Why Do People Say “ Mental Health”When They Mean “ Mental Health Problems”?

[RabbitsRock]

It’s annoying! Everyone has mental health! Anyone else find it annoying?

Good question.

Mine is, does anyone suffer from mental illness any more, as the opposite of mental health?

Not 'mental health problems' but 'mental health illnesses'.

I agree it makes people sound as if they are intellectually lacking.

@CrystalSingerFan Yes, they do. I'm diagnosed with many mental health illnesses, am medicated and I am referred to as mentally ill.

I'm not a person with a 'mental health problem' which suggests it can be overcome. I am genuinely ill, unfortunately.

THANK YOU!! This annoys the life out of me too...glad to see others have picked up on it.

It makes me disproportionately furious.

YES!!!!!

I agree, it is irritating. It's the same when people say they have blood pressure. If they didn't have blood pressure they'd be dead! Blood pressure is normal, high or low.

I agree wholeheartedly!
It makes them sound a bit stupid.
And as for professionals doing it, well, I would have little confidence in them.

I always question it, as annoyingly as possible: “They have mental health? Well, that's good, isn't it?”

I have a mental illness (bipolar) at the moment I'm mentally unwell. I'm not suffering with mental health, I'm suffering with mental ill health.

I also agree. I think it does matter that everyone has mental health and some people have robust mental health and some don't.

I was thinking this exact thing the other day. I think it was some Instagram nonsense that popped up in my feed talking about there being 'No shame in mental health' or some such wording.

Well, of course there isn't. Just like there's no shame in health, or poor health, or even poor mental health.

I think the vernacular has been distorted over time and I blame the casual use of phrases such as "it affected my mental health" or the "it gave me anxiety" as its cheapening and diluting what the terms mental health, mental health condition/illness actually is.

No one really seems to understand the difference between a genuine condition that causes a decline in good mental health and makes people genuinely poorly and those people just having a bad day and feeling a bit shit.

I have seen this here and thought exactly the same 😂

It would be the same about general heath.
Someone would ask 'whats wrong?' and many would reply 'oh, my health'. It's like it doesn't really warrant mentioning unless there's something wrong with it.
It's just shorter than saying I have chronic severe depressive disorder, I have schizophrenia, I have bipolar disorder etc. I think the word 'problems' seems to have been dropped by most people!

err... i mean people dont usually say - i have mental health. they say mental health issues. or if someone says i need time off due to mental health its kind of a given what they mean 🙄

Yes they do, I've often hear people on tv, radio and in real say "I've got mental health", when they mean they have mental illhealth.

They don't though. That's the whole point.

People do say 'l have mental health'.

I wondered if I was the only one who noticed or cared about this 😂 It's very annoying.

Almost as annoying as the many, many people who say they/their child is ASD or is ADHD or is SEN etc. You mean have/has?

Yes! I also have physical health and emotional health, it's so annoying.

I can remember writing on here that I had to step away due to the matter affecting my mental health and the assumption from that point onwards was I had a mental health problem or a diagnosed condition. It was really weird.

You mean those whose parents claim they are apparently 'undiagnosed' .....ffs

What!?

So it's grammatically correct because a receptionist said so....right....

Never heard anyone say they have "mental health", it's always been a "mental health problem" or "mental health issues".