i'm totally right
i.
Teens fake mental health issues to look cool at school
by Danny Buckland, Daily Mirror 27/12/2010
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MENTAL illness is the latest fashion accessory for teenagers, a survey revealed today.
Youngsters are faking serious conditions such as bipolar disorder, depression and self-harming in an attempt to look cool and copy celebrity sufferers.
The teens said stars such as Kerry Katona and Britney Spears, who have spoken about their problems, have been an influence.
An alarming 34% admitted lying about having a mental illness in the past, according to online therapy service mentaline.com.
The website’s founder Jesper Buch said: “It’s shocking that so many young people think mental health problems are fashionable.
“It’s a very sensitive topic, so to see that many teenagers are blasé about the whole thing isn’t good at all.
“Many young people are too quick to say ‘I’m depressed’ or try to gain attention by pretending to have some kind of personal issue. Your teenage years should be spent enjoying life, not convincing people that you have issues that should be taken extremely seriously.”
Almost half of those who thought mental illness fashionable claimed it made people “unique” while 24% said it was “cool”. But the majority, 61%, said it “should be taken very seriously”.
The top five phantom problems were:
1. Eating disorders - 22%
2. Self-harming - 17%
3. Addiction - 13%
4. Depression - 12%
5. Bipolar disorder- 9%
ii.
anorexia's history
Although the medical facts of anorexia nervosa have been documented since the 1870s, personal details of anorexics' lives are more publicized today than ever before. It was the death of Karen Carpenter, (a very famous singer/drummer in the 1970s) on February 4, 1983 that brought eating disorders to attention of the general public. Prior to 1983, almost no one outside of the medical community had heard of anorexia nervosa or bulimia. In 1981, the made-for-tv movie; "The Best Little Girl in the World", with Jennifer Jason Leigh as an anorexic, aired on ABC, but, it had no real impact on the average person. After Karen Carpenter died from the effects of anorexia nervosa, the world wanted to know more about the mysterious medical illness. Since Karen Carpenter's death in 1983, which resulted from complications of the disorder, people recognize that being extremely thin is not healthy and a few casually label overly thin women as anorexics. Since the late 1980s, many special eating disorder clinics have opened, but it may be difficult to change the eating behavior and mindset of an anorexia victim, especially when they are surrounded by numerous other thin women who have similar eating behaviors. Today, many young women are obsessed with dieting as a form of cultural expression and a way to look as thin as models and celebrities. Anorexia nervosa seems to be more prevalent as the ideal female body image becomes thinner.
iii.
In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true within certain limits, to be found experimentally and experientally. These limits are beliefs to be transcended.
-john c. lilly, experimental neurophysiologist, in his memoir center of the cyclone
iv.
"Nothing is true; everything is permitted."
-apocryphal sufi saying
Teens fake mental health issues to look cool at school
by Danny Buckland, Daily Mirror 27/12/2010
---
MENTAL illness is the latest fashion accessory for teenagers, a survey revealed today.
Youngsters are faking serious conditions such as bipolar disorder, depression and self-harming in an attempt to look cool and copy celebrity sufferers.
The teens said stars such as Kerry Katona and Britney Spears, who have spoken about their problems, have been an influence.
An alarming 34% admitted lying about having a mental illness in the past, according to online therapy service mentaline.com.
The website’s founder Jesper Buch said: “It’s shocking that so many young people think mental health problems are fashionable.
“It’s a very sensitive topic, so to see that many teenagers are blasé about the whole thing isn’t good at all.
“Many young people are too quick to say ‘I’m depressed’ or try to gain attention by pretending to have some kind of personal issue. Your teenage years should be spent enjoying life, not convincing people that you have issues that should be taken extremely seriously.”
Almost half of those who thought mental illness fashionable claimed it made people “unique” while 24% said it was “cool”. But the majority, 61%, said it “should be taken very seriously”.
The top five phantom problems were:
1. Eating disorders - 22%
2. Self-harming - 17%
3. Addiction - 13%
4. Depression - 12%
5. Bipolar disorder- 9%
ii.
anorexia's history
Although the medical facts of anorexia nervosa have been documented since the 1870s, personal details of anorexics' lives are more publicized today than ever before. It was the death of Karen Carpenter, (a very famous singer/drummer in the 1970s) on February 4, 1983 that brought eating disorders to attention of the general public. Prior to 1983, almost no one outside of the medical community had heard of anorexia nervosa or bulimia. In 1981, the made-for-tv movie; "The Best Little Girl in the World", with Jennifer Jason Leigh as an anorexic, aired on ABC, but, it had no real impact on the average person. After Karen Carpenter died from the effects of anorexia nervosa, the world wanted to know more about the mysterious medical illness. Since Karen Carpenter's death in 1983, which resulted from complications of the disorder, people recognize that being extremely thin is not healthy and a few casually label overly thin women as anorexics. Since the late 1980s, many special eating disorder clinics have opened, but it may be difficult to change the eating behavior and mindset of an anorexia victim, especially when they are surrounded by numerous other thin women who have similar eating behaviors. Today, many young women are obsessed with dieting as a form of cultural expression and a way to look as thin as models and celebrities. Anorexia nervosa seems to be more prevalent as the ideal female body image becomes thinner.
iii.
In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true within certain limits, to be found experimentally and experientally. These limits are beliefs to be transcended.
-john c. lilly, experimental neurophysiologist, in his memoir center of the cyclone
iv.
"Nothing is true; everything is permitted."
-apocryphal sufi saying