Answer: It’s troubling but perhaps not for the reasons you think... Teens are using Social media platforms like Tiktok to self-diagnose and talk about mental health with limited understanding.
Priscilla, I'm not sure why your comment is showing, so please repost! What you wrote is so fascinating--from influencers not being that influential (I can totally see that) to what we mindlessly scroll past having the power to control our minds. Please repost so others can read it!
Oh! I missed this. Thanks for your response. I no longer have the comment. :( Not sure if you follow Mad in America, but they had an episode recently about a recovery based hospital in Norway. Pretty amazing.
I'm a new subscriber, but I was so disheartened to read all this. I disagree with every single point you wrote about. I am 26 with multiple diagnoses. I know those diagnoses aren't who I am but they have defined most of my life. I have found solace in the online communities you describe. We're not enthusiastic about our struggles, we are fed up. A lot of our "grippy sock vacations" are involuntary or due to the fact that we are suicidal and have absolutely no hope for our futures. The world and humanity are so messed up and we're constantly told to "be more positive" or change the way we think about our circumstances, or as I see it, put on the blinders and live in ignorance like mentally healthy people. I do feel like I've earned the right to make dark jokes about what I've gone through on a daily basis for the past 15 years seeing as I've tried every treatment save for surgical procedures and ketamine and I'm still this sick. Unemployed, disabled for the foreseeable future. We live in a country where being approved for Social Security Disability is nigh impossible but doctor-assisted euthanasia is illegal in most states and illegal for mental illness in all states. I think that if we can only find connection and understanding amongst ourselves in these online communities then so be it. I cannot believe there are people privileged enough to claim they cause more harm than good. I cannot even relate to people who don't have mental illnesses. Their thoughts on things don't make any sense to me. I would be completely alone if I didn't have these online spaces. I don't have any real life friends so these spaces and loose connections are all I have. Have you actually asked more than a couple of people in more than one age group or demographic about what they like about this online content and the people who make it?
Hi there, I’m so glad you wrote in. First, I’m sorry for what you’re going through. I respect you and your struggle. You seem very smart and very strong. I hear what you’re saying about the world and feeling like you have no future. I’m glad that you find support in online communities. Support means they give you hope for recovery because it is possible.
You may have misheard or misread me. I didn’t say these social media accounts were doing more harm than good--that would be impossible to measure. All I said is that for me, someone who lived with serious mental illness for 25 years, making light of hospitalizations and dramatizing diagnoses is unsettling.
Yes, I have talked to many, many young people. You may be interested in part 2 on Saturday, which features a conversation I had with the CEO of Youth Era, an impressive youth mental health organization.
One thing to remember is that you’re 26--not an adolescent. You can sift through social media to get what you need. Some young people can too but not many. Think back to what you were like at 10, 15, 17, even 20. The brain isn’t even fully developed yet.
The people and instances I mention may be just a vocal minority, but social media is having a wider effect--as Cristina Caron points out in her New York Times article. As we try to give you and others the support you need, we should factor in social media’s influences.
Please keep commenting and communicating. I’d love it if you’d read part 2 on Saturday and let us know your thoughts.
Before the mid 1990's, studies indicated that by age 18 90% of kids no longer met criteria for ADD. Subsequent studies, with broader DSM criteria, indicated that about 2/3rds of kids no longer met criteria by age 18. In a prospective study of children with ADD using MRI and PET scans, with matched controls, children with ADD showed evidence of brain abnormalities (decreased blood flow and reduced cortical thickness) in some regions (dorsolateral prefrontal and ventromedial frontal cortex). There were abnormalities present around ages 7-8 but then normalized by about ages 11-12.
In sum, there was a 2–3-year delay in cortical thickness maturation, especially in the prefrontal cortex, in ADD children vs. matched non-ADD controls. The straightforward interpretation of this research is that ADD is a developmental delay, not a permanent disease. It represents normal childhood delayed by a few years. (As every parent knows, some kids have delayed growth spurts.)
Wow. Thank you for this. Please keep reading and commenting.
I'm curious how you think the medical model and the recovery model can work together because people see them as mutually exclusive, but I don't think they are. Your thoughts?
I have noticed the phenomenon of mental illness as cool for a long while. That’s what happening along with whatever else. I believe this whatever you call it goes way back to at least the 1990s.
My first thought seeing that picture was: how did she get a phone in there? I agree that trivializing mental illness is dangerous. I have been on a few vacations and was typically too disoriented and distraught to publicize and make light of the situation.
When my mom was a teenager she told everyone she was having a nervous breakdown so she could leave school and take time off. It was only years later that she realized she had in fact been experiencing a break down and the desire to tell everyone that was a sign of a real problem. That’s what I thought of when I read your post. Every child or teen should be getting help right now. Ever single one. Especially those who are exposing themselves in ways we might find incomprehensible. It’s not a trend. It’s a sign of something much deeper.
test
Priscilla, I'm not sure why your comment is showing, so please repost! What you wrote is so fascinating--from influencers not being that influential (I can totally see that) to what we mindlessly scroll past having the power to control our minds. Please repost so others can read it!
