This is such a good piece and so clearly captures what has become a commodification of our young people by the pharmaceutical industry. I guess that's who we should blame for making pathology the new stripe on the human body. Thank you for your great work!
As the mother of several Gen Z/Gen Alpha kids, I'll be so relieved when this particular moment of mental health "awareness" has passed and given way to something (hopefully) more "sane." Somehow this present day emphasis on mental health awareness, diagnosis, and hashtags dowsn't seemed to have made our kids healthier and happier -- or taught us as a society how to nurture good mental health.
Whoa. This is so my kind of show. Sounds like so much of what I care about and see around me (I'm resisting being more specific here!), possibly more easily digested with a bit of humor. If I'm off on that—don't tell me! Grateful for the introduction and the time-saving from not needing to go through all those bits of shows to consider. I'm also grabbing a copy of Pathological. Woot!
As someone with an MA in clinical psych, diagnosis by meme drives me up the wall. I even see it in millennials and Gen X (mostly women). But the kids…I worry about the kids (and I’m grateful my teen seems impervious to the trend). I look forward to reading your book and watching the show!
Ohmigosh, my psychologist colleagues and I are ALWAYS talking about TikTok self-diagnosis!!! "Secret signs you have diagnosis X!" posts are incredibly annoying and destructive.
I emphasize to my clients that psychiatric diagnoses are just descriptions, and they can change as research helps us learn more. We used to have agoraphobia with or without panic; now it's panic with or without agoraphobia, because research shows that's a more useful description. A symptom in isolation means nothing. It's important to understand patterns and context. Psychiatric diagnoses can be useful, because they can offer hypotheses about what might help or what other challenges might be present, but they're not like medical diagnoses where we measure the liver enzymes (or whatever) and know what's happening inside.
I had a 12-year old in my practice who came in extremely anxious because a health teacher presented to her class a list of "Ten signs you might be suicidal!" Items included, "You sometimes have trouble concentrating," "Your room is messy" and "Your parents DON'T think you're suicidal" (because they're "in denial"). Arghhh!
And don't get me started on the tendency to sanctimoniously diagnose other people as "toxic" or "narcissistic" or "in denial" just because they disagree with you!
Mental health awareness should not be about pathologizing everything and everyone or slapping on labels as if they were causal explanations. It should be about creating caring and supportive communities and figuring out how to build a life that's meaningful and satisfying to each of us.
Thanks for sharing this Sarah. I’ve watched my niece and nephew grow up in this “hashtagification of mental health disorders” era and it’s deeply concerning. Our culture seems to do a brilliant job at magnifying and glorifying the surface but dismissing the interior—the long, hard work of really listening to each other and addressing the multi-faceted complexity of life in this modern age.
You hit on it: "Our culture seems to do a brilliant job at magnifying and glorifying the surface but dismissing the interior—the long, hard work of really listening to each other and addressing the multi-faceted complexity of life in this modern age." So true!
Sarah, i’ve been waiting for a post like this. I think I told you I have twins with disabilities that are legitimate however, my highest functioning twin Abby never identified herself as disabled. She’d always say I’m not the disabled one. Libby is until she heard over and over again young people with different kinds of diagnoses. Then she claimed the catchall phrase Neuro divergent because that’s cool how many kids have “it.”
Your book is on my list.
I’m going to see if they have it at BARD listening library for download as well for my daughter.
Did you know that if you are legally blind that you can download almost any books through this library service?
It’s run by volunteers all of the country who read thousand titles every day. sometimes you have to wait a while.
Is that what’s going on? I hear things like this a lot. I guess it’s fashionable or cool to have a diagnosis, even if it’s not accurate. Sometimes it seems to be an excuse for bad behavior. The show does sound funny-might have to check it out.
I’m not much into sitcoms either, and most likely won’t watch. Yet I enjoy that you mention it and its premise here.
In my last few years of a full time psychotherapy practice, there were so many people (adults and teens) who came in using words inappropriately. Calling folks bipolar, or psycho, or even narcissistic then referring to themselves as being triggered gets my dander up.
depending on how long I’ve known the client, I might gently ask how long they studied for their psychology degree, and if they could list the criteria for their diagnosis.(no, it didn’t make me really popular to ask this, but I was always kind about it, not demeaning.) and we discuss better word choices so that they can be better understood.
I suggest calmly but profoundly how labeling something like a behavior is such a destructive thing to do. And their choice of labels only evidences what they don’t know. (Again not a useful thing to do however trendy it may be).
Yes, this trend gets under my skin because of all those pushing it, and it’s such a darned shame.
This is perfect: "I might gently ask how long they studied for their psychology degree, and if they could list the criteria for their diagnosis." I love this more than I can say.
