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

Christ is the reason?

I do agree with that. When I look at friends teen children. They actively want to be in the family unit, go on days out, go on family holidays.

I was trying to avoid any of that at all costs and mostly, so were my friends.

I was a teen 10 years ago and I'd say a lot of my friends had some major issues that would have benefitted from treatment or therapy. They just didn't get it and bottled it all up and pushed it down.

Now they're all in therapy as adults instead.

The lazier tag isn’t supported by the data which finds that parents nowadays spend a lot more time and effort on their children than previous generations did.

It’s a thin line between the two.
I was parented poorly, but I was surrounded with friends who were parented properly and could see how I wanted to parent

Knowing how to parent vs lazy parenting

Sorry - just picking up on a point made by Dotjones above:

Quite often on MN you'll get an OP complaining that they're going to a wedding and ...horrors...they are going to be seated next to people they don't know. This is portrayed as a terrible imposition and a trigger for anxiety, not the perfectly normal social encounter that it is.

I've been in loads of situations socially where this is the case - big dinners, weddings, parties where the host has deliberately mixed guests up. Yes, as in introvert it is a little stressful but I never knew you were allowed to moan about it till I came on MN! To me, it's a normal expectation or are we supposed to just socialise with people we already know?

Only mentioning this as something I've only seen in recent years as an eg of people thinking they should never be put outside their comfort zone.

And a lot (not in all cases) of lazy parenting.

Dotjones · Today 08:54
Loads of reasons, a few spring immediately to mind:

1. There are so many parents with mental health problems. It spirals generation by generation. As a species we have reached the point where we are devolving rather than evolving - negative traits (in terms of survival of the fittest) are not eliminated.
2. Awareness and diagnosys are better.
3. The cult of the child - it's easier for a parent to put their child's bad behaviour down to them having mental health problems than it is to accept that they have raised them badly.
4. It's fashionable. Mental health used to have much more of a stigma attached to it than it does now. It's similar to the explosion in children who are transgender or homosexual - 20 or 30 years ago they barely existed, even less so openly, because there was a stigma.

The reasons that have caused more mental health issues are not all bad in themselves, e.g. awareness and diagnosys, but they inevitably lead to a greater prevalance (or perception of it).

There's a lot of truth in this.

I hadn't considered the 'fashionable' factor, but I think you're right. That's not to trivialise serious mental illness, but yes, there's a downside to being totally open-house about MH - it will inevitably get trotted out when it's not really the case.

With some people there can be a tendency to think that they have a right to be shielded from any minor stress or pressure which is basically just normal life: exams, interviews, academic assignments/deadlines, meeting new people, going to a new school, having injections and other medical procedures etc etc. Not saying these things aren't stressful - just that we all have to get on with it - it's just life, and a lot better than the horrors of the past in terms of ill-health and life-opportunities.

OK perhaps I misread your earlier comment when you said the ones on the waiting list are really quite ill.

I was just pointing lots of people are awaiting some form of ND diagnosis but they aren't ill. It's not something you recover from so to speak. A difference isn't a illness. But yes of course ND individuals can also have mental health issues.

Loads of reasons, a few spring immediately to mind:

1. There are so many parents with mental health problems. It spirals generation by generation. As a species we have reached the point where we are devolving rather than evolving - negative traits (in terms of survival of the fittest) are not eliminated.
2. Awareness and diagnosys are better.
3. The cult of the child - it's easier for a parent to put their child's bad behaviour down to them having mental health problems than it is to accept that they have raised them badly.
4. It's fashionable. Mental health used to have much more of a stigma attached to it than it does now. It's similar to the explosion in children who are transgender or homosexual - 20 or 30 years ago they barely existed, even less so openly, because there was a stigma.

The reasons that have caused more mental health issues are not all bad in themselves, e.g. awareness and diagnosys, but they inevitably lead to a greater prevalance (or perception of it).

Willyoujustbequiet
Nobody has said that however people with neurodiversity have higher prevalences of mental health difficulties and the nature of the conditions can make them harder to overcome, endure and treat.

@elliejjtiny sorry to see this. I hope your son is in a better state of mind now. That must have been really frightening

My point is neurological disorders are not illnesses. They are not mental health conditions.