Oh! I missed this. Thanks for your response. I no longer have the comment. :( Not sure if you follow Mad in America, but they had an episode recently about a recovery based hospital in Norway. Pretty amazing.
https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/01/medication-free-treatment-norway/
I'm a new subscriber, but I was so disheartened to read all this. I disagree with every single point you wrote about. I am 26 with multiple diagnoses. I know those diagnoses aren't who I am but they have defined most of my life. I have found solace in the online communities you describe. We're not enthusiastic about our struggles, we are fed up. A lot of our "grippy sock vacations" are involuntary or due to the fact that we are suicidal and have absolutely no hope for our futures. The world and humanity are so messed up and we're constantly told to "be more positive" or change the way we think about our circumstances, or as I see it, put on the blinders and live in ignorance like mentally healthy people. I do feel like I've earned the right to make dark jokes about what I've gone through on a daily basis for the past 15 years seeing as I've tried every treatment save for surgical procedures and ketamine and I'm still this sick. Unemployed, disabled for the foreseeable future. We live in a country where being approved for Social Security Disability is nigh impossible but doctor-assisted euthanasia is illegal in most states and illegal for mental illness in all states. I think that if we can only find connection and understanding amongst ourselves in these online communities then so be it. I cannot believe there are people privileged enough to claim they cause more harm than good. I cannot even relate to people who don't have mental illnesses. Their thoughts on things don't make any sense to me. I would be completely alone if I didn't have these online spaces. I don't have any real life friends so these spaces and loose connections are all I have. Have you actually asked more than a couple of people in more than one age group or demographic about what they like about this online content and the people who make it?
Hi there, I’m so glad you wrote in. First, I’m sorry for what you’re going through. I respect you and your struggle. You seem very smart and very strong. I hear what you’re saying about the world and feeling like you have no future. I’m glad that you find support in online communities. Support means they give you hope for recovery because it is possible.
You may have misheard or misread me. I didn’t say these social media accounts were doing more harm than good--that would be impossible to measure. All I said is that for me, someone who lived with serious mental illness for 25 years, making light of hospitalizations and dramatizing diagnoses is unsettling.
Yes, I have talked to many, many young people. You may be interested in part 2 on Saturday, which features a conversation I had with the CEO of Youth Era, an impressive youth mental health organization.
One thing to remember is that you’re 26--not an adolescent. You can sift through social media to get what you need. Some young people can too but not many. Think back to what you were like at 10, 15, 17, even 20. The brain isn’t even fully developed yet.
The people and instances I mention may be just a vocal minority, but social media is having a wider effect--as Cristina Caron points out in her New York Times article. As we try to give you and others the support you need, we should factor in social media’s influences.
Please keep commenting and communicating. I’d love it if you’d read part 2 on Saturday and let us know your thoughts.
All my best,
Sarah
Before the mid 1990's, studies indicated that by age 18 90% of kids no longer met criteria for ADD. Subsequent studies, with broader DSM criteria, indicated that about 2/3rds of kids no longer met criteria by age 18. In a prospective study of children with ADD using MRI and PET scans, with matched controls, children with ADD showed evidence of brain abnormalities (decreased blood flow and reduced cortical thickness) in some regions (dorsolateral prefrontal and ventromedial frontal cortex). There were abnormalities present around ages 7-8 but then normalized by about ages 11-12.
In sum, there was a 2–3-year delay in cortical thickness maturation, especially in the prefrontal cortex, in ADD children vs. matched non-ADD controls. The straightforward interpretation of this research is that ADD is a developmental delay, not a permanent disease. It represents normal childhood delayed by a few years. (As every parent knows, some kids have delayed growth spurts.)
I cover these issues more fully in my blogs 5.0 and 5.1 at https://medicalmodelredux.com/
Hunter Yost MD
And thank you for becoming a paid subscriber!
Wow. Thank you for this. Please keep reading and commenting.
I'm curious how you think the medical model and the recovery model can work together because people see them as mutually exclusive, but I don't think they are. Your thoughts?
I have noticed the phenomenon of mental illness as cool for a long while. That’s what happening along with whatever else. I believe this whatever you call it goes way back to at least the 1990s.
My first thought seeing that picture was: how did she get a phone in there? I agree that trivializing mental illness is dangerous. I have been on a few vacations and was typically too disoriented and distraught to publicize and make light of the situation.
I'm glad your Note linked to these two articles, Sarah. They broadened my understanding of adolescents and mental health.
I’m so glad. These posts and so many others were published when I had very few subscribers, so really no one has read them.
Some posts might lose their relevance, but these two certainly have not.
The archive issue.
When my mom was a teenager she told everyone she was having a nervous breakdown so she could leave school and take time off. It was only years later that she realized she had in fact been experiencing a break down and the desire to tell everyone that was a sign of a real problem. That’s what I thought of when I read your post. Every child or teen should be getting help right now. Ever single one. Especially those who are exposing themselves in ways we might find incomprehensible. It’s not a trend. It’s a sign of something much deeper.