In high school, how many times have we heard “I’m so depressed”?
Well, it has become a trend for students to fake mental health such as anxiety disorders, depression, and personality disorders. Mental illness disorders are difficult things many people experience, and even live with for their whole life, and certainly is not something a person should fake just for attention.
In high school, I see students back out of presentations because they have “anxiety disorders,” but then go on to be the loudest kid in class, as well as missing school because they say they have “depression. As many know, mental health can affect a person’s life in many horrible ways, it may affect their mood, their personality, feelings, and behavior, and could affect ones ability to relate to others and function everyday.
Some individuals have gotten so addicted to faking mental illness, by time it has created an actual disorder called factitious disorder, which is when one acts if they have a physical or mental illness for special attention, which can also consciously create these symptoms you make yourself believe you have.
From what I have experienced, kids in my grade and other grades as well label themselves as “depressed” as a joke whenever they get upset by a person or when they listen to a sad musical artist. Once they continue to use that joke they become addicted to using that excuse on everything, which is a symptom of factitious disorder.
It is normal for teenagers to feel stress about an upcoming test, or tons of homework due the next day, or they might feel depressed after a break-up, but those experiences do not physically mean you have an anxiety disorder or depression.
“I personally know that when I’m stressed about finals, and keeping my grades up, especially when I have a difficult teacher, I get upset, but I never label myself as “depressed”.
Depression causes loss of interests or activities or at times people, as well as other symptoms like completely secluding themselves from the outside world. Anxiety comes in many different forms, but often interferes with daily life or makes social situations extremely difficult.
I do struggle with anxiety, and when I have to get up in front of the class and present, it is very nerve-wracking. My heart will start racing, my hands will start getting clammy and my throat will dry up, as my mind is creating many horrible scenarios that I make myself believe will happen, but typically don’t.
Annie Peterson, a health and PD teacher at Barlow, teaches her students about mental health, such as depression and anxiety. Peterson has rarely had a case where a student has faked their mental health.
“It’s not very often that it happens, although if they did come to me, I would ask them many questions such as what makes them nervous about it, and to come up with a solution together,” she said.
Peterson said if a student really does feel uncomfortable presenting in front of the class, they can do a one-on-one activity, where the student can present in front of a friend or the teacher. This activity can certainly help with anxiety in teenagers that in do not feel comfortable presenting in front of the class.
In other hands, students have other opinions on this topic, “It’s pretty obvious when they fake it,” says freshman Emma Yowell, “Typically they use simple excuses like I’m sad’ or I can’t get out of bed because I’m sad’ and don’t actually acknowledge the actual signs of depression other than being sad.” Yowell has come across people who have faked depression or any other disorder, but she is no longer friends with them for that reason.
“If people are faking mental health, then I would say there is something else going on that we just don’t know about yet,” said Molly Ninneman, one of the amazing counselors here at Barlow. Ninneman is committed to helping students with their personal health and figuring things out together that will help them feel more comfortable in school.
For students who think they may genuinely have a disorder, Ninneman recommends the 504 plan, which is counselors and teachers working with students to indicate if their disorder is real or not and to offer academic accommodations accordingly.
In order to set up that plan, counselors would request a doctor’s note, which is part of the process of figuring out their plan, and letting their teachers know that the diagnosis is real and not false.
