How Teenage Rebellion Has Become a Mental Illness

[amizon]

Puke-worthy.

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/75081/?page=1

This is, in my mind, one irrefutable reason why our school system needs to change. We shouldn't have to make the nation's children and teens suffer through unneeded psychiatric "care"--which in my experience can be incredibly and needlessly traumatic--just to conform to a system that doesn't do it's job anyway. I can't remember where I read this, but someone once said the perfect society is one that has a place for the talents of all it's citizens. So why do we punish children with different needs and talents because they don't fit into the faulty system and, society as a whole? Why are we as a country trying to change the children, change people like US, when it only ends up hurting an already imperfect society? Why not change society? ..Oh, that's right, because it's TOO HARD. Silly me for thinking human rights and happiness is worth the fight.

Discuss? I don't see why anyone would disagree with me here, but that may very well be the arrogance talking.

[Eidolon]

Agreed.

[Avenger]

many schools get kids on these psychotic drugs that they don't need to be on
example one my self
1in third grade i was acting like i was shooting guns on MLK day(i was messen around and it had nothing to do with MLK, i was just a little kid who was bored as hell and didn't know shit)and my third grade teacher(who was racist) told my mom i should be checked out
by doctors,luckly my mom said no and i was never put on medication,otherwise i would be very fucked up.
example two my gf
2in elementry school they said my gf had ADHD and they put her on ritalin and it did nothing but make her agressive
because one day at school after she took it she bit this one dude really bad,then her mom took her off the ritalin
and if my gf would have never told me that i would have never suspected that had ever happened,because she does not
seem ADHD at all,she seems like a normal teenager.
example three my brother
3i don't have specifics but my mom has told me they tried to put my brother on pills as well and he doesn't seem like
a person with any disorders at all.

i think many kids at young ages who are hyper because they're kids are put on pills so they will be nice obedient kids
and to get the school more money,and many kids who are on pills are put into special ed,but if they never were put
on pills they wouldn't be in sped and could very well be in advanced classes.

[Avenger]

hey i'm going to be doing a persuasive essay in english soon,i might do it on this subject or something similar.

[Eidolon]

Avenger Wrote:hey i'm going to be doing a persuasive essay in english soon,i might do it on this subject or something similar.

Best wishes!

[amizon]

Avenger Wrote:hey i'm going to be doing a persuasive essay in english soon,i might do it on this subject or something similar.

That would be freaking amazing!

[youvebeenthunderstruck]

Yeah, but make it literate.

[Avenger]

The DSM-IV allows for diagnosis of the predominantly inattentive subtype of ADHD if the individual presents six or more of the following symptoms of inattention for at least six months to a point that is disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level:

1. Often does not give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.
2. Often has trouble keeping attention on tasks or play activities.
3. Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
4. Often does not follow instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions).
5. Often has trouble organizing activities.
6. Often avoids, dislikes, or doesn't want to do things that take a lot of mental effort for a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
7. Often loses things needed for tasks and activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
8. Is often easily distracted.
9. Is often forgetful in daily activities.
I GOT THIS FROM WIKIPEDIA^

so a person like this would be considered ADD,wtf doesn't that describe most kids who hate school.
because1 i my self in math sometimes make small little mistakes on adding subtracting mutipling or dividing
on my homework and test.2i usually if i'm bothered by something i can't pay attention to my tasks,or if it's completely boring
and i don't want to pay attention.3i don't listen to what the teachers say half the time because i don't care about what they have to say.4i don't finish my homework because i don't want to and half the time i don't want to follow the instructions given to me.
5i have no trouble organizing activities.6 i don't usualy avoid something that requires mental effort,unless i'm not interested in it
7i lose alot of stuff for a little while(usually i will find them later)8i'm easily distracted from something if it's boring or not fun
9i forget shit all the damn time but doesn't everyone.so if nobody bothered to actually examine me(and see that i'm not ADD) and said i meet the criteria because of the reasons i have already listed(i don't actually meet the criteria, because i have SAD selective attention disorder,so i select what i want to pay attention to, which i'm sure every body has, this isn't a real disorder it's something me and my friends made up)i would be put on pills and be fucked up all the time,this is how horrible schools are.if i on the other hand if i couldn't control what i payed attention to the i would be ADD.

[Happy Camper]

ODD is very real.

