Colman Noctor: Rise in therapy talk can make teens see everyday stress as a sign of mental illness

Emotions, even painful ones, are not inherently dangerous but inevitable challenges of living

Colman Noctor: "It worries me when words that once described severe, clinical experiences are used to express everyday discomforts or minor disagreements."

I was folding clothes at the kitchen table last week, I heard my 10-year-old son melodically singing: “Anxiety, keep on trying me. Feel it quietly, tryna silence me. Anxiety, shake it off of me. Somebody’s watching me. It’s my anxiety”.

When I asked him what he was singing, he explained it was a popular song on the charts. I couldn’t help but say. “Oh, for God’s sake,” in exasperation.