This is good to hear Sarah. I tried to be careful in the way I worded it, my tone being kind and encouraging, not judging… but many MANY folks get these diagnoses wrong. (Sadly, including many who’ve also studied psychology!). Non practitioners truly must be careful to be accurate in what they say about another human.
The two conventional ways psych diagnoses are most properly used is 1) billing insurance companies for care and 2) when communicating with an entire care team about symptoms. They have no place in common vernacular and no one thinks you’re smart when you use them improperly 🤭
I have to say, I get seriously pissed off whenever a TV show (or anyone for that matter) jokes about Tourette Syndrome. If you know and love someone who has this you would know that it is NO JOKE!
I am passionate about identifying and treating mental health issues. I don’t go on Tik Tok but I know what I see in my own life. The last several years have done a lot of harm to so many people. In my opinion we need to recognize signs and symptoms, not for a label/diagnosis, but to develop some type of treatment plan. There is no definitive “test” for mental illness, and so many symptoms overlap. I don’t like when doctors push pills that often do more harm than good. As someone who spent years numbed out from antidepressants, I can attest that getting off that shit was one of the best things I ever did. That may not be the case for others and I understand that. Therapy, good nutrition, exercise and paying attention to who and what are in your life can go a long way.
But if you watch the episode (I'm not saying you should), it absolutely DOESN'T make fun of Tourette's. It exposes the absurd ways that psychiatric diagnoses have gotten into the hands of the public, especially teens, who aren't trained in any way to diagnose themselves or others.
And there's no commentary on getting treatment or taking medication and definitely not on lifestyle choices that can help with treating mental illness. None.
Thanks Sarah, maybe I will watch when I get a moment. Self-diagnosis amongst the ill-informed is a problem (and not only in MH). Maybe this all goes back to allowing big pharma ads on TV? “Ask your doctor about…”. Remember when these weren’t a thing? 🤣
Love this.
I'm a huge fan of your book, PATHOLOGICAL, Sarah.
This is such a good piece and so clearly captures what has become a commodification of our young people by the pharmaceutical industry. I guess that's who we should blame for making pathology the new stripe on the human body. Thank you for your great work!
Thank you. I love how you put this: the commodification of our young people by the pharmaceutical industry. Absolutely.
A gift of a show to watch is very valuable. Thank you.
Curious to see what you think. It's a sitcom.
As the mother of several Gen Z/Gen Alpha kids, I'll be so relieved when this particular moment of mental health "awareness" has passed and given way to something (hopefully) more "sane." Somehow this present day emphasis on mental health awareness, diagnosis, and hashtags dowsn't seemed to have made our kids healthier and happier -- or taught us as a society how to nurture good mental health.
So well put.
Yes. Living that here, too.
lol love it! Where can I see the show!
I watched it on HULU
Can’t wait to watch the show. I hadn’t heard about it. Thanks for the introduction.
Whoa. This is so my kind of show. Sounds like so much of what I care about and see around me (I'm resisting being more specific here!), possibly more easily digested with a bit of humor. If I'm off on that—don't tell me! Grateful for the introduction and the time-saving from not needing to go through all those bits of shows to consider. I'm also grabbing a copy of Pathological. Woot!
Thank you so much for writing about this, Sarah!
As someone with an MA in clinical psych, diagnosis by meme drives me up the wall. I even see it in millennials and Gen X (mostly women). But the kids…I worry about the kids (and I’m grateful my teen seems impervious to the trend). I look forward to reading your book and watching the show!
Oh, I love this: diagnosis by meme. So true.
Ohmigosh, my psychologist colleagues and I are ALWAYS talking about TikTok self-diagnosis!!! "Secret signs you have diagnosis X!" posts are incredibly annoying and destructive.
I emphasize to my clients that psychiatric diagnoses are just descriptions, and they can change as research helps us learn more. We used to have agoraphobia with or without panic; now it's panic with or without agoraphobia, because research shows that's a more useful description. A symptom in isolation means nothing. It's important to understand patterns and context. Psychiatric diagnoses can be useful, because they can offer hypotheses about what might help or what other challenges might be present, but they're not like medical diagnoses where we measure the liver enzymes (or whatever) and know what's happening inside.
I had a 12-year old in my practice who came in extremely anxious because a health teacher presented to her class a list of "Ten signs you might be suicidal!" Items included, "You sometimes have trouble concentrating," "Your room is messy" and "Your parents DON'T think you're suicidal" (because they're "in denial"). Arghhh!
And don't get me started on the tendency to sanctimoniously diagnose other people as "toxic" or "narcissistic" or "in denial" just because they disagree with you!
