Is mental illness more prevalent now?

[DismayedAnnoyed]

I read a poster on another thread saying: Mental illness is so prevalent now that there aren’t the resources around to treat people

I am wondering, do people think this is true? Or just people are more aware?

I actually was at quite a nice school Lizzie (compared to my friends' at other schools experiences) so though I'm sure these things did happen they were rare compared to what i hear about today. I didn't say they never happened anywhere!

I think that maybe there has been a culture shift from people being expected to just put up with feeling unhappy regarding aspects of their lives to expecting that everybody should have a chance to feel content.

Agree with this an its through GPs that its facilitated.

mental illness in public is more prevalent

Who were in the asylums that were all knocked down in the 1980s. ?
It was decided then that the mentally unwell could be looked after in the community, have medication rather than a strait jacket

it has always been prevalent, just the name changes, the treatment changes, advances in treatment, drugs

I do think that some people refer to themselves as 'depressed' when really they are sad/grieving/stuck in a rut or any number of other things. Likewise I believe that a lot of people say they have 'anxiety' when they are out of their comfort zone or feeling a bit anxious.

On the other hand I also think there are plenty of people who have genuine severe mental illnesses who do aren't diagnosed due to ongoing stigma.

In my family we have a history of 'odd' behaviour...it was never diagnosed at the time as anything but clearly (and probably rightly so) would be now.

Examples:

• Great grandmother who would never eat in from of anyone else for 40 years and wouldn't go anywhere new, ever
• Great Uncle who came home from the war, hung his jacket on the back of the door and went to bed and basically stayed there until he died decades later
• Great great Uncle who threw himself in the canal with concrete weights in a failed suicide attempt

I'm also pretty sure that my father had bipolar disorder (and possibly a comorbid personality disorder).

I have bipolar disorder too.

I think in part there is less stigma now. You only have to read threads on here to realise how many people grew up with a family member with a mental health condition, and had plenty of unhappy experiences as a result, to realise it isn't anything new. But if you separate those into decent parents with a mh issue, and useless parents with a mh condition, the former group now would be the type to seek help and coping methods, and their dc would have normal happy childhoods. But back then couldn't be open or even think privately they did, and as a result their dc suffered.

On the other hand imo the modern culture of self indulgence/ entitlement does encourage some people either to imagine a mh condition they don't have. Or to completely absolve themselves of any personal responsibility to cope with or improve a mh condition that in reality is within the sufferers power to minimise or overcome. Which does a huge disservice to those with genuine mh issues or those who despite trying are beyond trying to help themselves.

Good of you to believe in adhd op, very understanding. Personally I believe that in this day and age nobody should feel the need to even voice that belief, anymore than they'd voice the opinion that they believe we have a solar system. Quite telling that you think it needs stating.

I think there' more awareness now and better diagnosis of anxiety conditions. My mum suffered life long mental health issues and my Grandma too and it was just talked about in terms of ' suffering with her nerves'. Nowadays there would be some term for - GAD, PTSD etc. There was also no help in the past in the way of disability benefits and things like that, people just tried to live with it and carry on. I see a huge number of people ( clients, collegues) suffering depression and anxiety and being off work long term but I think it is just more acceptable now to talk about it and ask for help.

I think there is a much better understanding of mental illness now and the medication you can take is excellent and enables many people to cope and function on a day to day basis.

People who self-diagnose themselves with anxiety when they simply can’t say no to people who are cheeky fuckers, seem to be on the rise as well though.

That’s probably controversial and many people won’t agree with me, but I do feel that sometimes people’s own personality traits might make people a bit weak/spineless, awkward or not liking confrontation in some situations. Is a self-diagnosis of ‘anxiety’ really necessary though?

Some people are a bit stroppy or sulky or angry etc but that’s just them, their personality-no need for a diagnosis. I think you can dislike confrontation or dislike talking to people on the phone or not enjoy small talk with strangers etc and that’s ok—without needing to call it an anxiety disorder.

I don’t really like talking on the phone or driving in foreign countries or speaking to my (frankly as rude as fuck) neighbours about her inconsiderate parking and will try to get DH to do all of the above, but I will do it, if pushed. I don’t think I have anxiety, I’m just a bit pathetic sometimes and not keen on confrontation with rude people!!

If you’ve gone to the doctor or psych and been given a diagnosis of anxiety disorder-this doesn’t apply to you.

DismayedAnnoyed

Well, you got that completely wrong. I think its an important question too and I wasnt taking offence at anything you had said as nothing you have said is at all offensive, I genuinely wasnt sure what side of the discussion you were comming from?

I don't think New Year is right, but another explanation might be that mental illness can be expressed differently depending on the society you live in. I read that in China depression was seen as criticism of the leadership so instead of what we would consider classic symptoms of depression people would present to their subtitles with headaches.

So all those people pulling themselves up by their boot straps and keeping a stiff upper lip probably had other symptoms. Or just drank a lot, as is still common.

My grandma spoke at length about ‘nerves’ and ‘vapours’. People were institutionalised, silenced and isolated.

My father died nearly 30 years ago. I had no support for my grief as a child. My own children are now facing their fathers life limiting illness that could give him months or years, we just don’t know. They are 9 and 11 and with the increased awareness that there is of emotional and mental health I hope to get them the help they need so they don’t turn out like me!
I don’t care if it’s undignified or whatever. As long as they are healthier as a result.

