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

[Newmama29]

I’ve been scrolling through some threads recently & I find people are talking a lot about their kids/teenagers having mental health problems. Why is this so prominent now? I, myself, was only a teenager 10 years ago so I am baffled as to how many people claim their teens have mental health problems. Is it just that we talk about it more or is society causing this?

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

@Spottymushroom I think I love you

@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.

My son was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder age 13 when his dad died very suddenly, losing a parent whilst young affects approx one in ten kids.
Then you have relationship break ups, blended families, alcoholism, drugs, depression, gambling, domestic violence issues, to name but a few. As well as school refusal which is very complex and nobody seems to have any idea how to treat successfully.

Soooo the mental health problems my neurodiverse dc and the many others like them waiting for support have are simply down to “shit life syndrome and a negative mindset”

Okaaaaay🤔

What qualifications do you have to make these offensive statements?

go into the profession to save themselves spot on sparkling. I see it in my profession a lot, the ones with lived experience ( I also have lived experience ) that haven't done a TON of work on themselves get into thinking they can save everyone, that they know best and burn out quickly.

@CatsSnore

Phew someone who actually agrees with me 🤣. Yep lived experience is a good thing but like you said, not unless you haven’t worked on yourself first. Crash and burn 🔥.

SparklingMarkling

I beg your pardon. Neurodiversity is not a buzz word.

4 out of 5 young people with autism have experienced poor mental health. Modern day living is not easy for those with neurodiversity. Those with neurodiversity don’t cease to exist from statistics because they have neurodiversity. They’re treated by services the same as everybody else.

Trauma

@Tincan5555

Buzz word.

Neurodevelopmental conditions like autism do exist (obviously) but neurodivergence? It’s a catch all buzz word. Just another variation of normal.

Lots of kids who don’t have autism are suffering hugely with their mental health because their parents have mental health. Odd how mumsnet would delete a post for sharing that opinion. Very odd indeed. You can definitely only have one opinion on mumsnet these days it’s incredibly narrow lensed. Sigh.

That should have said their parents have poor mental health.

SparklingMarkling

What are you talking about. It’s a word many professionals often use to describe people who have a neurodiversity diagnosis. Both my DD’s diagnosis( she has 3)and neurodiversity are used by professionals including psych’s when discussing her.

Re your rather goady sweeping dismissive statement. I’d love to know where you got your data for that. CAMHs seem to be struggling to assess the children they have on their waiting lists let alone their parents.

MN could have deleted your post for either ableism or goading. Somebody else saved me the job of reporting it.

Screens, social media, dysfunctional families that create another generation of dysfunctional.

^ This.
My nan had two jobs and had to walk 5 miles between the two jobs. My mum can remember being in a bomb shelter as a child, along with her sisters. They don’t seem to have suffered with all these mental health issues. It’s almost shoved down your throat now, if you don’t have mental health issues it’s a bloody rarity these days.

Social media.
Lockdown.
Love Island - type shows with unrealistic bodies etc
Taking mobile phones to school where every move can be recorded and uploaded. A useful tool to bully others.
Pressure to do well.
Crap diets, too much fast food, lack of exercise/movement generally.
Gaming.

Missingmyusername

”My nan had two jobs and had to walk 5 miles between the two jobs. My mum can remember being in a bomb shelter as a child, along with her sisters.”

I think that’s key: they were all together.

Lots of young people were isolated during Covid. Ours had to be at home with just his parents for 16 months, lockdown or no lockdown, until vaccines were available. We had to take him out in February when we saw it coming. He certainly won’t have been the only one and that is bound to take its toll.

My mum was in London during the blitz with apparently no ill-effects. She was traumatised by Covid and still wears masks/is reluctant to see anyone.

You have a lot of interesting takes @SparklingMarkling ! I do agree with certain kinds of MH issues being fashionable and others not, one of the more damaging things I see online is when someone undergoing psychosis acts horribly and offensively the youngsters will run along to say ‘NO. That’s NOT mental illness, that’s being an asshole. I’m bipolar/schizophrenic/whatever and would NEVER hurt anyone.’ It reveals a shocking lack of understanding of how mental illness works and is quite offensive towards the mentally ill - almost like saying they’re all to a man horrible people if their symptoms manifest in other ways than being sad in their rooms. I have a public facing job and deal more with psychiatry than I ever thought I would and it’s obvious a lot of these people would never break these social norms if they weren’t sick. The unpredictability can be quite scary for those of us who have to deal with it on a daily basis.

And I think the MH crisis with these unprecedented numbers is very complex, but I’d put the internet as the main culprit. Hardcore porn, social media, endless streaming instead of hobbies, wholesale import of American therapy culture, 24/7 international news - I’m not sure I would have even known who the American president was at 14! I hated being a kid/teen but today it looks unbearable.

School pressures, constant monitoring and higher expectations at school. Lots of children used to bump along the bottom , opt out, leave education before gcse . Parents with high expectations micro managing children's lives, less independence to explore the world and learn without parents. Delayed independence. Plus constant stimulation and multi tasking through using tech .