Mental health awareness should not be about pathologizing everything and everyone or slapping on labels as if they were causal explanations. It should be about creating caring and supportive communities and figuring out how to build a life that's meaningful and satisfying to each of us.
This! " A symptom in isolation means nothing. It's important to understand patterns and context."
Thanks for sharing this Sarah. I’ve watched my niece and nephew grow up in this “hashtagification of mental health disorders” era and it’s deeply concerning. Our culture seems to do a brilliant job at magnifying and glorifying the surface but dismissing the interior—the long, hard work of really listening to each other and addressing the multi-faceted complexity of life in this modern age.
You hit on it: "Our culture seems to do a brilliant job at magnifying and glorifying the surface but dismissing the interior—the long, hard work of really listening to each other and addressing the multi-faceted complexity of life in this modern age." So true!
Sarah, i’ve been waiting for a post like this. I think I told you I have twins with disabilities that are legitimate however, my highest functioning twin Abby never identified herself as disabled. She’d always say I’m not the disabled one. Libby is until she heard over and over again young people with different kinds of diagnoses. Then she claimed the catchall phrase Neuro divergent because that’s cool how many kids have “it.”
Your book is on my list.
I’m going to see if they have it at BARD listening library for download as well for my daughter.
Did you know that if you are legally blind that you can download almost any books through this library service?
It’s run by volunteers all of the country who read thousand titles every day. sometimes you have to wait a while.
That's so fascinating, Prajna. And thank you--always!
I miss you! I keep trying to catch up — no such thing. I will set a time for you soon, if you are available. Thx
Is that what’s going on? I hear things like this a lot. I guess it’s fashionable or cool to have a diagnosis, even if it’s not accurate. Sometimes it seems to be an excuse for bad behavior. The show does sound funny-might have to check it out.
I’m not much into sitcoms either, and most likely won’t watch. Yet I enjoy that you mention it and its premise here.
In my last few years of a full time psychotherapy practice, there were so many people (adults and teens) who came in using words inappropriately. Calling folks bipolar, or psycho, or even narcissistic then referring to themselves as being triggered gets my dander up.
depending on how long I’ve known the client, I might gently ask how long they studied for their psychology degree, and if they could list the criteria for their diagnosis.(no, it didn’t make me really popular to ask this, but I was always kind about it, not demeaning.) and we discuss better word choices so that they can be better understood.
I suggest calmly but profoundly how labeling something like a behavior is such a destructive thing to do. And their choice of labels only evidences what they don’t know. (Again not a useful thing to do however trendy it may be).
Yes, this trend gets under my skin because of all those pushing it, and it’s such a darned shame.
This is perfect: "I might gently ask how long they studied for their psychology degree, and if they could list the criteria for their diagnosis." I love this more than I can say.
This is good to hear Sarah. I tried to be careful in the way I worded it, my tone being kind and encouraging, not judging… but many MANY folks get these diagnoses wrong. (Sadly, including many who’ve also studied psychology!). Non practitioners truly must be careful to be accurate in what they say about another human.
The two conventional ways psych diagnoses are most properly used is 1) billing insurance companies for care and 2) when communicating with an entire care team about symptoms. They have no place in common vernacular and no one thinks you’re smart when you use them improperly 🤭
I have to say, I get seriously pissed off whenever a TV show (or anyone for that matter) jokes about Tourette Syndrome. If you know and love someone who has this you would know that it is NO JOKE!
I am passionate about identifying and treating mental health issues. I don’t go on Tik Tok but I know what I see in my own life. The last several years have done a lot of harm to so many people. In my opinion we need to recognize signs and symptoms, not for a label/diagnosis, but to develop some type of treatment plan. There is no definitive “test” for mental illness, and so many symptoms overlap. I don’t like when doctors push pills that often do more harm than good. As someone who spent years numbed out from antidepressants, I can attest that getting off that shit was one of the best things I ever did. That may not be the case for others and I understand that. Therapy, good nutrition, exercise and paying attention to who and what are in your life can go a long way.
I hear you. I worried about that too.
But if you watch the episode (I'm not saying you should), it absolutely DOESN'T make fun of Tourette's. It exposes the absurd ways that psychiatric diagnoses have gotten into the hands of the public, especially teens, who aren't trained in any way to diagnose themselves or others.
And there's no commentary on getting treatment or taking medication and definitely not on lifestyle choices that can help with treating mental illness. None.
We all have to do what works for us.
Thanks Sarah, maybe I will watch when I get a moment. Self-diagnosis amongst the ill-informed is a problem (and not only in MH). Maybe this all goes back to allowing big pharma ads on TV? “Ask your doctor about…”. Remember when these weren’t a thing? 🤣
Exactly that!