News Beat
Teens hit by ‘TikTok-ification of mental health diagnosis’, warns one of Britain’s top headmasters
TEENS are being overdiagnosed with mental health conditions and social media is to blame, one of Britain’s top headmasters has warned.
James Dahl, master of Welton College, said youngsters are learning language from their phones that convinces them they are struggling from depression and anxiety.
He said the issues young people face are more likely the “natural bumps in the road” of growing up.
Mr Dahl, who has led the Berkshire school for 19 years, particularly warned against the “TikTok-ification of mental health diagnosis”.
These trends claim to diagnose mental health conditions in seconds by asking three vague questions.
He said: “We are too quick to attach labels to young people who are just experiencing the sadness and joys of what it means to be teenagers.”
His comments follow Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s announcement last week that an independent review will be launched into the diagnosis of mental health conditions.
The probe comes off the back of soaring numbers of sufferers.
While Mr Dahl did not criticise NHS healthcare professionals, he is curious whether doctors are too keen to medicate people with less-than-chronic symptoms.
And he questioned whether schools are doing enough to educate pupils about “the skills and character they need to develop.”
Experts will also examine whether social media is fuelling the bloated welfare bill by driving depression and anxiety in youngsters.
An eye-watering 4.4 million Brits of working age claim disability or incapacity benefit – up 1.2 million since 2019.
The Health Secretary will look at whether feelings of stress are being “over pathologised” and if “overdiagnosis” has led to too many being “written off”.
Shocking stats show 8.9 million people in England are now on antidepressants, up from 6.9 million a decade ago.
And in a major warning for public finances, the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness rose by 76 per cent between 2019 and 2024.
