Education & Bipolar Disorder Revisited
We are seeing massive increases in the diagnoses of psychiatric disorders in America’s children.
In 1994, there were twenty thousand documented cases of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Today, there are 800 thousand cases. That’s forty times as many diagnoses! But ADHD is just one diagnosis.
What about the massive increase in Bipolar Disorder diagnoses? Forty times as many cases from 1994 to 2003? And many more since then!
Bipolar Disorder, sounds neat and clean, doesn’t it? Yup! Bipolar Disorder. But it’s just a sanitized way to describe a condition that used to be called Manic-Depression. Does that ring any bells?
Think back to all the things you’ve ever heard about Manic-Depression and the odd behaviors associated with it. Just keep reminding yourself that 40 times as many children have been diagnosed with an illness that was formerly only thought to occur in adults (and that still has not been proved to even exist in children). And they are being medicated with powerful and expensive drugs, that have serious side effects. Who stands to benefit from this? Huh?
Well, I’ve done some real pondering on this issue. It is especially personal to me, because I have loved ones who suffer with this painful emotional dichotomy. I have seen the ravages of this “disorder” first-hand.
First, let me say that in spite of the increase in diagnoses, even the experts don’t agree whether it is a valid diagnosis in children, or not. And even specialists who say it may be a valid diagnosis say that bipolar disorder is over-diagnosed.
Let’s take a look at some issues that may lead to this type of diagnosis:
- A child may have an explosive personality, with outbursts.
- A child may exhibit aggression.
- A child may be angry, even have rage.
Now, let’s look at each of these issues:
FIRST:
Childhood is a time of bombastic, even explosive, outbursts. Do you ever remember your parents telling you to “settle down”, or to “speak more quietly” when you were a child? Have you ever thought back as an adult and wished you had one-tenth of the energy you experienced as a child? Or, have you ever watched a youngster get angry with a playmate, then quickly settle down to play harmoniously after the tears were dried?
Childhood is the time when we learn about the world, ourselves and others. It is a time when we learn to modulate, moderate and curb our enthusiasms. It is the time when we learn, through trial and error, to play nicely with others, or suffer the consequences.
SECOND:
With the role models children are inundated with on a daily basis (through the media, including warfare games on their Playstations), is it any wonder that children see aggression as the mode to success in life? Losers are weak; they let people walk all over them; they even get killed. The strong get what they want.
Psychiatrists have known for years that Passive-Aggressive behavior is one of the chosen defense mechanisms of those who feel they can gain control in no other way.
Who has less control over their lives than a child? They don’t get to decide if there is a divorce or if they get to see their father (or mother, as the case may be). Nowadays, they may not even HAVE an acknowledged father. They have no say about where they will live or under what conditions. In most cases, they don’t even get to decide what they’re going to get to eat for dinner. Helpless? Hopeless? Possibly.
THIRD:
Given the helplessness and lack of control I just mentioned, is it possible a child can be angry, even in a rage, over the conditions in their lives? Does it make sense to say the child has a “disorder” because they have these angry feelings? Given the natural childhood tendencies to rambunctiousness, and the automatic need to learn modulation and moderation, children need time to learn how to handle these explosive emotions.
How dare we say that anti-psychotic drugs are the preferred solution! These emotional upheavals and mood swings are not just a modern phenomena. One only needs to read the tragic love story of “Romeo and Juliet”, written many years ago by William Shakespeare, to realize that emotional upheaval (and faulty judgments and behaviors) of young people have been with us for a long time.
As a society, we need to start looking at the causes of some of this anger and rage, instead of just prescribing drugs (which, by the way, were never intended for children and have nasty side-effects, like massive weight gain, tremors and lack of fine motor skills, just to name a few).
Psychiatrists don’t know if the children being treated would ever have developed a full-blown case of Bipolar Disorder as adults. Even psychiatrists are arguing among themselves whether this is a valid diagnosis for children, some as young as 5 or 6.
What they DO KNOW is that most children who qualify for the diagnosis DO NOT develop mania in later years. No, they usually develop clinical depression. How sad!
If you’ve ever known an adult diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (which used to be called Manic Depression), then you know they can function as level-headed, sane adults, with no outlandish behaviors or flamboyance, IF THEY TAKE THEIR MEDICINE. The difficulty is keeping them on their medications because they miss the wonderful exhilaration of their manic phases.
Is it any wonder these diagnosed children grow up to be depressed? They are being sedated before they’ve even had a chance to experience the childhood exhilaration of just being alive!
We have some serious problems in our society, including a public educational system that has completely deteriorated. The issue of over-diagnosing psychiatric disorders gives a whole new meaning to “drugs in our schools”. It’s about time that we wake up to the fact that things won’t get fixed with a pill.
Social problems are impacting our educational system and social problems MUST be taken into consideration in any education reform programs.
What we are doing to our children is insane! We are teaching them that pills and drugs are the solution to every uncomfortable problem. And we wonder why drug abuse is so prevalent in our country.
If you want to know about a plan that will revamp our school systems completely AND offers solutions for the impact of social problems in our schools, then you MUST read “Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education” by Don Kingsland. Learn all about The Kingsland Plan TODAY! I’d be happy to tell you where you can get your very own copy!
Remember, drugs can be THE problem, not THE solution!
Brennan Kingsland, RN, BSOM, CHN
