What are you theories on why there appears to be increasing diagnosis of mental illness?

Question

I don't know if it's just me but I've noticed that there appears to be more and more people suffering mental illness, and increased number of children getting prescription drugs for ADD/ADHD. Is it as simple as the pharmaceutical creating their own market? Or is it more complicated than that? What is your theory?

Answer 1

It's important to remember that ADD/ADHD can be both real and over-diagnosed.

I've worked with kids who have these disorders; non-compliance and antsy-ness are not the only signs. A lot of my ADD/ADHD make an honest effort to do their work, but tracking with me is just plain tough for them--much tougher than it is for most kids.

As for the apparent growth in mental illness in general, I can shrug and invoke the usual suspects: the continuing accumulation of environmental pollutants; greater numbers of people sliding into poverty.

Other suspects include the collapse of neighborhoods as social units and the collapse of extended families. In a world where most neighbors are strangers and where each extended family is scattered across five states, families and singles face the world alone--and face an indifferent and increasingly complex world with minimal social support. No wonder we're all going nuts.

Answer 2

There are many reasons for this. Some people believe that the stigma of being mentally ill is lifting bringing more people forward to health professionals. Others say, it is the flavor of the day, meaning, the going thing now is mental illness whereas in the 1990's in was the "Yuppie Flue" fibromyalgia.
The truth is probably a little of both. While true mental illness does not go away with time, reactionary depression or anxiety lifts as the situation improves. More and more primary care doctors are requiring people to see a psychiatrist to determine what kind of illness the person is suffering and what treatment is needed. A person can say "I have depression" but unless it has affected a persons major life areas over a course of time, it is probably not true mental illness.

Answer 3

im probably gonna piss some here off, but this is my opinion, you can respect it or not . i feel mental illness is real, mind you lots of people i feel are faking, some run to the hospital on a constant basis for their illness, because "they cannot deal" and i have a family member who is exactly they way im describing. has 4 kids leaves them with their sick mother and runs to hotel psychiatric floor of the hospital and looks for any excuse to go there, the mother is diabetic and is in remission from breast and lymphnode cancer with a pacemaker, the one child is 8 and is so called depressed after hearing the complaining of being bipolar-deressed ect. this child hangs around this parent 24 hrs a day and repeats everything he hears, also is diagnosed with adhd . hyper is the right diagnosis in my eyes, i was raised in the mid 70's and most kids then were hyper from sugar, now its worse, look at some parents who do not cook for their kids and brings home burger king and pizza hut 5 times a week because they are selfish and dont love their kids enough to take time to cook a healthy meal and eat with their kids and talk with them at dinner, to catch up on their lives and show care and concern for them, most feed them fast food to shut them up and keep them out of their faces, babies raising babies??? i think so. so now add & adhd is here and parents automatically want their kids on drugs to control something in them, because they dont want to "deal" with it, how selfish, then when the kid grows up, he/she resents their parents and never respects them, they werent parented properly, they lived in a medical cage, with no way out, for no reason what so ever.

Answer 4

awarness and acceptance.
pplz are more open about their feelings and more eager to seek help.
Also many parents just want the doctors to diagnose their kids w. add/ adhd so that they can get some drugs to control them and ignore their bad parenting. Its easier say "Poor lil gaffer hes got adhd." than "That little sh!t is the result of poor parenting" i do recongnise that many children do have this disorder, just not all the ones on the drugs for it.

Answer 5

I think as far as ADD/ADHD, it's just because teachers and parents don't want to deal with even the slightest of a hyper kid and are overzealous about trying to get them to be quiet and sit still.

And also there's a like disorders being named practically everyday.

Answer 6

No one wants to do what the Bible says, to have a peaceful life--so they are always at war with themselves.
Satan is after their mind-- and SOMEbody has to quit those thoughts from him.

Answer 7

$$$$ CHA CHING!!!!!!