[capricorn57]

Socially dysfunctional or mentally ill? My mind vacillates over the answer.

I wonder how much other posters think they overlap and differ. Is my social dysfunction the result of long term mental health issues or the psychiatric symptoms an effect of reactions to long term social dysfunction?

In my case i would veer towards the latter choice as i have had social interaction difficulties from a very young(pre teen) age but it was not until i was badly teased(as a teenager)for my physical and social awkwardness that overt mental symptoms really developed.
The only thing that makes me question that is the weird thoughts i got which the injections all but stop. I can't connect that to the teasing whereas i can the anxiety/paranoia/social anxiety/depression/low self esteem/worth .

[capricorn57]

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[ECHOES]

Seems one causes the other and vice versa. And I also think we develop coping mechanisms that 'fit' the moment or situation, and those coping mechanisms may not be helpful in the long run and can in fact be harmful.

[capricorn57]

I think if i was a child today ,with more emphasis on child/adolescent mental health, i would have been flagged up for psychiatric/psychological intervention much earlier.
As it was the only childhood assessment i had which i have no memories of(was 6) was at Great Ormond street and ruled out, as it was then called,that i was spastic. My teachers at my school in Thailand had expressed concerns over difficulties i had. Nowadays i think aspergic/dyspraxic/non verbal/visuospatial problems/traits would have been picked up but my assessment was in the early 60s.
After that i flew under the radar with not much attention paid to gradually worsening academic performance and the long standing social problems by parents and schools. In their eyes that was just the way i was.
Back then there was much less recognition of specific problems in otherwise intelligent children/adolescents. Nowadays there is the phrase 'gifted and learning disabled' to show that intelligent children/adolescents can have problem areas.

[ECHOES]

I agree, although I think there is still an number of children and adolescents who do not get help because they "get by", they don't have major difficulties and they don't get into serious trouble. The focus in schools is often on the highly functional and others get overlooked.

But I agree that there is much more awareness these days.