FRIGHTENING –
May 31, 2024 – Researchers found that 7.5 percent of students said they had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in 2022, the latest year available. Most of the surge was recorded during the Covid pandemic — when campuses were closed and many youngsters were asked to stay home or weak masks in class.
This has prompted warnings from some corners over the ‘over-medicalization’ of the younger generation — suggesting this uptick is similar to the story told for other conditions like anxiety.
PTSD is defined as a mental health condition triggered by experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event that leaves patients suffering from persistent and distressing thoughts.
In 2013, the definition was widened — however — to include dysphoria, or a deep sense of unease, and a negative world view, which can be confused with depression.
It is not diagnosed by a single test, with patients instead going through a mental assessment with a doctor before a diagnosis is reached.
