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[Guest guest]

http://www.jsyk.com/2010/12/29/teens-are-faking-mental-illnesses-to-be-like-cele\

bs/

has an interesting take on this: Data will be used to justify over- and

mis-diagnoses and place blame on the patients, rather than the doctors and

pHARMa companies. Geez, we're jaded, but he's probably right.

Terry

Teens Are Faking Mental Illnesses to Be Like Celebs, Survey Says

12/29/2010 3:01PM by Nadine Cheung



Celebrities are glamorous and inspire us in many ways, but a new survey shows

that teens are now faking mental and physical illnesses to be more like their

favorite stars. The Daily Mail reports that one-third of teens admit to

imitating disorders, according to a study conducted by Mentaline.com.

The survey included 1,192 British teens ages 12 to 17. One out of every 10

considered mental illnesses to be " trendy, " and half of those participants

believed it made people " unique. " On top of that, 16 percent of the teens said

that celebrities make mental conditions " fashionable. "

Those who admitted to faking illnesses said that Britney Spears and other celebs

that have been open about their issues have influenced them the most. What were

the top five inauthentic problems? Eating disorders (22 percent); self-harming

(17 percent); addiction (13 percent); depression (12 percent) and bipolar

disorder (9 percent).

Jesper Buch, of Mentaline.com, told the site: " Mental illness is a sensitive

topic, so to see that many teenagers are blase about the whole thing isn't good

at all. Your teenage years should be spent enjoying life, not convincing people

you have issues that should be taken extremely seriously. "

What do you think about the survey's findings? Are the statistics shocking or no

big deal? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Faking mental illnesses is.. «I refused to " vote " in their inane poll because

there weren't any options that blamed docs/pHARMa.»

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