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The Trouble With TeenScreen
May 24, 2006
by Tony Zizza
"It has ruined the taste of the sweetest lies. Burned through my best
alibis. Every sin that I deny keeps hanging 'round my door. Oh, the trouble
with the truth is it always begs for more.";
-Patty Loveless, "The Trouble With The Truth";
I guess you know you are recently divorced when you start quoting lyrics
from country singers. I suppose I've taken it a step further by weaving the
lyrics from one of my favorite country singers into perhaps the most
controversial subject matter facing our culture today.
And that is the screening of our school children FOR mental illness.
Advocates for mental health screening will tell us the truth is screening
prevents suicide among our young people. There is no evidence that supports
this at all. From what I understand, suicide among young people is actually
declining. I believe I read something from the Centers For Disease Control,
(CDC) that showed suicide among young people has declined over the last two
decades. If this is the case, why is teen suicide and the obsession with
alleged teen depression all the rage?
One of the reasons is that thankfully, subjective mental disorders like
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its objectively
dangerous drugs have come under fire. Critics from the left and right now
have no fear in even questioning the existence of ADHD. Years ago, this
would have never happened. Black box warnings on stimulants and psychotropic
drugs are opening the eyes and ears of many parents and lawmakers. While we
all dwell over Tom Cruise calling psychiatry into question, there is little
doubt scientologists aren't the only ones fuming mad over the myth there is
good work tied to what TeenScreen is doing.
So, what's the trouble with TeenScreen? TeenScreen is a subjective
questionnaire that was developed by Columbia University to hopefully
identify young people who allegedly have "undiagnosed" mental health issues.
Students have been lured into taking the "test" by being given free movie
tickets and food. From what I understand, TeenScreen is now in place in over
40 states, and in over 450 schools. To see if your state is supporting
TeenScreen, check out this web site.
The screening is essentially a round of self-administered questions.
Students who are screened and appear to have finally been diagnosed, are "in
line" for treatment. Students have come home crying believing that they are
now considered mentally ill because they have been labeled with subjective
mental health disorders like OCD and ADD. Again, everything is shrouded in
the alleged epidemic of suicide among young people. Both democratic and
conservative members and officers of school boards accross the country are
letting TeenScreen in, shutting out the trouble with it because these days
anyone who speaks out against the false labeling and drugging of children
must be a scientologist.
Imagine you are a parent of any race or political bent, and your child comes
home believing they are mentally ill. How are they being stigmatized against
seeking mental health treatment? Mental health advocates who think there is
nothing wrong with America becoming one nation under medication have it
backwards. A stigma of having a subjective mental disorder results when
programs like TeenScreen label our young people in the first place! Our
young people are being labeled mentally ill when they answer questions like
these in the wrong light turned on by TeenScreen:
a.. Have you often felt nervous when you've had to do things in front of
people?
b.. Has there been a time when you felt you couldn't do anything well or
that you weren't as goodlooking or smart as other people?
c.. Have you often felt grouchy or irritable and often in a bad mood, when
even little things would make you mad?
In regard to the first question, how much more subjective can you get? I
mean, it sounds like TeenScreen is not acknowledging that people, young or
old, are nervous when they have to do things in front of people such as
what, give a speech? What's the big deal? I wonder why even "nerves" these
days are associated with mental illness. What good does this kind of
thinking do to our young people?
Looking at this second question, and remember, TeenScreen is comprised of
14-52 similar and equally asinine questions, I can't help but conclude
TeenScreen denies the very existence of reality. The trouble with the truth
is this, and get used to it: there will always be some people who are
smarter than you, and more goodlooking than you. If you have trouble with
that, it's not a mental health issue, it's an issue of being stubborn.
The third question must go over real well with young females who are
suffering around that period of time in any given month. Being a teen and
younger is a consistent exercise in being moody and mad. Again, when it
comes to young people, it's not a question of mental illness, but one of
what to do with stubborness and a self defeating attitude that is sometimes
not helped with peer pressure. On the other hand, sometimes it is. Sometimes
young people need to be instructed to suck it up. The world does exist
outside of their subjective issues.
Again, you will hear people tell you TeenScreen is needed because of the
epidemic of suicide among young people. Politicians are coming out in droves
now because a young family member at one time commited suicide. Sure, all
this is tragic. Terribly so. It is, however, incorrect to believe programs
like TeenScreen can do anything about suicide or depression. Or the fact
that a young person has to get through life to become what else, but older.
What worries me most about TeenScreen is the obsession with the subjective,
and the ties that ultimately bind to Big Pharma.
Mental health screening does not belong in any shape or fashion in our
schools. There is nothing wrong with a student talking to a guidance
counselor. Young people have a plethora of feelings to get through, and
sometimes things do not go as planned. Talk therapy can be a good thing. A
way of getting things off one's chest by talking and keeping a journal.
Setting an action plan to feel better and forget about it over time.
Unfortunately, TeenScreen is quite frankly an exercise in promoting mental
health in absolutely the wrong way. As our culture becomes more advanced and
dynamic, should there not be a reduction of alleged mental health disorders
among young people? If I was back in grade school or high school and someone
from TeenScreen or the National Alliance For The Mentally Ill, (NAMI) told
me that based on some slippery questions, I had a mental disorder, I would
be insulted, and say: prove it! Problem is, and the trouble with the truth
is - it's young people we are talking about. While some of our young people
may properly rebel against TeenScreen and other dangerous mental health
propoganda that helps Big Pharma in the short and long run, what about all
the young people who come running home convinced they are - mentally ill?
Whether are not you sit on the left or right end of the political spectrum,
TeenScreen is something we need to come together on and bounce out of our
schools. It's an assault on the growing minds of young people. It's a slap
in the face to all the hard working parents in this country. Bring the
subject up at your next school board meeting, and watch the sparks fly.
You'll see for yourself who truly wants young people in our schools to
believe they are mentally ill. You can find out more about TeenScreen by
visiting http://www.teenscreentruth.com.
Zizza tz777 comcast.net is a freelance writer who lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
He serves as Vice President for the State of Georgia for the non-profit
organization, Parents For Label and Drug Free Education.
Regards,
Catherine
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having
the ability to learn from the experience of others,
are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination
to do so."
-- Douglas Adams
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