A study of 1,192 youths in the UK aged 12-17 was conducted by www.mentaline.com to find out about their opinions on mental health matters. Just over 1 in 10 young people, or 11%, in the UK think of “mental illness” as trendy according to this study. A press release in PRLog tells it all, 1 in 10 teens think mental illness is ‘fashionable’.
Regarding these youngsters who thought “mental illness” the thing:
34 % lied about having a “mental illness” in the past
32 % stated they knew somebody with a “real” mental health issue
49 % thought “mental illness” made you unique
16 % said celebrity sufferers gave “mental illness” it’s chic appeal
25 % just thought “mental illness” was cool
07 % thought they had a “mental illness”
61 % thought mental health should be taken very seriously
The 34% that admitted to pretending to have some kind of mental health problem in the past were asked to specify what the issue was. The top five problems were as follows:
1. Eating disorders – 22%
2. Self-harming – 17%
3. Addiction – 13%
4. Depression – 12%
5. Bipolar Disorder– 9%
And the winner is…Eating disorders by a length.
Given such statistics, I think maybe we need to reframe the way we look at emotional disturbances in order to lower rather than to raise the rates at which “mental disorders” develop.
Note: I’m not making an argument for excessive seriousness regarding either “mental illness” or mental health. Some people take their “mental illness” labels altogether too seriously. Some of those people are psychiatrists.
Filed under: Mental Health Care, Research, Biological Psychiatry, Children and Adolescents, Investigation, Mental Health Screening, Misdiagnosis, Mad Pride, Media, ADHD
Interesting article exposing NAMI for what it really is…a shill for Big Pharma.
15 Dirty Big Pharma Tricks That Rip You Off and Risk Your Health for Profit |
http://www.alternet.org
Even during a recession, pharma is still the nation’s third most profitable sector. Here are some of the dirty tricks it employs to stay on top.
Good article indeed. Big Pharma and hard times go together. Big Pharma profits on those hard times.
These emo types are the ones the shrinks like to trot out as poster people who spruik on behalf or the mentall illness industry.
1st. emo types
According to the urban dictionary on emo girls, you’re probably right…
Emo dudes are supposed to be a lot like emo girls without tits.
2nd. Spruik
For those of you from anywhere else in the world, it’s Australian. Synonyms: pimp, tout, pitch. It means promote.
Gee. The places a computer will take you!