One of my step-brothers has it. If you were to search the site for any mention of "hell child" you'll probably find a post by me about him. I mean childish disobedience is perfectly natural as is adolescent rebellion. But that's not what we're talking about here. Like many disorders, it's to the extreme. It's kind of just short of sociopathy.

[amizon]

Happy Camper Wrote:ODD is very real.

I don't think it's not real. I think ODD, ADD, ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, etc. are all definitely real. It's mostly just that there is a lot of pressure to diagnose these rather than consider that the problem doesn't lie with the child. I guess I'm speaking from my own experience a lot here; for a long time when my mom would take me to the doctor for missing school (she really didn't want to but was "at her wit's end") I was told I had depression, and they prescribed anti-depressants for me. I hated them, and they didn't make a particular difference. Finally, I pretty much dropped out until further notice halfway through tenth grade (I was first put on anti-depressants in 5th) until I could "deal with my emotional problems". I thought I hated school because I was unhappy, not that I was unhappy because I hated school. After a while I was feeling much better, and was doing well off anti depressants, so I went back to school at the beginning of my Junior year. It started out okay at first, but as the year progressed I was into more and more unhappy, and engaging in more and more dangerous behavior to try to take my mind off it. But I've got pretty strong standards for myself, so I stopped. And pretty soon I couldn't make myself go to school anymore, and dropped out again (2/3 the way through the year). I was sent back to doctors and therapists, one told me this time that I had anxiety and gave me benzodiazepines for it (!!!). The thing is, I never felt the need to take them, because I wasn't going to school any more! I got better and happier so quickly, that I couldn't ignore the truth that all these psychological problems interfering with my life were really just interfering with school! And that's the distinction the diagnostic criteria for these mental illnesses fail to make. They stipulate the problem has to interfere with the person's life, but the sentiment among mental health professionals seems to be that all people should be okay with conforming to one basic path of life--Plan A, if you will. And many of those who, as a person, are better suited to a plan B, C, D, etc., are labelled as mentally ill rather than understandably different.

[youvebeenthunderstruck]

I thought ODD wasn't real.

[Happy Camper]

amizon Wrote:I thought I hated school because I was unhappy, not that I was unhappy because I hated school.

Okay, I think I get what you're saying now. While I do think that it tends to go both ways, maybe it seems like people only pay attention to the one way. Which can kind of make sense because on a reasonable scale, the environment is "out of your control". We can either get focus all our energy on how that's unfair or we can try and change the way our mind works. Now...while changing the big picture can seem like the "right" thing to do, it's going to be frustrating and it's better to start small and work out. People tend to like an objective opinion. As level-headed as we like to think we are, we can't help but be incredibly biased especially if we're still dwelling on the negatives and not adapting a certain extent to the environment.

It's a tricky balance. Adapting to the environment while still seeing the injustices and what needs to be changed.

My point is maybe specialists and researchers don't think to blame the big picture because the small parts are relative to the bigger pattern.

I hope that made sense. I have a habit of string sentences together that kind of make sense but are out of order. Drove my english teachers nuts.

[Darthmat]

What is ODD?

[SoulRiser]

Quote:ODD is very real.

One of my step-brothers has it. If you were to search the site for any mention of "hell child" you'll probably find a post by me about him. I mean childish disobedience is perfectly natural as is adolescent rebellion. But that's not what we're talking about here. Like many disorders, it's to the extreme. It's kind of just short of sociopathy.

That may be true, but people can use it as an excuse to not have to listen to people who are rebelling for legitimate reasons.

ODD = Oppositional Defiant Disorder.

[monkey]

I hate it when you act weird all the sudden they say you have ADHD
and put you on all these medication's.

My brother was falsely diagnosed with it because he was
acting out in class, so then a month later my mom
thought it was bullshit, and took him off medication
then the school bored got mad. so he transferred
because he already was having other trouble with
the school.

There such ass's
making up thing's to diagnose misbehaving kids with

[Liquid]

Most of these "mental illnesses" are probably real, however, I'd wager that 99.9% of people forced to take medication for the "mental illnesseses" don't have anything wrong with them...

The real reason most of these people are drugged is because other people don't like their personality and DECIDE to see it as a "mental disorder"

[Aya]

I've already commented on that article. My account name is Ayla87.

[dreamer...]