My mums lifelong mental health problems were triggered by severe post natal depression which wasn't really diagnosed or treated. Nowadays there would be more help, counselling etc. back in the sixties there was very little help. She was hospitalised when I was about eight in a psychiatric hospital and given ect treatment etc.

OMG hog its just choice of words. Lots of people don't "believe" in it and that is the words they use, hence mine, as I have explained already (read the thread). But if you want to look for something to argue about, take offence about, be nasty about, and create a bunfight over literally nothing you can keep going .... anyway I'm getting tired of being personally attacked in places where I actually have sympathy, knowledge and experience. The sanctimonious idiots on MN never cease to amaze me. Over and out.

I don't think the are more mental health issues now than previously. They are just better recognised and it is more socially acceptable to talk about things like this. In a way things have improved as suicide rates are way way lower than they were in the first half of the 20th century ( even non war and non economic depression periods) People are less stick than they used to be but the up - side of this is that they are less likely to commit suicide.

Problem is people self medicate with illegal drugs, for example which themselves cause mental health problems.

Anxiety isn’t about just feeling uncomfortable in a situation though, is it? I can feel like electric running through your veins, sweating all over, feeling faint, digging your nails in to your skin to just an divert the thoughts and the situation you find yourself in could be completely benign - like a meeting with friends. It is absolutely not ‘feeling a bit anxious’. It’s not like being nervous about an interview.

I would think schizophrenia, and Bipolar and schizo affective disorder etc probably are not more prevalent anxiety and depression is probably better recognised and treated more also there is less stigma attached to certain disorders when I qualified as an RMN mid 90,s people that had a diagnosis of a personality disorder and addiction issues ,were stigmatized by within mental health services and this hopefully changed

I don't know why I ever post on MN. Too many people use it to attack people sharing, in a way they wouldn't in real life. I always think of them as rather cowardly and unpleasant people in real life, but think they can be nasty and sarcy hiding behind a computer screen.

Shame, I would have liked to read more on the subject ... but I hope others find it useful.

Also, mental health doesn’t discriminate. Of course some people can be more vulnerable because of their situation but the richest person in the word with the great job and family can still suffer with depress/anxiety etc.

@Sassychiccy exactly. Anxiety is horrendous, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. The hyperventilating, passing out, vomiting, shaking. Wishing it would all just end because no matter how much you try and challenge those thoughts, when you're at your worst, they won't go bloody anywhere.

The whole thing demeans genuine mental illness, medicalises life’s normal ups and downs, and plays into the hands of big pharma
Totally agree with this. I worked in residential MH 20 years ago and I'm now back working with MH services, and I don't see a big difference in those suffering from severe MH diagnoses.

However, it seems now that the moment someone feels low, they suffer from depression. The moment that depression affects their life, it is labelled as severe. Same with anxiety. Kids worried about exams, that turns into severe anxiety. Feeling uncomfortable around strangers, it's social anxiety.

The problem is that we now live in a society of avoidance rather than confrontation. If something doesn't make us feel great, it should be avoided at all cost, not appreciating that it is by confronting our fears that we learn to become resilient.

Nowadays, it's cool to be a victim. You get much more attention as such than by showing to be resilient. Not only is it not helping society, but it's taken away attention and funding to those who genuinely do suffer from severe MH issues.

I don't agree though that mindfulness is a waste of time. Mindfulness is exactly that, dealing with normal day to day stresses and anxieties, learning to take control over how they impact on us and doing something about it rather than considering ourselves victims of feelings that we can't possibly control and requires magic intervention from someone else.

Swathes of men and some were on some sort of medication for 'their nerves' anxiety at guess, funny turns no idea what the correct modern medical term would be. Growing up in the 70s I would hear about distant relations or adults friends and neighbours having nervous breakdowns which I now assume were depression/aniexty built to a crescendo. I remember being told about an uncle who went gaga from the war - possibly some sort of PTSD. It was surprisingly common in those days too. I was talking to a lady in 70s at the end of last year and she was saying that 'nobody has nervous breakdowns these days' I said I thought it was that the symptoms were recognised earlier and could be treated before it got that far. She nodded and said 'I hope your right'

Many people seem to identify as having anxiety as a condition rather than having a somewhat worried personality which needs to be self managed. That’s not to say the anxiety isn’t a condition, just that there is a difference.

I think this is absolutely spot on.

newyear what about shell shock? Do you think those executed just lacked the resilience to pull themselves together? Or those that survived physically but post ww1 often lived short, miserable destitute lives did so in preference to pulling themselves up by the bootstraps and getting over their ptsd?

And that is only when shell shock/ ptsd became vaguely acknowledged. Go further back and there are numerous incidents that indicate ptsd existed in soldiers long before ww1.

@Appuskidu I get you're not taking about people who have been diagnosed, but I hate making phone calls, don't think it's my anxiety causing it though (unless it's phoning in sick, but that's left over from when I was bullied in a previous job).

In feel I essentially self diagnosed as I went and told my GP I was suffering from anxiety! As the symptoms included panic attacks, not able to sleep due to constant worrying and so on he agreed. The medication made a huge difference, unfortunately I can no longer take it and so far the list of potential side effects has made me too bloody anxious to take the replacement. Which really sucks.