The idea that mental illness is being over-diagnosed

It does seem that normal reactions such as stress, anxiety, despair etc are classed by some as mental illness. Some have latched on to this term and use it to excuse bad behaviour and working.

I also think that many want a label, ADHD, Autism etc often looking for this label in later life when it makes no differences as they do not have treatment but again put negative behaviour down to a condition.

Young people do not seem to be copers preferring to shout the phrase mental health when challenged, not even using the phrase correctly, I have heard people say “ I have mental health”.

(Or as an insult, "she/he's mental". Twas ever thus, and hasn't gone away).

I think it's a double edged sword.

Oh, how much when I was really ill as a teenager I needed the specific language to express what was going on therefore no help. OTOH words and phrases do fly around on social media now.

The article says, "The need to treat people with milder conditions competes with care for those who have the most severe ones".

This is an issue, but is it availability/resources led? There aren't enough resources for young people for qualified practitioners to actually assess the difference.

Thanks Baggs. An interesting read. People, particularly young people, seem obsessed with their mental health and they do indeed turn ordinary life experiences and stresses into mental health problems. I have had clinical depression for decades. I have never once used the phrase ‘my mental health’. I have medication and I deal with life’s issues and my bad patches. Stiff upper lip and all that.

I don’t know how it is over there but here if you have a severe mental illness, for example a psychotic episode, there is very little help unless you actually harm someone or damage property. It is hopeless and psychiatry is truly the Cinderella service.

nanna8

I don’t know how it is over there but here if you have a severe mental illness, for example a psychotic episode, there is very little help unless you actually harm someone or damage property. It is hopeless and psychiatry is truly the Cinderella service.

I’d pretty much say, from my own experience, that it’s pretty much the same here, at least in certain areas.

Like GSM I have had clinical depression for many years. I take antidepressants and mostly they enable me to live a normal life, although sometimes I have to adjust the dose if the depression appears to become worse.
I am beginning to think that a lot is blamed on mental health issues that is probably not a defined illness. It seems to have happened since Covid, but that maybe wrong. Certainly diagnosis of some conditions has improved and so has treatment. We cannot go through life blaming our poor mental health for everything. We need to get treatment and try to live normally. It’s not always easy but it’s the only way forward.

Germanshepherdsmum

Thanks Baggs. An interesting read. People, particularly young people, seem obsessed with their mental health and they do indeed turn ordinary life experiences and stresses into mental health problems. I have had clinical depression for decades. I have never once used the phrase ‘my mental health’. I have medication and I deal with life’s issues and my bad patches. Stiff upper lip and all that.

I actually think it’s a very good thing that MH is discussed far more openly (if people have chosen to do so.)

I do think sometimes people confuse minor stress, which we all feel, slight depression and “down” days, which we also all might sometimes feel, with severe clinical depression, which you were clearly diagnosed with and treatment offered.

Sometimes it is good to encourage people to carry on in times of mental pressure, but sometimes it most definitely isn’t.

Young people are far better educated around mental health issues than we were and are encouraged to talk about these issues. Has this led to more people overplaying how they feel? I don’t know, but I suspect in some cases it might do.

I would agree with you, Cossy. Yes, there is always the danger of some people playing on the 'mental health' issue, but the very fact that mental health is far more openly discussed these days has got to be a good thing. Keeping a stiff upper lip isn't that easy for everyone - nor it is always the right answer.

Theexwife

It does seem that normal reactions such as stress, anxiety, despair etc are classed by some as mental illness. Some have latched on to this term and use it to excuse bad behaviour and working.

I also think that many want a label, ADHD, Autism etc often looking for this label in later life when it makes no differences as they do not have treatment but again put negative behaviour down to a condition.

Young people do not seem to be copers preferring to shout the phrase mental health when challenged, not even using the phrase correctly, I have heard people say “ I have mental health”.

Actually it can make a HUGE difference to adults to be diagnosed as adults IF they are Autistic and/or have ADHD, often going together.

My adult daughter was not diagnosed with Autism until she was 23. It made a huge difference to how she feels about herself, having spent 10 years wondering why she felt so different from other people. It was also useful for her girlfriend and us, her family, to understand that she see perceives certain things so differently to us.

She had a copy of her full diagnosis and report lodged with her GP and her Head at school, this means if she does seek any reasonable adjustment (& thus far she has not asked for anything), she can freely ask.

My other daughter sought help from mental health services since she was 14. She went from self harming to being disrupted to very risky behaviour to attempting suicide at least twice (that we know of), finally earlier this year, privately, she got an actual diagnosis, is now on appropriate medication to her specific condition and other treatment offered.

I would add we were very supportive to both girls BUT we encouraged them to continue with their education, and then supported them both into work. They both work full time in quite full on jobs.

I think talking about ‘mental health’ has swung too much the other way. I have always been entirely open about my depression because I think that’s a good thing and people shouldn’t be afraid of taking, or ashamed to admit taking, appropriate medication. But nowadays, yes I think many overplay the ordinary stresses of life and talk about being anxious or depressed when they are just a bit nervous or fed up. And they refrain from doing things ‘to protect their mental health’. It’s really not good to obsess and navel gaze so much.

