Why is everything about MH these days?

[JaneFondue]

I am really tired of the way everyone is constantly talking about their mental health journey, even in professional areas.

I needed to hire a photographer for a conference. Was recommended someone by a friend. Her professional page is all about her mental health journey, her 'depression' after every shoot, her existential angst. No information about prices, packages, testimonials. I didn't hire her but why would anyone?

Not the first time I have seen inappropriate mentions of MH. So many young people appear to splash it across their social media profiles. It just makes me wary of hiring them.

Ha, yes - whatever happened to feeling nervous before an unknown/important event? I don’t even hear the word “nervous” anymore… it’s “anxiety”, immediately pathologised.

People seem to have forgotten how to be resilient and how cope with general day to day ups and downs.
It's infuriating and minimises genuine mental health illness and struggles.
In a professional setting I don't care about your home life and personal struggles. I just don't. Most people don't.
If you need help or time out say so, but don't use MH to excuse bad work habits and incompetence.

Mental health is obviously important but I think these days people 'struggle' with their mental health in the same way some people just have a cold where others have flu.

@Acrylicpainter

Happens a lot. Particularly with conditions on spectrums and conditions which cannot be scientifically proven. Even a diagnosis provided by a psychiatrist is just an opinion. I have family members who were given several different labels depending on what psychiatrist they had seen in the clinic whilst they were inpatients. A professional opinion for sure, but never any diagnostic weight behind them.

Take autism for example. I work with autistic individuals who are non verbal with limited intellectual capacity. They’re clearly going to need support for the rest of their lives, but then you log onto tiktok and see individuals creating content about their “autism and adhd”. Similarly, we have a whole generation convinced that normal emotions are pathological.

Now this isn’t to say there hasn’t been gains. I’ve noticed over the past year or two people at work talking very openly about their anti-depressant usage. What dose they’re on, side effects, their efficacy etc. Clearly they are helping people but I can’t help but feel like an anomaly not being on them. I’ve found myself at times feeling a bit sad and thinking, perhaps I’m missing out on something here? Am I depressed? Then I wake up and feel okay again, but it’s an easy rabbit hole to fall down.

Absolutely.

I’ve suffered with poor mental health since I was 14 and I mean bad,

beung diagnosed with adhd when I was 37 made a lot of sense and then 2 years ago I watched my husband die in a hospice 8 days after marriage after a very sudden and shock diagnosed of cancer, my dc have ptsd, I have ptsd and now my mum and aunt have cancer, my aunt is terminal.
I’ve also got a heart condition too

I have no one at all to turn to, no one to speak to, my friends that I do have all use me as a dumping ground for their own shit and I’ve reached the point where I feel like it’s hard to carry on,

I can’t get any real help because the waiting lists are so long, and I do feel that people are seeking help for stuff that seems to be normal feelings, I’m on a lot of meds including sedatives at night to stop the panic attacks and sh.

everyone uses mental health now as an excuse and it’s shit for those people who really are quietly struggling

Take autism for example. I work with autistic individuals who are non verbal with limited intellectual capacity. They’re clearly going to need support for the rest of their lives, but then you log onto tiktok and see individuals creating content about their “autism and adhd”

Why should autism people with different experiences not be allowed to speak of them?

FWIW I never spoke out, still don't really, only on here and in a professional setting where I am accessing help. people upthread mentioned resilience, it was shame and fear that stopped me speaking about my problems. Which led to a huge breakdown.

People don't need to be silenced because other peoples needs are greater.

@premicrois

I am not saying they don’t have their struggles. I do have an issue with certain labels that completely invalidate the struggles of those individuals who are actually incredibly low functioning. You cannot compare an autistic person who is completely non verbal/low IQ to others who are much, much higher functioning.

It has done a huge disservice to many actually.

People sharing their own stories are not comparing themselves with others though. Its you that's doing the comparison and it's not neededZ

@premicrois

Yes I am doing the comparison because it does a disservice to those individuals who truly struggle. People are bored of the constant MH and ND narratives that are often spun for various reasons that have been listed on this thread. This thread is about being bored of it. If you don’t like that opinion that’s your issue.

I doubt a photographer or any other small businessperson would be bleating about their IBS, heavy periods or other physical health concern on the front page of their website.
Being able to speak up and seek help about an illness (mental or physical) is fantastic; the increased awareness of MH problems is great, but for some reason MH issues are trendy, and have led to a lot of attention seeking behaviour.

