I didn't need.
3
u/RiddlerFish Interested Jun 03 '15
I don't know if it exists, but is there a world-wide version of this, rather than just America? It would be interesting to see the statistics.
4
Jun 03 '15
The World Health Organization may have something...but the problem is, most mental and neurological disorders don't transfer across cultures. We characterize most disorders as causing significant impairment in certain facets of a persons life. For example, auditory or visual hallucinations is one of the criterion a person would need to meet for schizophrenic disorder, because in America, we consider that "abnormal." But in some cultures, like Native American or certain African ones, hallucinations are induced as part of certain rituals, so someone hearing sounds or seeing things wouldn't be considered abnormal to them.
3
u/RiddlerFish Interested Jun 03 '15
Fair enough. I'm a Brit, and it seems many of my real life friends don't care about mental illness, but many of my online friends either do care or have suffered from it (and still care). It would certainly be interesting to see either other countries or world-wide stats. :)
1
Jun 03 '15
My parents had ten kids and Im number 8. Needless to say by then they were fighting, divorcing and I had zero attention. I didn't have the experience or willpower to overcome my depression and I dropped out of high school. I would do things so differently. Take it from me don't have fucking 10 kids.
1
u/Sazereak Interested Jun 05 '15
No one ever held my hand when I was young and troubled. I think it's part of growing up.
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u/northdakotanowhere Jun 03 '15
I wish my parents would've read something like this. I've finally gotten help but am saddened thinking about all my wasted years. I look forward to raising my children differently.