The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
jonathanhaidt.substack.com
The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
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Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#2Another possible explanation is that we are simply diagnosing these kind of mental health issues better – due to decrease in stigmatization and/or more attention to it – but that our treatment is worse than doing nothing, and is leading to higher rates of self-harm and suicide.
I have no idea if that's the case – and if it is a factor at all it probably doesn't account for all of it – but it seems something worth exploring. Certainly in my own teen years I benefited more from the occasional swift kick in the backside and being told to "man up" than treatment with school counsellors and such. Not that counsellors are bad, but sometimes you can take things "too serious" which can make matters worse, in spite of being well-intentioned.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#3Another possible explanation is that we are simply diagnosing these kind of mental health issues better – due to decrease in stigmatization and/or more attention to it – but that our treatment is worse than doing nothing, and is leading to higher rates of self-harm and suicide. I have no idea if that's the case – and if it is a factor at all it probably doesn't account for all of it – but it seems something worth exp…
The increase in suicide rates for both genders (but especially females) are astounding. I really don't believe that any changes in treatment have been so radical as to cause this to manifest the way it has.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#4Another possible explanation is that we are simply diagnosing these kind of mental health issues better – due to decrease in stigmatization and/or more attention to it – but that our treatment is worse than doing nothing, and is leading to higher rates of self-harm and suicide. I have no idea if that's the case – and if it is a factor at all it probably doesn't account for all of it – but it seems something worth exp…
i'm kind of in agreement - i think there's an extraordinarily strong nocebo effect and dearth of belief in agency after being diagnosed with something like that. At the same time, nearly all treatments are effectively worthless. so what's even the benefit? at the same time, I do believe mental health issues partially exist to signal to the tribe that something is wrong with that member and it's a call for help. so there should be some way to triage and provide support. but idk if our current transactional system that exists to pay pharma is good
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#5Another possible explanation is that we are simply diagnosing these kind of mental health issues better – due to decrease in stigmatization and/or more attention to it – but that our treatment is worse than doing nothing, and is leading to higher rates of self-harm and suicide. I have no idea if that's the case – and if it is a factor at all it probably doesn't account for all of it – but it seems something worth exp…
The increase in suicide rates for both genders (but especially females) are astounding. I really don't believe that any changes in treatment have been so radical as to cause this to manifest the way it has.
I don't mean changes in treatment, but rather that some people previously went undiagnosed and "just got over it" on their own. As I said, in my own case treatment didn't help and actually made matters worse as I saw myself more as a victim who "couldn't help myself". n=1 of course. And many people of course do benefit from treatment.
As I mentioned: even if this turns out to be factor – and I'm not sure it even is – then I don't think this accounts for 100% of the increase. I don't profess this is the full explanation, merely a possible factor, out of several.
I'm also reminded by my uncle, who was born with a serious and debilitating heart condition; he always said that if he had listened to his doctors he'd be a "victim" in a wheelchair inside all day. Of course he did need serious medical attention, including a heart transplant, and he did end up dying from his condition at the age of 51, but overall he led a "good life" and just carried on with things without seeing himself as too much of a victim. It probably would have been a different life if he did. Mental feedback loops can be pretty powerful.
It's also worth pointing out the charts look a bit less drastic if you zoom out to the 70s; in fact, suicide for boys especially was a lot higher in the 80s than it is now. The author does address that briefly at the bottom, and provides a link with more detail (which is too much to quote here, but tl;dr is that they believe it's correlated to lead exposure and crime rates – this link also contains the longer timeframe charts).
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#6Another possible explanation is that we are simply diagnosing these kind of mental health issues better – due to decrease in stigmatization and/or more attention to it – but that our treatment is worse than doing nothing, and is leading to higher rates of self-harm and suicide. I have no idea if that's the case – and if it is a factor at all it probably doesn't account for all of it – but it seems something worth exp…
The increase in suicide rates for both genders (but especially females) are astounding. I really don't believe that any changes in treatment have been so radical as to cause this to manifest the way it has.
Tell someone with an issue with their physical condition that it is because of diet and lack of exercise and many would change habits, tell them it's due to a incurable but perhaps treatable cancer and some will chose suicide.
Tell kids that they are unhappy due to choices made in day to day life and they might change those choices, tell them it's due to a incurable but maybe treatable issue with their brain and some will chose suicide.
The problem may be classifying typical human misery as incurable illness.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#7Another possible explanation is that we are simply diagnosing these kind of mental health issues better – due to decrease in stigmatization and/or more attention to it – but that our treatment is worse than doing nothing, and is leading to higher rates of self-harm and suicide. I have no idea if that's the case – and if it is a factor at all it probably doesn't account for all of it – but it seems something worth exp…
The increase in suicide rates for both genders (but especially females) are astounding. I really don't believe that any changes in treatment have been so radical as to cause this to manifest the way it has.
It could be that being diagnosed with an illness, even with excellent treatment, symptoms can become a self fulfilling prophecy. If you believe you are at increased risk for suicide, maybe you start thinking more about that and it comes to fruition. Or maybe you take some meds, which make you better 99.9% of the time but that one time your flight is late or whatever and miss the dose and the rebound is twice as bad as never having been on them.
Also ultimately suicide by definition is based on most harmful decision of life event rather than what a doctor is probably optimizing for which is best day-to-day ability to function. These are two different optimizations that can be at odds. Almost nobody would choose to feel worse 99.9% of the time to reduce the risk in that 0.1% of the time they're suicidal.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
The increase in suicide rates for both genders (but especially females) are astounding. I really don't believe that any changes in treatment have been so radical as to cause this to manifest the way it has.
I don't mean changes in treatment, but rather that some people previously went undiagnosed and "just got over it" on their own. As I said, in my own case treatment didn't help and actually made matters worse as I saw myself more as a victim who "couldn't help myself". n=1 of course. And many people of course do benefit from treatment. As I mentioned: even if this turns out to be factor – and I'm not sure it even is –…
Not sure of the value of this tidbit but I heard that in the US, blacks suicided a lot less than whites (quick google seems to say rate of black suicide is a third of white) and it could be because they grow up explaining their issues with external factors, while the whites have no convenient escapes, and even are told they are privileged due to their skin color... so self blame.
Really flimsy, I am not an expert but... fits a bit the idea that just looping around yourself self introspecting how much of a failure YOU are might not help.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#9This article is great because it looks at the self-harm and suicide data, which is pretty compelling.
Obviously everybody's willingness to talk about their issues has gone up, but perhaps something else is happening too.
It's already scientifically concluded that sperm counts and testosterone is down (for better or worse) [just google scholar it for journal articles], and one correlate of low testosterone is worse mood. So there would be precedent and reason to look for environmental causes.
Re: The teen mental illness epidemic began around 2012
#10Another possible explanation is that we are simply diagnosing these kind of mental health issues better – due to decrease in stigmatization and/or more attention to it – but that our treatment is worse than doing nothing, and is leading to higher rates of self-harm and suicide. I have no idea if that's the case – and if it is a factor at all it probably doesn't account for all of it – but it seems something worth exp…
The increase in suicide rates for both genders (but especially females) are astounding. I really don't believe that any changes in treatment have been so radical as to cause this to manifest the way it has.
SSRI use has skyrocketed, and multiple meta-analyses have confirmed that they lead to an increase in suicidal thoughts and behavior when used by children and adolescents.
I don't necessarily agree with the grandparent poster's point of view, as I do think there are big societal changes leading to decreased mental health that are unrelated to the way we treat mental illness...but I do think the increase in usage of psychiatric drugs is a big problem, and may at least partly explain the increased suicide rates.