Maybe someone has mentioned it and I missed it, but I have a different opinion about the mental illness stats. Mental illness has been rewarded on social media and is now a way to gain sympathy and likes as young people explain their struggles and failures. Everyone seems to want a label for their angsty feelings so that they can show off their struggles. Older generations were taught to suppress any outward signs of mental struggles such as anxiety or depression (not healthy either). They were taught to put their head down and move forward and show no signs of weakness. The younger generations seem to have done a complete 180 degree turn and have a need to have an ailment of some sort so that they can feel more "normal," because everyone has their struggles. The good vibes that people send their way on social media when they announce their struggles becomes almost an addiction that they become dependent upon. It becomes a learned helplessness that is celebrated. It also allows them to justify actions they do because they have an illness and their actions are just an outward manifestation of that illness. I have seen it so often in people 30 and under and I think it is crippling a lot of those who fall victim to it.
I know someone close who self-identifies as autistic. I have known them their entire lives and they are definitely not autistic. But their social media presence is all about their autism. This person also is able to shed any responsibility for their own hurtful actions by chalking it up to being caused by their disease process. It feels very disingenuous and is an insult to the people who actually suffer from autism. But this person doesn't see that and the energy and endorphins they get from the sympathy on social media drives them to carry on the charade. It is tough to watch.
So, it is totally believable to me that 60% of liberal women in their 20's would wear the badge of mental illness. It seems that they have to have this diagnosis in order to truly feel like they are part of the group and that they are all fighting the same struggles. Then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You act that way long enough, it will become who you are.
I don't want to seem so jaded, but it is very prevalent and hard to watch. My hope is that maturity will eventually kick in and they will figure it out. But, I have a nephew that has not grown out of it and he just turned 40.