Diagnosable

But even without a diagnosable “condition,” repetitive exposure to loud sounds can impact your health.

NPD is a diagnosable mental health disorder that only a professional can confirm, and it goes beyond occasional toxic traits; it's a deeply ingrained pattern of behaviour that impacts their entire life.

It estimated that about 17% of children in the Western Cape have a diagnosable mental health condition, but noted that more research was needed to fully understand the scale of the mental health burden for children and adolescents in South Africa.

As the film stands now, it's never fully explained whether or not Dale and Brennan have something legitimately diagnosable that stunts their maturity.

The next step will be to extend that approach to adults on a medical basis, by treating it as a diagnosable disease, he said.

Ultimately, more study is needed to better understand how mental health treatment impacts the full range of diagnosable and treatable conditions — but these studies and observations are encouraging signs already.

Epidemiological studies indicate that 30–50% of youth with DD meet the clinical cutoff for behavioral and emotional problems and/or diagnosable mental disorder.