Is Mental Illness Becoming More and More Common?

It seems you can't turn on a television or radio or jump online these days without seeing and hearing reports about the challenges of mental illness. Whether it's the latest school shooting or a discussion about depression, mental illness is increasingly becoming part of our public discourse. Is this simply because we are diagnosing issues that were always there, or is it truly becoming more prevalent? Short answer, think it is some of both.

There was a time in world history when mental illness was essentially ignored. Those unable to conform with societal expectations were said to have a "nervous disorder" and often their actions were kept hidden due to a desire to avoid family embarrassment. Other times, they were institutionalized and the key was thrown away.

As psychology began to develop as a social science, many efforts were made to understand and explain abnormal behavior. While the approaches to healing have changed over the years, the advent of psychiatric drugs in the mid-twentieth century allowed many who would have previously been institutionalized to integrate with society. Today, anti-depressants are extremely common. In many areas, the once-stigmatized practice of therapy is seen as a healthy endeavor to ensure the highest possible mental health. However, in some areas and cultures there is still a lot of prejudice against those who seek professional assistance. As a society, we have a lot of work to do in this area.

I do believe that mental illness is on the rise and that it isn't just a factor of changing societal views. It's particularly noticeable among adolescents. Many factors may be to blame, from technology to education and parenting. As parents, the general trend is towards a more permissive approach whereas in the past parenting was quite authoritarian. Kids tend to do better with structure, but they also need nurturing. When we offer nurturing without structure, the uncertainty can create anxiety.

Technology is another important factor in modern mental health. Many children spend large amounts of time battling fictional characters or other players in multiplayer online games. In this virtual environment, they have complete control over the outcomes. In the real world, however, their options are limited by parents, teachers, laws and morals. Video games provide a safe, controlled environment whereas reality does not. Given the choice between the two, it isn't surprising that many children prefer to live in a virtual world.

Social media blends reality with technology in strange ways that can result in negative self-comparisons as we believe that a person's social media life accurately represents their real life. Online bullying is also an unfortunate issue that many children experience. In the old days, bullying tended to end when a child arrived home after a school day. Now it can continue unabated throughout the evening and weekend. It's also possible for a bully to reach a broader audience more efficiently than ever before. Even when a social media post is quickly removed, it's impossible to know how many individuals saw it before it was deleted.

Do video games have a place in our society? Does social media offer benefits for some? Certainly. However, it can become quite problematic when over-consumed, even impacting a child's neurological development. The job of parents is much harder than it once was as a result. It can also be harder to grow up in a world where societal expectations are higher but the education system isn't adapting quickly enough to address the emotional needs of many students. Some educators argue that it isn't the school's job to take on this task, but we no longer live in a world where parents are willing and able to teach all the skills necessary to survive childhood and adolescence. A world where teens can do calculus but struggle to socialize will not lead to a successful future society. We need to address emotional needs along with the intellectual. How to do this is a topic for another post.

The good news in all this is the increasing awareness, decreasing stigma and increasing research and resources surrounding mental health. Though far from perfect, there are some promising societal trends and the profession of mental health counseling continues to evolve. It isn't enough, however, for therapy to be the only safe and healing place. We have much work to do as a society to face the effects of our own poor choices and poor treatment of the vulnerable mentally ill individuals among us. We need more loving communities, classrooms and homes. How to this is also a topic for another post.