
Why Mental Health Disorders Emerge in Your Early 20s - ekollar
http://www.vice.com/read/why-mental-health-disorders-emerge-in-your-early-20s
======
aaron-lebo
I can relate to this article.

At 21 my life was all in front of me, then OCD, which I had seen symptoms of
as a teenager, reared its ugly head and pretty much destroyed my life. I fell
into a deep depression and only now almost 7 years later do I feel like I'm
getting back to where I was.

For anyone going through hard times, keep moving forward. It does get better.
Sometimes tomorrow and next week look pretty bleak, but you never know how
you'll feel a year or five down the road.

I love this quote from MLK:

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then
crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

~~~
Swizec
Another helpful quote: "If you're in hell, keep going"

~~~
ramblerman
To be precise it's by Churchill and goes:

"If you're going through hell, keep going."

Which does it a bit more justice.

------
fsk
One difference is, in school, if you get marked down on a Math a Computer
Science test or homework, there's almost always a clear reason.

In a job, if your boss just doesn't like you for whatever reason, there's no
clear feedback for why you're failing, at least not in the same form you get
feedback in school.

For example, on a job interview, the hiring manager will say something vague
like "bad cultural fit" when he really means "This candidate knows more than
me. If I hire him, then my own job might be at risk."

I always thought "Work hard, study hard, do your best job and things will
always work out for you." It's a bit of a shock to realize that's a lie.

~~~
peteretep

        > in a job interview, the hiring manager will say
        > something vague like "bad cultural fit" when he really
        > means "This candidate knows more than me. If I hire him,
        > then my own job might be at risk."
    

Rationalising people's poor reactions to you as their being scared of your
superior intellect is going to stop you from dealing with the underlying
issues you're having with social interaction.

~~~
scintill76
Several commenters are jumping on this. I don't interpret it as "'Bad culture
fit' always really means X", and certainly not "The only reason people could
dislike me is because they know I'm superior to them." It was merely an
example of the arbitrary, unfair, unstated, maybe even unconscious reasons you
or your work might be rejected as an adult, which might be difficult to cope
with if you are accustomed to well-reasoned, principled, and kindly explained
criticism from school.

On the other hand, some people complain about arbitrary treatment in school,
too. I can't think of any egregious experiences like that for myself. Maybe
these complainers are the type who make excuses for their own failings? Maybe
school vs. adult work isn't a good contrast after all? Anyway, I found it a
better analogy than you're giving it credit for.

Also, I think your tone is a bit strong. Maybe you didn't mean to, but it
sounds like you're accusing this person of having "underlying issues with
social interaction" and that they often feel they're mistreated by others and
are superior to them. That seems uncalled for, given that the original text
wasn't that direct or personal. It was just an example. If you feel that it
implies a certain attitude of the author that you feel needs correcting, there
might be more helpful ways to say it.

------
javert
> What about kids from wealthy families who don't have the stresses the rest
> of us do in early adulthood

That crap doesn't need to be in the article. I had a ton of trouble in my
early 20s becuase unlike _every other person in my family_ , I wasn't an uber
high achiever (despite trying _really_ hard). I eventually realized that I had
literally no role models that were, you know, normal, average people. You
aren't a failure just because you aren't a CEO and are never going to be one.
That is something I had to learn. And my family was just upper middle class. I
imagine it can get much worse than I had it.

~~~
M8
Did you have to pay for your own education?

~~~
mikeash
Am I correct in assuming that this is a rhetorical question intended to make a
point along the lines of, "If you didn't have to work hard to pay for your
schooling, you don't know what true stress is"?

If so, I strenuously disagree. Stress is all relative, and the difficulty of
adjusting to adulthood comes from the change, not the absolute situation
you're in.

I won't deny that working to put yourself through school is going to be
extremely difficult. But if you've been holding down jobs since the age of 14
to help your family eat, it's just more of the same. It's _difficult_ , but
there's not much adjustment to be made.

