Comments: Teen Defiance, Now A Mental Illness
Bruce Levine's written some interesting stuff on the links between Shrub's family and Eli, which I found interesting, to say the least. Anyway, you know my views on this: mental illness = behaviour we don't like.
Who's "us"? That's the question. Society operates on the basis that one never questions authority. This is inculcated from birth, through school, into the workplace, and beyond. Whether this is a conscious or unconscious decision on the part of the powers that be is anybody's guess - it's a difficult culture to shift, and that's for sure. The idea that we should listen to "subordinates'" grievances never really occurs to anybody. The reasons for this are obvious: it would make "us" accountable. Unfortunately, people miss out on a great deal, because children have the liveliest minds. Perhaps that's what people are afraid of: being outthought
Matt
Posted by Matthew Holford at January 28, 2008 10:05 AM
"Is ODD diagnosed in teens more now than say 10 years ago?"
Well, it's what the inpatient psychiatrist called my daughter at age 19.5 years old, when she wouldn't take medication. She got Haldol shots instead. Discharged w a SZ dx on Clozaril.[June 2007]
I am pretty sure most parents with kids in the last decade heard O.D.D. right along with BP,ADD,ADHD,MDD.etc.
I used to get a "standard lecture" from psychiatrists that was something like this: "Doesn't matter what the dx is, the meds are all the same for treatment". I am serious.
We know what those were. And I disagree with those doctors; as most of us SHOULD. Anti psychotics were first created for SZ correct?
Since when, and I quote myself here: "Do you discharge a patient with "Impulse Control Disorder on Clozaril?" It happened once.[June 2006] So did most every other dx possible. It's pretty much when gave up on any professional ever giving me an answer; because they don't have any.
Baseline, treatment of all and any behaviors with psychiatric medication WILL happen if you walk into a psych office, and even a general practioner.
Wait until the DSM-V comes out.
Posted by Stephany at January 28, 2008 10:31 AM
Do we know for sure that ODD even existed as a diagnosis ten years ago? Even if it did, I can guarantee it's being trotted out a lot more now than it was then and being applied to younger and younger kids. It's all part of the plan to sell mental illness and push medication. What a bonanza for shrinks and pharma both!
Posted by Sara at January 28, 2008 11:55 AM
Levine's assertion doesn't need to be backed by any data because there is no data indicating that oppositional defiance disorder exists because, as Levine correctly points out, opposition and defiance are not disorders. There's no data to support the idea that these behaviors are disorders.
As society becomes more repressive, more people resist oppression. Resisting oppression is labeled as mental illness when it's not. When I was a kid, parents routinely sent kids who got caught smoking pot off to psych hospitals for ect (oh yes gentle reader they did). The Rotenberg Center was started in 1971. A Clockwork Orange, 1962,addresses some of the issues Levine discusses as behavioral psychology was morally flawed even before the advent of the new generation of psych drugs and the diagnoses to go with them.
As technology increases, it's easier for parents and schools to monitor every movement of kids, causing the kids to go nuts, sort of like a dog who is tied to a tree who becomes vicious. Levine is dead on.
Posted by Sally at January 28, 2008 01:23 PM
Sara, oh yes, I've heard O.D.D. for a decade within the school system, as well as my daughter. There's a web forum 'conduct disorders' that will back up any arguement you give per drugging kids for behavior issues. Just google it.
Posted by Stephany at January 28, 2008 06:10 PM
It didn't come with the ODD label, but I guess I was defiant, and I've been drugged up since I was fourteen. My parents and teachers liked me better on the meds.
I'm 26 & on seroquel now. My boyfriend doesn't really let me go anywhere alone anymore, because it makes me so compliant that it's like I forget that I'm allowed to say no or argue.
Posted by s at January 28, 2008 06:40 PM
chose "play lo-fi" or "play hi-fi"
country blues grass type song
Oppositional Defiance Disorder
David Rovics
http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/default.cfm?BandID=111310&content=lyrics&SongID=1122865
LINK
Posted by mark p.s. at January 28, 2008 06:51 PM
LINK doesn't work. Copy and paste
http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/default.cfm?BandID=111310&content=lyrics&SongID=1122865
to get to the song.
Posted by mark p.s. at January 29, 2008 06:54 AM
Following are some very scarey statistics I found when doing a research report for my herbalism class.
According to the National Institute of Health, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, estimates between 4%-6% of the population suffers from Attention Deficit and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders. However, for most states, the number of children diagnosed and medicated is far above that average. One example dates back to 1992 when the prescriptions written for psycho stimulant medications used to treat childhood behavioral disorders in North Carolina were reported at 24,584 according to the state's Medicaid Program. By 1998, that number had increased to 135,057, an increase of over 550%. In the same report, the use of antidepressants in 1992 was reported at 1,326 however; by 1998 that number had risen by over 1,200% to a whopping 25,392 prescriptions. This rise in diagnosis and medications coincided with the passage of a Federal law (1991) that gave school districts an additional $400.00 for each child that was diagnosed with a learning disorder.
