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School Head: Teens Pathologize Normal Growing Pains
7 Dec
Summary
- Headmaster warns teens are over-diagnosed with mental health issues.
- Social media is teaching teens language to self-diagnose anxiety.
- Normal adolescent struggles are being 'pathologized' as chronic.
- Concerns raised about over-medication for non-chronic symptoms.
A prominent headmaster has voiced concerns over the increasing tendency to over-diagnose teenagers with mental health conditions. He argues that many perceived issues are merely the natural ups and downs of adolescence, a period inherently fraught with emotional fluctuations. This trend is exacerbated by social media, which provides young people with terminology that can lead to convincing self-diagnosis and pathologization of normal feelings.
This phenomenon, dubbed the 'TikTok-ification of mental health diagnosis,' encourages quick self-assessment via online content. The headmaster questions whether society is too quick to label young individuals experiencing typical sadness or anxiety, and he also ponders the extent of over-medication for non-chronic symptoms. He differentiates these normal experiences from chronic conditions requiring professional intervention.
