Jonathan commented on the previous post:
"...in some circles it (a mental illness diagnosis) is celebrated so people look for and encourage diagnoses that may not be medically accurate."
My perception is that many "sophisticated" players are gaming the system to take advantage of the "...reasonable accommodations..." for people with "disabilities" in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
If a sophomore in high school can get a "label", then those accommodations often include extra time to complete tests. That includes the SAT and ACT which are college entrance exams. Sometimes those accommodations are so burdensome to the faculty that they allow the student to take the test home to complete.
Those labels follow the student to college where they offer the same advantages. Some "disabilities" impact the ability to read and so the "reasonable accommodation" involves supplying a person to read the questions out-loud. Some "disabilities" involve attention deficits and so the university is legally required to offer the student a private room (perhaps without a proctor to watch for cheating) to take the test.
By the numbers:
Recent annual rates of various mental/emotional health disorders in the United States (Link):
- Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: 1.2%
- Borderline Personality, Cluster B Disorder: 1.5%
- Bipolar Disorders: 2.8%
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorders: 4.1%
- Substance Abuse + Mental Health Diagnosis: 8.1%
- Major Depressive Disorder: 15.5%
- Anxiety Disorder: 19.1%
(Anxiety and Depression are two sides of the same coin. Anxiety happens when a young person struggles to keep up with his herd/tribe. Depression happens when the young adult realizes that he will NEVER be able to keep up with his tribe)
Diagnosed mental/emotional health disorder rates by selected demographic silos (Link):
- Male: 20%
- Female: 26.7%
- LGB: 53:2%
Stats from another website (Link):
Serious mental illness (SMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder resulting in serious functional impairment, which substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.
Bottom line
1 in every 9 Gen Z in the work-force has been diagnosed with "Serious Mental Illness.
1 in every 13 Millennial has been diagnosed with "Serious Mental Illness".
If you are in a group of 20 random people, there is a good chance that there is at least one person in that group who is unhinged.
Plan accordingly.
It's one thing to have pity and sympathy for the mentally ill. It's another thing altogether to celebrate and reward them. It's a sign of a dysfunctional society.
ReplyDeleteI was going to cut and paste side effects of common antidepressant drugs but that would be an article in itself with variables of adult vs teen vs children. Men vs women vs LBGT as well as other disease processes that affect them like potential dementia issues.
ReplyDeleteLet us say it's worthwhile to LISTEN to that Bland almost cheerful voiceover discussing potential side effects of a GREAT MANY DRUGS currently being pushed on our people. I'd include injectable weight loss shots in that Listen.
THEN Add in what happens shortly after they decide not to take them, cannot afford them, try to stretch their supply and so on. Let alone a "Supply Chain Issue" that might make them UNAVAILABLE.
Some of those "Mood Changes" the happy voiceover speaks about is termed homicidal idealization and suicidal idealization.
Seems a recent high profile double murder was so indicated.
Could get spicy as some normal folks who are taking antidepressants might be training next to you in your mock infantry workouts. When they run out of meds...
A large part of the problem (IMO) is helicopter parents dragging their kids to the docs to get any kind of diagnosis that will call for 'accommodations' at school making it easier for Johnny or Jennie to get the straight As required to get into a 'Good' college.
ReplyDeleteAnd, never forget that in older versions of the DSM the entire LGBTQRSTUV contingent were considered clinically il.
Just because they stopped printing that chapter doesn't make it less true (same goes for the KJV).
DeleteI see this commonly among my young, female co-workers. They tell me quite openly what their diagnosis are and what meds they are taking. I have not heard the same from my male co-workers. I'm a 60s guy working with lots of 20s kids.
ReplyDeleteI read a lot, blogs like yours, history, what passes as news.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure there is no hope.
Between the population and the economy I can understand being depressed.
Haaaaaha
Canada has Medical Assistance In Dying MAID that last year accounted for about 25% of all of Canadas deaths. They even recycle your organs.
DeleteI hear you don't even have to be Canadian to enjoy their services.
If you're without hope maybe you're worshipping the wrong God?
Another shining example of why we must repeal the 19th. If you can't see how/why or need me to explain, you too are part of that same problem.
ReplyDelete"Reasonable accomodation" is the lynchpin.
Truly disabled individuals fight to NOT be included in the group. A noble idea with a good intention is once again co-opted by the weak and evil. Whocoulddaknowd? Men. Men know. Women pretend it'll be different this time. Every time.
In my state of New Hampshire, about 23% of all the children in the public schools are classed as "special education". In my own district the figure is about 22%. I am convinced that this is a scam involving several parties and motives beyond those ERJ noted in the post:
ReplyDeleteIrresponsible and negligent parents want their kids diagnosed because that "medicalizes" the problem, which was actually caused by bad parenting. This absolves the parents of the guilt that is due for their failures, and absolves the child's failure and negative behavior as well. If it's a medical condition, it's nobody's fault.
Psychologists and others in the SPED eco-system profit from maximizing the number of children diagnosed as eligible for their services, and by maximizing the time their services are needed. At prices of up to $200/hour, this is very lucrative indeed. And as the pharmaceutical industry says, "a patient cured is a customer lost."
School administrators get more money for SPED students. Our state government provides about $3,000 per IEP student in additional aid to the public school, and more federal money comes in as well. The superintendents seize on that money regardless of the other burdens that the situation puts on taxpayers because their bureaucratic mind sees more employees and more programs as good for their organization, and aggrandizes their own jobs so they can demand higher salaries.
The system is thoroughly corrupt.
My wife teaches math at a university. The tales she tells me about accommodations given to students is unbelievable to someone who went to university when a university degree meant something.
ReplyDeleteShe just finished grading final exams. 20 students had identically worded answers generated by AI ... and the answers were wrong. But not allowed to flunk the students.