In 2003, the Center for Disease Control conducted two statewide surveys based on the records for state sponsored medical treatment. The percentages listed in these surveys do not include diagnosis or treatment through private medical services. The first survey compared the percentage of children aged 4-17 years ever diagnosed with ADHD by age, sex and medication treatment status in the United States. The results ranged from 2% of 4 yr old males to 15% of 14 and 16 yr old males and approximately 0.5% of 4 yr old females and 6% of 11 and 17 yr old females have ever been diagnosed with this disorder. For those children that are currently taking medications, the numbers ranged from 1% of 4 yr old males to 9% of 10 and 12 yr old males and approximately 0.25% of 4 yr old females to 4% of 9, 10 and 11 yr old females. The second survey compared the percentage of children aged 4-17 years ever diagnosed with ADHD by medication treatment status and state/area in the United States. The results of this survey showed that overall, 8% of 4-17 year old children had ever been diagnosed with ADHD and 4.5% of these children were currently being medicated. The top ten states for diagnosing this disorder and the approximate percentages are:
1. Alabama 11% 6. Arkansas 9.9%
2. Louisiana 10.25% 7. Rhode Island 9.9%
3. West Virginia 10.125% 8. South Carolina 9.8%
4. Kentucky 10.125% 9. Delaware 9.75%
5. Tennessee 10% 10. Mississippi 9.7%
The top ten states currently medicating children diagnosed with this disorder and the approximate percentages are:
1. Arkansas 6.6% 6. Delaware 6.1%
2. Alabama 6.5% 7. South Carolina 5.9%
3. Louisiana 6.4% 8. Kentucky 5.8%
4. Tennessee 6.3% 9. Virginia 5.75%
5. North Dakota 6.25% 10. North Carolina 5.6%
On a personal note, the state of Arizona ranked 48th in number of children diagnosed with this disorder (6.25%) and 48th in the number of children currently medicated (3%). Colorado ranked last in children diagnosed with ADHD at approximately 5.25% and California ranked last in the number of children currently medicated at approximately 2.25%.
The National Institute of Health also estimates the percentage of affected children for the following disorders at:
Bi-Polar Disorder 4% to 6% of the general population
Conduct Disorder 1 to 4 in 100
Anxiety Disorders 13 in 100
Depression 2 to 8 in 100 of children/adolescents
Learning Disorders 1 in 7
Eating Disorders 1 to 3 in 100
Autism 10 to 12 in 10,000
Schizophrenia 1 in 10,000
Oppositional Defiant Disorder 10% to 15% of the general population
Scared yet????
Posted by Mary M. Ernsberger at January 29, 2008 07:44 AM
"Even the best-behaved children can be difficult and challenging at times. Teens are often moody and argumentative. But if your child or teen has a persistent pattern of tantrums, arguing, and angry or disruptive behaviors toward you and other authority figures, he or she may have oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)."
So, the Mayo Clinic doesn't believe in what I call normal teenage behavior/ you know those developmental stages all need to go through, to grow up into wise adults based on experiences?
This is what parents find on the internet, and the Mayo Clinic holds an esteem that should be questioned.
That statement I added in italics looks like a pharmaceutical DTC ad if I ever saw one. [and I have].
Posted by Stephany at January 29, 2008 11:25 AM
When my brother was a teenager he was in the principal's office every week. He skipped school a lot. My parents constantly received phone calls about him. He dropped out of gifted and talented classes because it meant more busy work. He flunked chemistry because he was busy building an electric guitar in wood shop class (can you tell we're from the south? ha). He graduated from high school went on to the local community college found something he was interested in and did well enough to get a full scholarship to a great university that he transferred to. He graduated magna in mechanical engineering from this univeristy. He went on to grad school, has a good job, and is married with 2 children. There are a lot of kids out there who are just like my brother. They don't need anti psychotics.
Incidentally, I was the teenager who didn't cause any problems. Teenagers are supposed to cause trouble. They're supposed to rebel. Worry about the ones who don't. I'm the one who ended up in the psych ward as a young adult, not my brother.
Posted by Lisa at January 30, 2008 04:42 AM
"And it seems to me perfectly in the cards that there will be within the next generation or so a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, and producing … a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda, brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods."
Aldous Huxley, 1959
Posted by City Buddha at February 13, 2008 10:12 AM
FUCK THESE PEOPLE! WE SHOULD KILL THEM ALL.
OVERMEDICATING US ALL AND TRYING TO TAKE AWAY OUR VERY SOULS!
MOTHER-FUCK THEM IN THEIR MOUTHS!
Posted by MasterKiller at March 12, 2008 11:32 PM
Today most of the teens are experiencing with various types of problems due to their peers influence in most of the cases, parenting today's teens is not the easiest tasks to parents. Parents need to be very calculative to provide them with all best and necessary facilities. parents need to take part in most of the forums and discussions boards that helps them to gain more knowledge on various teens issues.
Posted by troubled teens at April 17, 2009 11:17 PM