I don't like your calling it "teenage rebellion." whenever i'm defiant, depressed, or idealistic, I'm always told that its "just a stage" everyone goes through, and that i'll "get over it." yes, teens are more prone to act rebelliously, but just because you are a certain age group doesn't mean you are acting the way you act because of your age. Teens sometimes act like they do because it's their personality.
Most people on this forum, it seems, are non-conformists or rebels. And 10 years from now, they will probably still be nonconformists. it's not just a stage.

Sorry people this post was kinda off topic. oops.

[Darthmat]

Independent thought is dangerous, you stupid hooligans.

[Avenger]

darthmat Wrote:Independent thought is dangerous, you stupid hooligans.

(i know ur joking but)independent thought is a virtue,and it is a very good thing

[i-am-the-liquor]

ITS BURROWING INTO MY BRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SoulRiser]

Teen Rebellion is not just a phase - some smart people wrote that.

[Zombie]

My mom made me take medications most my life, till middle of 2007 and she decided to stop. I remember one medication made me see spiders all over the walls/ceiling/floor and she didn't take me off of them, she didnt care about the fact that I was hallucinating, she only worried about the medication not working. Thats another reason for me to hate this bigoted/psychotic family. All they care about is looking good and normal, my mom makes me dress preppy and wants me to have normal preppy friends. First thing I'm asked when I make a friend is "Are they Christians!?!" I'm lingering off topic, but... yeah.

[i-am-the-liquor]

dude if i was you i would have told your mom to shut the fuck up and leave her Church for once in here life

[Zombie]

Though its strange. she sheltered me, and when I left the church I tried to fit in with everyone at school who I previously thought would cause me to backslide and they resented me, which kept me from conforming to my peers. If I wasn't sheltered then I would have gotten along with them, and conformed to their image when my family mocked me for my beliefs (see my thread "brainwash", and my intro thread). being hated by all groups forced me to become an individual. Life is funny.

[i-am-the-liquor]

yeah it is.

[SoulRiser]

Quote:My mom made me take medications most my life, till middle of 2007 and she decided to stop. I remember one medication made me see spiders all over the walls/ceiling/floor and she didn't take me off of them, she didnt care about the fact that I was hallucinating, she only worried about the medication not working.

Okay. Your mom is stupid. If a medication isn't solving the problem... there's no point taking it. If it also CAUSES other problems... WTF? Why in the hell did she make you take that stuff? What was the point?

Quote:Thats another reason for me to hate this bigoted/psychotic family. All they care about is looking good and normal, my mom makes me dress preppy and wants me to have normal preppy friends. First thing I'm asked when I make a friend is "Are they Christians!?!" I'm lingering off topic, but... yeah.

Preppy christians... hmmmm. Something wrong with that picture. Lots of things, actually. Yeah. Off topic. I'll stop

[Almosthere]

sorry to distract you from your off-topicness, in all its glory, but i have inside experience here.

I was diagnosed with ADD in the 1st grade. If the criteria posted earlier for this illness are correct, then i only meet half of them. I don't deny that i have some issues remembering things, and keeping track of homework material, but i've been forcing pills (that keep getting bigger and bigger) down my throat for the last 8 years or so, and it never feels any better. I've switched meds 3 times, and it never once occured to my doctor or parents (all of which i'm certain have the best of intentions) that the medications might be ineffective because i do not have the specified disorder. I don't like the idea of being fixed. Isn't that what you do to keep house pets from procreating? Its not like they've put me through therapy, or corrective behavioral treatment, but i still don't like taking pointless pills.

[SoulRiser]

Maybe you should tell them that and try to get off the meds. I heard there may be some negative side effects to some of those meds. Ritalin in particular, I have no clue about others though.

[Blano]

Yeah, me and my brother have both been diagnosed with 'ADHD'. When my doctor told me about it, I didn't really care but I also did not know much about it. So they gave me the medication and I took it. After about a week, I realized it was doing more harm than good. I lost a ton of weight because it made me lose my appetite. It also made it almost impossible for me to be creative or doodle when I was bored, because it was almost controlling me to 'pay attention to the teacher', and I felt like a complete zombie . When I would get home, it was like I no longer could be creative. Eventually I just stopped taking the medication and I feel a lot better.

I firmly believe that these 'disorders' are just diagnosed so that it makes it look like school isn't the problem with learning, it's because the students are not exactly what the school wants them to be. It's crazy. There is no such thing as individuality in the modern school system.

I can imagine a bunch of school supervisors sitting together in a meeting saying "Let's drug the kids!" It's sad, but it's what happens.