I think I'm becoming a campaigner (albeit a rather inactive one) against the general drift towards considering more things mental health problems, especially if they involve kids.
Anyway, the latest story to catch my attention comes from Spain, where it seems two children, aged 12 and 13, have been admitted to a mental health unit
because of addiction to their mobile phones. Now, I don't know the
details of this case, so what I say is only speculation - but couldn't
the parents have just taken the phones off them?
It's a form nomophobia, which I wrote about in April. Here's the link for the exasperated among us http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/mental-health/2008/04/do-you-believe-in-nomophobia.html#more
Perhaps this is really evidence of the disorder suffered by psychiatrists and others known as 'Pervasive Labelling Disorder'.
It has 3 essential symptoms:
1 The belief that giving a phenomenon a label is the same as explaining it;
2 The compulsive desire to give everything a label;
3 The compulsive desire to pathologise everything that has a label.
Ridiculous!
PLD... yes, I can see that taking off!