On the other hand, if you lived a nice stress-free life with your wealthy
parents helping you out at every turn, and then suddenly you're 18 and on your
own and you're starting to realize that your professors don't care who your
parents are and you have to buy food yourself and you might actually need to
look for a job at some point because mom and dad won't support you forever,
that's a big adjustment. The poor guy might kill to be in your shoes, but that
doesn't mean it can't be just as stressful, or more, for the rich guy.

You can certainly argue that it shouldn't be stressful, that the rich guy
should take a moment to reflect on how fortunate he is, and be happy. But
that's not what happens.

~~~
javert
I was not born into a rich family. But extrapolating from my own experiences,
I can tell you, your description is unlikely to be an accurate description of
what makes life hard for the rich person. (Still, I appreciate your coming to
my defense---although maybe that guy was just trying to judge where I came
from in the overall social hierarchy.)

The rich person's problem is more likely to be having no self esteem and
feeling like a total failure because he (she) didn't live up to his parents'
unreasonably high standards.

It's better to be hungry than to hate yourself.

It really is. Hunger does not drive people to suicide. Hating yourself does.
(Although even that is a huge oversimplification.)

It's also better to work hard than to hate yourself. Hard work, even when you
hate the job, is still has an element of being fulfilling.

There is a reason there are a lot of suicides at MIT, Stanford, and so on, and
practically none at Local Town Community College or even Mediocre State State
University.

------
scroy
To me it comes off as a kind of PSA for Vice's 20-something target audience.
There's nothing really new to take away if you're generally familiar with the
current understanding of how the brain develops, and if you've experienced
adolescence.

It's a given that mental health is difficult to understand and will be for a
long time. How can a human fully grasp the pathology of another brain? To get
reach even a basic understanding requires a lot of individual time and effort.

But prevention - that's something we all might be able to do something about.
Mental illnesses are systemic and build up from patterns of stress that we
deal with in youth and adolescence. This researcher mentioned social "risk
factors" like poor engagement and sheltering. But I can't help but suspect
that the sheer scale of modern society is just not something we are designed
to cope with. People thrive with structure, and modern societies give us the
curse of too much freedom and not enough guidance.

We're talking about illnesses that cost us $300 billion/year (in the US), more
than twice that of all cancers [0]. Some kind of mental illness affects almost
a fifth of adults. You can't look at this and not suspect that this is a
disease of modernity. If we want to solve it, we need to solve society.

That's a bit bold, sweeping, and maybe tangential, but it's what I wanted to
say.

[0]
[http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/cost/index.shtml](http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/cost/index.shtml)

~~~
comrh
> To me it comes off as a kind of PSA for Vice's 20-something target audience.

I pretty much agree with everything you wrote, but a major part of prevention
is awareness, so I'm all for all the PSAs possible.

~~~
scroy
Oh I'm with you. I don't mean to say it's useless, I suppose I was just hoping
for more based on the title.

------
Red_Tarsius
This article is right as clockwork. I got burnout after last year of
university, long story. I've been training self-discipline ever since. At the
lowest point in my life, I discovered Hacker News and Graham's essays. They
changed my life and helped me find a new sense of agency. I was too obsessed
with failure in the past: _once a failure, always a failure_ macho crap.

------
pc2g4d
"They should know that most of the mental health disorders that people have in
their 20s do dissipate. That can give you hope. But they should also know that
if you're one of the people for whom it's not going to dissipate, it's much
better to get help sooner rather than later."

I wonder if it actually is better to get "help" (meaning psychiatric
treatment) sooner rather than later. Does getting put on a bunch of pills
really help people in the long run? It could in fact impede the spontaneous
remission the interviewee mentions.

------
DanBC
One thing the article touches on: most start in childhood and you carry them
through into adulthood. But they didn't explain why that means most "start in
adulthood".

This is because you tend not to diagnose children (people under 18) with a
definite fixed label. This is because children and young people are going
through so much anyway.

Also, services for children are worse than services for adults - less funded,
busier, less capacity.

------
marincounty
Summary--Your twenties are tumultuous. Mental illness might peak it's head out
in your twenties.

There are no quick cures. If you have symptomology get help sooner than later.
What kind if help?(see an expensive psychology/psychiatrist for help. What
help--I don't know?)

Schizophrenia and bipolar are More closely related to genes if a parent is
affiliated. Anxiety and depression are not so closely related to genes.(No
stats given)

If anxiety arises in your twenties you probally had it as a kid.(Not in my
case.)

If you do have a mental disorder in your twenties most of you will get better
with time.(I found this to be true, but it so seriously disrupts your current
life, you might spend the next decade, or more rebuilding the mess.
Personally, I feel if a person becomes afflicted all treatment should be made
freely available(paid by government), student loans should be forgiven
immediately, along with any other shinanigans(within reason) you got yourself
into while sick. If you know someone who's suffering--reach out, or the very
minimal don't take advantage of that vulnerable person. My sister took
advantage of me when I was at my worst. She now wonders why I don't call.)

