Not all dark thoughts in adolescence are perverse. Some are collapse. Know the difference—and listen for structure, not content.

To many in government, a child’s mind is a datapoint. But some suffering isn’t measurable—it’s symbolic, not yet sayable, still surviving.

Stop cataloguing rituals. Start listening for what breaks if they don’t happen. Treat the structure, not just the symptom.

When a young person stops symbolising, rituals remain—but meaning drains out. Symbolic collapse is quiet, but devastating. (Lecture 2).