One of my DC had horrific mental ill health as a teenager (with hospitalisation) and still some issues as an adult. They're doing well professionally now and seeking new opportunities. Funnily enough their issues are not at the forefront of their CV or LinkedIn, and actually saw them being immediately discounted from an activity they'd tried to join recently.

@Lycanthropology

Exactly that.

Personal experience has been it’s easy to use as an excuse. You can speak to people like utter tripe and it’s excused because ‘I have MH problems’ and you can’t say anything back for the same reason. You can decline whatever you don’t like at work or be late for the same reason. What’s frustrating is that for a minority other things are used too. DD was targeted by a lad who made sexual advances. DD (12) didnt know how to handle it but I spoke to the school. My friend found out from her DD and phoned me to say it was inappropriate because it was highly likely he had MH issues and autism and I should have told my DD to ignore it. I don’t dispute that MH SEN are bloody tough, I’ve got my own history with both but it does seem to be used as excuses by a minority that I think really impacts those living with illness and disability if that makes sense!

@itsjustnotok I hope you’ve given your friend the what for! Appalling lesson for her daughter.

Sounds like something that would feature on The State of LinkedIn 😂

I am absolutely an advocate for supporting mental health issues and I agree that it's good to be open about it. But it needs compartmentalised. I'd also find it off putting to be searching for a wedding photographer and come across this.

My colleague posted a video on LinkedIn showing herself weeping. The accompanying post said something like “To the outside world I’m incredibly successful but this was me at 3am, gripped by anxiety about an upcoming customer meeting…” and a long ramble about MH.

I mean, just why?

I'm fibf that a lot of those speaking out are self diagnosed and are going around telling people including those who are diagnosed that it's not a disability

I dont understand this either. But does it help anxious people feel less alone? I used to be anxious about public speaking, but I don't think crying videos would have helped me. Eventually I got over it by doing more of it. Quietly.

LinkedIn has just become another place for people to post self indulgent nonsense. It makes me cringe. It should be about professional networking not people's personal lives. People may respond kindly in messages, but they aren't going to be rushing to give you their money, whatever they say.

I've had my own MH struggles in the past and acted very cautiously about sharing information at work having seen how being open impacted on someone else's career. I want us to be able to remove the stigma that means people can be pushed out of their jobs, but everyone presenting the slightest hiccup as a battle isn't helping anyone.

I actually find that the people who talk most publicly about their mental health are the ones who need help the least.

Yes, it's good for people to see that other people struggle, but like others have said, there's still a huge stigma surrounding schizo-affective disorder, bipolar disorder, psychosis etc.

I don't know why anyone would do this on a business page, talk about boundaries!!!

I have an employee and I know so much about her anxiety, her periods, miscarriage, her D and C, things I would never have spoke to work people about. In some ways I’m pleased that I’m approachable enough to be told these things but on the other hand I would kind of like her to just turn up and do her job without this level of sharing.

YANBU. I worked as a MH professional for many years.. The it's good to talk narrative has got out of hand. It's become gratuitous and pervasive in every part of society. It's exhausting. Talking is great, with guidance, limits and boundaries not the free for all it is now.

And the people who are paying the price for all this trendy emotional exhibitionism? Those left behind with serious and enduring MH problems, schizophrenia, bi-polar, severe depression and other psychotic difficulties. It's actually really sad as they're now pretty much neglected due to MH services constantly fire fighting with inappropriate referrals... And I include camhs in this as well...(hides)

There are pluses and minuses, but it can be frustrating… there was a time when I could just discreetly say something like "I have had some problems with my mental health from time to time, so I need to minimise stress" or whatever was relevant, and people would probably infer that I was talking about something quite serious with a high chance of recurrence. Now I think they'd probably assume there was probably very little wrong with me but that I'm likely to be a bit of a flake, so do I have to start giving diagnoses and listing my hospital admissions and medications?

Yes. This. I’ve tried to give it a discreet mention like this at work where relevant. I get a sympathetic nod and ‘yes, things have been very hard for people over the last few years.’ Like… no… my first psychiatric ward stay was when I was 18, this is something I’ve had to work to manage my entire adult life lol. I’m not just finding life a bit hard lately (which is legit,
a lot of people are but I’m tired of the assumption.)