They may be disabling for some people but just because you are neurodiverse it certainly doesn't mean you are ill.

I haven't read the whole thread and I'm not qualified to comment about serious MH conditions, just the general climate of unhappiness/anxiety with young people.

I think social media has made young people's lives much more difficult over the last 20 years. Bullying, for example, now follows them home and there are so many new ways for bullies to persecute their victims. Also, 'influencers' etc present a totally false and unattainable version of life, making naive youngsters feel inadequate for ridiculous reasons.

I've noticed over my lifetime that standards of personal presentation have sky-rocketed too. Watching old TV series, the actors were much less perfect-looking - you were allowed to have funny teeth etc in the past - and women had frizzy hair etc etc. But the UK has fallen under the influence of Hollywood so much in recent years, that young women now spend time and money on emulating the supposed (ie plastic) perfection expected there.

Plus - with careers - there's the push to send so many to university when it really isn't right for them along with the growth of reality TV and celebrity culture. This has made many perfectly good careers unattractive to young people, who think they deserve a glamorous and luxurious lifestyle like those seen on TV. They feel they've failed in life if they have to do an 'ordinary' job.

Also, I think we've become a more self-centred culture - where kids obsess about themselves instead of getting out into the world in some way and making a contribution, or following an interest. I remember when labels like 'anorak' and 'sad' started to be used to sneer at anyone with a hobby (that wasn't football). and to portray them as social failures.

Loads and loads more reasons. I'm glad I was young when I was young and I feel for young people now.

Not read all the replies.
People have always struggled.
Just now there is more awareness , more being able to connect with others, more sharing and reaching out so we see it more.

@NeedToChangeName I agree with you. Lots of my sons friends are self diagnosing. Also I'm finding they are using words like self harm, crisis, suicide attempt etc when a "milder" word would be more appropriate.

When my son attempted suicide a few people assumed he wouldn't have done much physical harm to himself. They seemed quite shocked when I explained that he was unconscious in HDU. I know some people talk about suicide attempts that I would describe as self harming rather than a suicide attempt. Also I wouldn't say that biting nails would be self harming. My 9 year old has autism and he keeps biting his arm. I wouldn't call that self harming but I know others who would.

@Tincan5555 I can see you are pushing for an argument not just with me but other people on this thread. Plus you have twisted my words and decided to make a sweeping statement. You don't know me and you don't understand my views. Clearly you are an expert by experience and therefore will have views of your own. Have a good night!

🤣🤣🤣

I did wonder what I'd said wrong!

We didn’t have a pandemic and mass isolation 10 years ago.

Is it really so hard to imagine how that might impact mental health?

My DS' cohort seem quick to self diagnose wirh social anxiety when they are awkward / uncomfortable, anxiety when they are nervous about driving tests, depression when they split up with girlfriends

It's good people are more open about mental health and stigma has reduced, but too much self diagnosis, I think

Littleguggi
But not saying what that time is so it’s pointless you saying you have a frontline role. It could be anything and frankly your views are worrying.

“It's very rare that I see a child/ young person who is 'pretty unwell'/ acutely unwell, in most cases they are still functioning in daily activities i.e school, sports, socialising etc.”

You are suggesting most people under Cahms aren’t unwell because they go to school. I’ve never ever come across a professional with such dismissive, ignorant and concerning views.

@Tincan5555 I'm not here for an argument nor am I here to disclose my profession. I am talking as a parent also. I don't know your situation, but like I said in MOST cases the children/ young people we see in CAMHS are still functioning in daily activities, and of course we would want them to unless there was a high risk of harm to self/ others. There are a range of mental health conditions as there are physical health conditions. Some are more debilitating than others i.e. psychosis or eating disorders. As a parent I would not want my child medicated unless as a last resort, I am sharing my experience as a professional.

Littleguggi

My daughter has attended school and socialised the whole time in between admissions and having regular psychiatry and therapies, even when she moved to adult services rated as red. 🤔My son has dragged himself to school throughout. Forcing yourself to plod on doing hard things doesn’t mean you’re well. Parents do not want medication we want well children.

What frontline role?

Parental micromanagement, a child cannot be left alone to gather thoughts or create an imagination, my friend will not allow her 8 year to not have something to do or be out of her sight, the kids are being suffocated.