You may have noticed that there’s an upswing in people identifying with mental health diagnoses lately. Here’s my take on this, I think there are 4 reasons.
The first is what I’m going to call diagnosis creep. People are using clinical terms much more broadly than was intended in the past.
You’ll see this when people say “I’m so OCD” or “I’m so ADD”. Or when you watch a video that talks about “High Functioning Depression” or “High Functioning Anxiety”. But, for a clinical diagnosis, with PTSD, Depression or Anxiety, the diagnostic requirements say “The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in… functioning.” Many people can experience traits of these diagnostic labels, but often not meet formal criteria for them when professionally evaluated.
In the past terms like depression, anxiety, ADHD, and trauma were used to describe a small percent of the population- maybe less than 5%, and it included the most severe forms that impaired functioning. But now people are casually using them to describe a much broader segment, maybe 30+% of people.
It’s easy to see diagnosis creep with the label of narcissism. My colleague Nevin runs a marriage therapy clinic and says that 45% of couples who come in have been told by friends or YouTube videos that their partner is a “narcissist”. But, estimates for Clinical Narcissistic Personality disorder range from .5%-2% of the population.
Check out the timestamps below:
00:00 Intro
03:50 Less Stigma And More Awareness
04:19 We Live In A More Difficult Environment Than Our Ancestors
04:56 Straight Up Misinformation With A Broad Reach
Click on the link below to access the transcript.
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Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.
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