A study released at the end of September found that 30 percent of women aged 16 to 24 in the U.K. suffered from mental illness. This is similar to the rate at which women in America reportedly suffer from mental illness.
The study found that 1 in 5 young women in the U.K. have anxiety, depression, panic disorder, a phobia or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Men suffer at about half that rate. Also, 12.6 percent of women screened positive for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and nearly 20 percent reported self-harm.
First, some caveats about this study. It’s self-reported, which is a pretty poor way to develop statistics and, ultimately, policy based on those statistics. For example, the researchers asked people if they had experienced the symptoms of common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, and separately asked if the respondents had been diagnosed by a medical professional. But the researchers didn’t confirm that a doctor had actually diagnosed the respondents.
If you think people wouldn’t lie about speaking to a doctor, think again. Imagine you’re having a conversation with someone and you say you have depression. Well, everyone is depressed from time to time, so your friend asks if you’ve actually seen a doctor. It’s too embarrassing to admit that you self-diagnosed, so you say “yes” to end the conversation. I’m not saying that’s what definitely happened in this survey, but I would think at least some percentage of respondents would do this.
There’s also no consequences for lying on a survey like this. I also want to point out the 1 in 5 finding. Has anyone else noticed how many self-reported surveys come back with a finding of 1 in 5? I see this statistic so much I’m starting to think that 1 in 5 people haven’t actually suffered through or believe every terrible thing in the world, but that if you word a survey just right, you can get 20 percent of people to agree with you.
But let’s assume this survey is entirely accurate and young women really are suffering this much from mental illness. Why is it getting worse? I share Spiked Editor Joanna Williams’ theory that victimhood culture is a contributing factor.
Williams argues that a constant bombardment of advertisements and awareness campaigns has made people think that the common ups and downs of life aren’t normal and need to be treated (or self-diagnosed).
“Obviously, if someone is suffering from a mental health problem then they need to have the best help and support put in place as quickly as possible. But there comes a point where all the awareness raising creates more problems than it solves,” Williams wrote. “We risk losing the ability to discriminate between the emotional ups and downs that are part of growing up on the one hand and serious conditions on the other. We tell children that feeling stressed or anxious from time to time is not normal but something they need special help to deal with.”
She also discusses how having a mental illness today gets someone attention, sympathy and applause.
“For young women today there is no shame attached to discussing feelings of anxiety or depression. The opposite is the case and just as women rarely admit to feeling completely happy about the way they look, so too will few admit to being totally mentally robust and resilient,” Williams wrote. “Young women who openly display their suffering are lauded for bravery and honesty. Stigma has been replaced with kudos.”
This can be seen in the constant claims of a “rape culture” epidemic at American universities. Self-reported surveys claim 1 in 5 women have been sexually assaulted while in college (remember what I said about the 1-in-5 statistic’s prevalence earlier?). College-aged women are increasingly diagnosed or self-diagnosed with PTSD because they regretted hooking up with a guy at a party. Any kind of suffering that comes from being away from family for the first time in one’s life or the rigors of college life is blamed on a man.
Actually, PTSD seems to be the new ADD. For the past couple decades, any kid who didn’t like school and acted out was given medication instead of being taught not to act out. Now we’re throwing the PTSD diagnosis around. Gone are the days when you had to experience a violent or horrific event, with realistic flashbacks so severe they affect others around you. Now you can claim to suffer from PTSD if you occasionally remember that guy you met and slept with the first week of school.
“An honest discussion about young women’s mental health problems is impossible while we blindly respect, rather than question, claims to suffering,” Williams concluded. “It can seem as if the only response permitted is to demand more money for mental health services, more awareness raising and quicker access to treatment therapies. But this is an inadequate solution and will only exacerbate the scale of the current crisis even further.”
We’re living in an era where every bad thing we experience must be controlled with drugs and therapy. It also makes it more difficult to believe real sufferers.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
