To Think Ch4 loosing it is... Irresponsible?

[TraumaSaurus]

I've only watched one episode, and I had issues with some of that episode (specifically the use of the phrase "psuedoseizures" on live TV), however, the thing that is really irritating me is the phrase

"Suicide is a trend. A trend" in the opening scenes of the episodes. It's stated by a teenager, and whilst I get that's her opinion, it's a freaking dangerous one to be shared so publicly by Channel 4 in a program that is supposed to be educating the public about mental health in the UK.

Trend and trendy are very different terms. There is an increasing or decreasing trend in something, doesn't mean it's becoming more popular per day, but that numbers are increasing or decreasing. There is a rising trend in self harm- more teenagers are doing it, so it's not incorrect. The term pseudoseizure is still widely recognised, and whilst I understand your irritation, it's still used by people in health care and the public.

The self harm being a trend combined with listing how everyone has a mental illness concerned me, especially coupled with how the teen likes watching mental health dramas. Working with teens i do think mental health issues are on the rise, but also think there is a social contagion element. For example, only certain mental illnesses are the ones that become "popular" (horrible phrasing). So for s while you'll see a spike in claims of one condition, then that calms down, then it's another, but you never get a few months where suddenly lots of teens have schizophrenia.

It's an interesting documentary, but leaves me with concerns about how teen mental health was presented.

Just a point about auras (sorry) but many people who are epileptic also have learning disabilities and while it is sometimes possible to predict a seizure by the way somebody behaves there is often no warning. Injuries and premature deaths are disproportionately high amongst this group.

Also, not everyone who self harms requires a mental health service. It is very common amongst teens and for many it is a passing phase. I remember experimenting with superficial cutting years ago when I was a teenager and I'm now nearly 50. What we do need to look at, collectively, is why. Why are so many young people expressing themselves in this way. What are the underlying fears or worries. Why the need for 'attention' if it is that?

Of course many young people do need additional support with self harm but funding for their mental health services has been slashed and there has been an upsurge in referrals for assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions so capacity to see them is much, much lower than it had been in previous years. A positive development is that many areas are rolling out a service that places mental health practitioners in schools (again).

Pseudoseizure is an outdated term and they should really look into it all and make sure they use the correct terminology. It suggests that people are faking the seizures. Dissociative or Non-epileptic are the correct names, then I suppose it only matters to those of us living with the condition. I very rarely get them now thanks god, but for some people it effects every aspect of their lives.

Also to touch on your other point, there’s no way suicide should be described as a trend.

The word “trend” suggests a positive thing. Imagine describing terrorist attacks as a trend, right up there with chunky knits and skinny jeans.

I find it odd that you seem to be more upset at the terminology used than you do with the subject matter.

nicnacnew I’m sure op is upset at the subject matter too.

Suicide can be a trend. Universities now don't announce a student death by suicide because of the likelihood another will happen if it's announced.

There were also the tragic Bridgend suicides, for example, these indicated a kind of trend, due to the intense media coverage etc.

Agree with PP, trend does not mean trendy. Two very different terms.

Op I think you are over thinking this. Lots of people have posted comments you obviously don’t agree with, you’ argue’ with them state they are wrong and you are right. People are entitled to their own opinions we don’t have to agree with you.

Agree with PP, trend does not mean trendy. Two very different terms.
They are.
But working with teenagers you don't ever hear them talk about anything being trendy, and to be honest trendy is a word that I associated with my mum talking about things that might be considered cool.

Teens talk about trends meaning popular/cool/has status/is in fashion. They tend not to be speaking about statistical trends over time when talking about a trend.

So, thank you to those of you for explaining the trend thing. I get there's a difference between say a statistical trend or trend being associated with the latest brand of trainers.

From what I understood about the young woman's comments was she was talking more about the latter - that it was sort of the "in" thing to do. Did no one else feel that?

Current (and to be honest has been there for the last ten years) advice on the term pseudoseizures from the Epilepsy Society:

"NES used to be called 'pseudoseizures’ but this name is unhelpful because it sounds like the person is not having 'real' seizures or their seizures are deliberately 'put on'.

A newer name for non-epileptic seizures is 'dissociative seizures'. This is helpful because it does not describe seizures in terms of epilepsy. It is also recognised by the World Health Organization (this means that it is included in the International Classification of Diseases: a list of all known diseases and conditions)."