Bump

I've a friend who is a teaching assistant at a college for teens with autism, OCD, and such like.

She says the teachers often say "So and so's anxiety is bad, blah blah blah..." when so and so isn't actually diagnosed with anxiety.

It's a bandwagon and I say that as someone who has struggled with horrendous mental health over the years. I'm not disputing that some people do suffer, and they have my complete sympathy. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Thank you; a timely dose of common sense.

MissAdventure

I've a friend who is a teaching assistant at a college for teens with autism, OCD, and such like.

She says the teachers often say "So and so's anxiety is bad, blah blah blah..." when so and so isn't actually diagnosed with anxiety.

Therein lies on of the issues. I’m a firm believer that any who suspects that they have ANY kind of mental health issue, including anxiety etc,. Should definitely get a diagnosis either from a GP or other appropriate medical qualified person before using it (clumsy wording) as a reason for anything, at work, home or school.

People who genuinely need help are being ignored or unsupported sometimes due to 1) overstretched services, 2) others affected, but only a little bit, because there are degrees of anxiety etc., might be using valuable resource that others who have a greater need.

It’s all a bit of a mess really, imo

I like GSM and Maddy take anti depressants, I get depressed, the medication enable me to get on with my life.
I do think mental health can be over diagnosed, and a little bit of stress is something we have to learn to cope with.

maddyone

Like GSM I have had clinical depression for many years. I take antidepressants and mostly they enable me to live a normal life, although sometimes I have to adjust the dose if the depression appears to become worse.
I am beginning to think that a lot is blamed on mental health issues that is probably not a defined illness. It seems to have happened since Covid, but that maybe wrong. Certainly diagnosis of some conditions has improved and so has treatment. We cannot go through life blaming our poor mental health for everything. We need to get treatment and try to live normally. It’s not always easy but it’s the only way forward.

I agree with you and GSM that the key is to get a diagnosis, then appropriate help and learn to manage MH conditions in the same way as we are expected to manage our physical health.

Anxiety for most people is a natural state. In situations requiring performance of a task too low or too high anxiety impedes performance whereas a just right level can mean good performance. Such was the case in fighter pilots in ww2 and I'm sure it applies to all kinds of performance arts.

I do tend to think people seem to have overlooked the idea that getting anxious is actually normal.

It's the bodies way of gearing us up to cope with what is about to ensue.

That seems to have been blotted out of existence now, to the extent that we no longer recognise these feelings as harmless, in a lot of cases.

Like some other posters here I have had intermittent severe depression and anxiety attacks throughout my life. I went through a period when I took medication but then I weaned myself off it and have not taken any medication (for those complaints) for many years. When I get depressed I try to keep busy. I deliberately avoid situations which are likely to bring on panic attacks such as being in large crowded places that are difficult to escape from (airports, planes, queues and the like).

I also feel that many people who refer to themselves as having "mental health issues" are referring to an inability to cope with the normal stresses of life and work. It is almost a fashion nowadays to have some kind of label. However did we all manage back in the 1950s and 1960s when little was known about these "conditions" which excuse all kinds of unacceptable behaviour.

It is now relatively easy to access minor support for Mental Health issues as money has been put into funding what I might call low level help. In practice this might be for six weeks, though you might have to wait for the first appointment.
Getting further help is almost non-existent unless your actions warrant the intervention of the Crisis Team. Long term therapy is just not there, yet this is what many people with serious mental illnesses need and aren’t getting. My relative had to wait four years to access the help she desperately needed. It has taken a further six years for her to be living a more functioning life, though she still suffers from extreme anxiety, but at least she can cross a road without freezing in the middle of the road, a danger to herself and others.
Some people who talk about their poor mental health are far from being mentally ill. It is good that MH can be spoken about, but there is a huge difference in how it affects people.

It's such a broad spectrum, so many different issues, all filed away under mental health umbrella.

Kate1949

It's a bandwagon and I say that as someone who has struggled with horrendous mental health over the years. I'm not disputing that some people do suffer, and they have my complete sympathy. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

I would also agree with that. I think it's great that it is now talked about more and hopefully encourages more people who really need help to ask for it, but the other side of that is the 'bandwagon jumpers' who find it too easy to blame any little issue in their lives on their 'mental health'. They should be very careful what they wish for - real mental health issues like depression are no joke.

Theexwife

It does seem that normal reactions such as stress, anxiety, despair etc are classed by some as mental illness. Some have latched on to this term and use it to excuse bad behaviour and working.

I also think that many want a label, ADHD, Autism etc often looking for this label in later life when it makes no differences as they do not have treatment but again put negative behaviour down to a condition.

Young people do not seem to be copers preferring to shout the phrase mental health when challenged, not even using the phrase correctly, I have heard people say “ I have mental health”.

Brilliant! I agree entirely. It's a sign of the times thing. In my younger days conditions had proper names like schizophrenia and paranoia but now it's all grouped under the "menkul elf" bandwagon