Selfitis: An obsessive compulsive disorder of taking too many selfies

June 29, 2015

By NewsGram Staff Writer

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has officially deemed taking selfies as a “mental disorder”.

The APA made this classification during its annual board of directors meeting in Chicago recently. Giving the name “selfitis” to the disorder, the APA defined the disorder as a type of an obsessive compulsive disorder to take one’s own pictures and post them on social media. They also stated that this condition is a mechanism used by people to make up for their low self esteem and increase intimacy with other people.

According to the APA, there are three levels of selfitis,

Borderline Selfitis: Taking selfies at least three times a day, but not posting them on the social media.
Acute Selfitis: Taking selfies at least three times a day, and sharing them all on social media.
Chronic Selfitis: It is defined as an uncontrollable urge to take one’s own pictures round the clock and posting them on social media platforms more than six times a day.

Recently, the term “Selfitis” also made it into the Oxford Dictionary of English according to a website.

Makati City, a city in Philippines was named the “selfie capital of the world” by Time magazine recently. This news of selfies being looked at as a mental disorder, might make things dismal for this Filipino city.

Men and Women with Mental Disorders Die Prematurely

In addition to looking at premature mortality, we were able to explore specific causes of death such as cancer, diabetes and suicide

NewsGram Desk

October 26, 2019

Men, Women, Mental Disorders — We investigated how mortality rates changed for each type of disorder, for each age, for males and females. Pixabay

As compared to the general population, average life expectancy is respectively 10 and seven years shorter for men and women with mental disorders, says a new study.

The study, published in the journal The Lancet, explores mortality for those with different types of mental disorders.

“We investigated how mortality rates changed for each type of disorder, for each age, for males and females. In addition to looking at premature mortality, we were able to explore specific causes of death such as cancer, diabetes and suicide,” said study lead author Oleguer Plana-Ripoll from Aarhus University in Denmark.

Based on data from 7.4 million people living in Denmark between 1995 and 2015, the findings provide new insights into how mental disorders impact the lives of people with disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders and substance use disorders.

When looking at differences in life expectancy, the researchers found that men and women with mental disorders on average had life expectancies respectively 10 and seven years shorter after the diagnosis of the disease compared to an overall Danish person of the same age.

For example, people with depression or another type of mood disorder, which are among the most common mental disorders, had higher mortality rates.

“Apart from an increased risk of death due to suicide, we also confirm an increased risk of death due to somatic conditions such as cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes etc.,” Plana-Ripoll said.

Also Read- High Fibre Diet and Yogurt Help Reduce Lung Cancer Risk

“We found that men and women with mood disorders experienced life expectancies respectively 7.9 and 6.2 years shorter after disease diagnosis compared to the overall Danish person with the same age,” Plana-Ripoll added. (IANS)

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