Chloemol No one has to agree with me, but my views are in line with what the Epilepsy Society has been saying for the last ten years - this information should have, by now i would have hoped, been cascaded to all NHS trusts.

LadyEggs Thank you for pointing out the high proportion of people with epilepsy who have learning difficulties.

The other thing I didn't really understand about the dissociative seizures, is I have never heard them being a symptom of an autistic spectrum disorder. For those of you who work in mental health services, is this common? My understanding was they were usually from the impact of physical head trauma, or psychological trauma.

From what I understood about the young woman's comments was she was talking more about the latter - that it was sort of the "in" thing to do. Did no one else feel that?
That's how I understood it, especially with the casual listing of who has what mental illness and the very almost researched way self harm was spoken about.

Then again, I'm viewing her comments in light of my experiences working with teenagers. I don't think I've ever heard a teen use the word trendy and I have observed passing trends/fads with mental health where certain things become popular and then another thing takes its place. There was a worrying trend for teens sharing self harm images a year or so ago and I dealt with a pastoral situation where students were sharing them on group chats and social media. A number of students found it very distressing.

I think we have to ask serious questions about how and why certain issues and behaviours linked to mental health become a trend /cool. It's certainly been on the increase in recent years (along with a rise in very real mental health issues in young people)

Self-harm is on the rise and I don’t think it’s wrong to say that within some groups of young people it is a trend. It is true that there are instagram accounts and internet sites where young people share photos of their self-harm; I self-harm and have obsessive behaviours and trawling these sites can be a compulsion for me. It’s noticeable that a popular poster in the self-harm community can post a photo of a specific type of harm in a specific place and suddenly over the next few days or weeks there is an influx of very similar images from other users mimicking that style of self-harm. On some of the websites and chat servers I visit there are self-harmers with an almost celebrity status and other people on there saying their self harm isn’t worth anything because it isn’t as bad/ pretty/ deep/ significant etc as the one or two popular members in that group.

Social media has definitely added a competitive side to self-harm for some people who feel they have to keep up with the people posting photos of their self-harm and it definitely seems worse with teens who want their self-harm to match that of the self harm shared on the most popular instagram/ website posts. Obviously the most popular posts are those where the self harm is deepest and most severe - needing stitches is a typical goal and so is requiring a hospital admission or an inpatient stay. Diagnosis, hospital admissions, suicide attempts and past traumas can all become almost badges of honour on some of the websites and accounts. It is a very dark side of self-harm similar to pro-ana sites and accounts.

I think the impact of peer-pressure, social media and certain mental illnesses becoming almost something to be proud of are important things to be addressed in the area of teen mental health. That’s not to say that somebody’s self-harm isn’t worth helping if they’ve started in response to a trend or that it won’t become a serious factor but equally if the idea that somebody can start self-harming because their friends do it or because a person they respect online does it is ignored then it will be impossible to effectively try and target those groups of people before it becomes a coping mechanism they can’t break.

From what I understood about the young woman's comments was she was talking more about the latter - that it was sort of the "in" thing to do. Did no one else feel that?

I think the girl is right.

Years ago when I was a teen 'emo' cutting your arms was a trendy thing to do, it was a big part of the emo scene.

Traumasaurus it is not a feature of autism but there might be an increased prevalence amongst people with autism.

I concur with @LadyEggs higher prevalence but not necessarily causation.

I would imagine op is, that is why I used the phrase more than. If you read op comments the terminology seems to be the main focus of post.

When I was at school self harm was seen as part of emo culture too, and was almost a badge of honour. This is a million per cent not the case for the majority of teens who self harm, all of whom should be able to access support and the correct help; but with the prevalence of social media and programme content it's genuinely scary, I often think what would have happened to me if I had been able to access all of the stuff online. Tiktok is the worst in my opinion, I honestly cannot believe some of the things posted on there, especially as you don't have to register to watch it so prove age or anything.

I think you are being a bit oversensitive on the trend thing.

Self harm is a trend though. A lot of young kids are being encouraged to try it by dodgy social media accounts

Seeing/hearing about s/h can be very triggering for certain people. It can make them want to s/h not because it is 'trendy' but because it causes intrusive thoughts about s/h or it makes them think about a habit they are trying to break. It can also encourage them to try a new s/h behaviour as a new coping mechanism.