To ask why there are so many kids with mental health problems?

@islandofserenity

Calm down I didn’t say anything that shocking which warrants you to be mind blown 🤣. There’s no such thing as dodgy brain chemicals causing mental illness a lot of it just shit life syndrome coupled with negative mindsets.

No I don’t work in mental health thank god!

lived experience does make you a better practitioner in my opinion but it’s when people go into the profession to save themselves that it becomes an issue.

@Spottymushroom I think I love you

So what do you think the statistic tell us about Social Media that we wouldn’t expect to find for any general type of social interaction?

There are negative interactions whenever people communicate. Right here you could see my not accepting your argument as a negative interaction and I certainly see your supercilious “You have a nice day” as one. But they aren’t detrimental to our mental health. They’re just normal parts of communication when humans communicate.

Tnx for that. I happen to disagree. But then considering how your posting I'm not surprised you feel that way. You have a nice day.

It’s a bit of pointless statistic for people who have been using social media for years. If you asked 1500 16 year olds if they’d ever had a negative experience at school you’d probably get 100% saying yes.

I did not claim and nor did dd that it was the biggest. I said that for her research, 100% of respondents had experienced negative influences online.

I'm sure there are other things that impact I merely commented that social media contributes.

OMG!!! Mind blowing! I really hope you don't work with people with mental health problems @SparklingMarkling !! How bloody worrying!

I also did my research on social media and how it impacts the mental health of young people. I concluded that social media is actually not the biggest cause at all and that young people have way more of an understanding of the nuances of social media than us oldies. There's also a great book about this called 'it's complicated'.

Essentially, if you're already depressed going on social media can make you feel worse but it does not cause the depression.

I'd say a general feeling of hopelessness about the world is a key factor. A 'what is the point?' Climate change, skyrocketing living costs, little chance to get on the property ladder unless you have the right family etc will all contribute to this.

It's not that we haven't had tough times before but we've always had purpose and a clear path - work hard and you'll be rewarded one day. Not anymore.

Gen z are the most cynical of generations and I'm not surprised.

Social media.
I was "wobbly" mentally as a teenager 40 years ago. It was hard during the day at school but I coped because at 3pm it was over and I could come home, walk, read, run, cycle, ride a horse, play with the dogs and have downtime. It gave me the strength to cope with the next day, with no other input. Kids these days don't get that and it's relentless.

I think as well the general feel has changed. I was a teenager in the 90s and remember everything being so much more optimistic than it is now - climate change/Ukraine War and information is so mich more accessible nowadays than it used to be.
Social media further gives everyone so much more access to instant information.

Well said.

Definitely, the shit food had an impact on your brain development.

They get diagnosed. And the world is more open so those things become more obvious. And we talk about them instead of quietly moving the child into an institution to rot.

I agree with a lot of this. Young people just don't have the freedom to develop socially and negotiate different situations like my generation did in the 60s and 70s.

Kids are also overindulged, being the centre of attention and never being told 'No.' Many have a sense of entitlement and behaviour at school is dire.

I also agree that Covid had a lot to do with it. Young people missed out on so many landmarks in their lives- my own son had to celebrate his 21st at home with his mum and dad.

Then, social media. As the saying goes, 'Comparison is the thief of Joy.' If everyone else's life seems so much better than yours and they (appear} to look so much better than you, it damages self-confidence.

They also have easy access to porn which gives unrealistic, misogynist and damaging impressions of sex and relationships.

They're never going to be able to afford to buy a home and many will struggle to develop a career.

Then there's climate change and the destruction of much of the natural world.

I wouldn't be a young person now for anything.

You move in different circles to me then. I’m supporting 2 very unwell children to the extent I’m having support myself. I don’t discuss my mh with anybody other than the person giving me support and haven’t come across any friend or colleague bragging about their mental health either.

"I have mental health" has become a mantra for a generation. It used to be that your identity was related to the music you listened to, now it's what mental health problem you have. It's good to talk has got out of hand as has mental health awareness. There's increasing evidence to suggest that the proliferation of mh awareness in schools is actually making it worse for teenagers not better.

All the while those with severe and long term mh disorders, schizophrenia, bi-polar, severe depression languish with no support as their needs are overlooked and often end up in a revolving door situation of hospital admissions or an even more tragic outcome due to neglect by services that are drowning in referrals.

Do you not think struggling families have tried that. Didn’t make a blind bit of difference in our case.And let’s look at screen time. I had restrictions.It’s incredibly hard for teens to reduce as everybody uses screens for everything and teen social lives are heavily tied up with SM.

Incredibly dismissive and lazy of a GP to treat all struggling 15 years olds like that and then brag about it.

But it IS true that more fresh air, exercise and less screen time has a massively positive effect on mental health. For one, it helps sleep better which again has a massively positive effect on mental health.

Nice doctor.🤔Glad our GP was so much better. How awful. I’ll always be grateful for the understanding our GP gave my Dd and the CAMHs referral she had. She wouldn’t be here now if she’d had a GP like that.

A doctor friend told me she has a queue out the door of 15 yr old girls that come with their mental health issues and anxiety. She tells them first to turn off their social media and go for a walk or join a sports club but they don't like that answer - they've come for pills. I don't think it helps that mental health is talked about SO much at school.

Not seeing it seemed as fashionable here. It has cost my daughter everything- education, career,travel, loss of a normal life, a job an alongside unbearable stress on her family, guilt, deep misery, discrimination, physical health and pain. Nobody envies that.

Sorry - suicide needs to reported in a specific way to avoid social contagion.

Of course some MH illness is fashionable for teenagers. It also has contagion. Suicide for example has a social contagion on the way it can be reported in the news. We can see trans contagion is certain schools and groups.

There are some who post on social media about their adhd for example (undiagnosed of course) for content- most of which is ignorant and not based in reality at all. Funny enough there aren't any claiming to having schizophrenia and the like for likes.

I would have thought lived experience makes you a better therapist. Out of all the professionals I’ve come across it’s the ones with lived experience who have been the best.

They have supervision.

some absolute nonsense on this thread.
Mental health problems fashionable?
Bollocks. Perhaps people talking about how they feel encourages others to do the same, but that's not a fashion thing. It's a human thing.