~~~
Hobotron1
My first semester, sophomore year of college. Depression, Alcohol/assorted
drugs combined with stress lead to auditory hallucinations. This affected my
studies leading to more stress and depression and on and on... I ended up
drinking a bunch of anti-freeze that following summer. Fun times.

I lost most/all my friends because of my antics, and (barely) graduated (6
years for a BS, god I'm an idiot).

Things have settled down now though- I'm in my mid-20s and work a lame job. I
keep to myself and shitpost on the internet.

~~~
kstenerud
Now is when you need to be cultivating discipline. Discipline is what keeps
you fighting when every other part of you has given up. It's the only way to
succeed if you're one of those people whose future wasn't handed to them on a
silver platter.

You can suffer setbacks every day, but you haven't actually lost until you
stop breathing. You cannot build strength without suffering, and you cannot
overcome without strength.

~~~
Dewie3
Define "discipline". "Just do it"?

~~~
kstenerud
The sustained assertion of your mental will over the baser impulses of your
body, usually in anticipation of a better long term result.

This can be something as simple as resisting a temptation (saving money
instead of splurging), to something more complex like a routine activity that
your body tries to reject (such as exercise or keeping the house tidy). The
most difficult is discipline over your own thoughts (which tend to change with
your mood and emotions), or remaining focused on a distant goal when daily
progress is difficult to measure.

~~~
Dewie3
_Willpower_ is great for when you have no belief in your own instincts or
smarter approaches to getting what you want, which for some people is
_always_. It's a great tool for smashing square pegs (with sufficient force)
into whatever shape of hole you are faced with.

> The most difficult is discipline over your own thoughts (which tend to
> change with your mood and emotions),

I think thoughts come before and inspire moods and emotions, more than vice
versa.

It's hard to maintain _discipline_ over your own thoughts because it's like
trying to redirect the Amazon river with a teaspoon. It tends to be more
effective to try to gently steer it in a certain direction, or try to quiet it
altogether (meditation).

------
ams6110
_Between moving out of your parent 's home, going to college and getting a
job, lack of sleep, drugs, and unrestricted access to alcohol, becoming an
adult is fucking hard._

Wah. It's not. Unless you sit around obsessing about how hard it is, life
generally works out.

Don't get me wrong, it's not always fun. And it's not always apparent until
after the fact, but things tend to work out as long as you don't give up.

~~~
mikeash
Things tend to work out because the natural human response to hardship is to
put in effort to overcome it. That doesn't somehow mean that it wasn't hard in
the first place!

Phrasing it as "things tend to work out" is unbelievably misleading. It makes
it sound like things have a mind of their own and you can just sit on your
butt watching TV and you'll be OK. _Things_ don't tend to work out, people
tend to _make_ things work out.

