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?

I agree it's annoying but I don't think it's that surprising. People shorten or use short-hand for everything...

Because 'mental illness' became a taboo phrase. I remember when it became harder to use it in professional contexts sometime in the late '90s. It came to be interpreted as a slur. So then people had to have the more euphemistic 'mental health problems' even if they had a mental illness (i.e. distinct from a wider range of temporary or intractable states of mind). The further contraction to just 'mental health' is symptomatic of a reluctance to name and categorise.

never heard anyone say 'i have mental health'. 'mental health issues', 'due to mental health' etc yeah, but 'i have mental health'? come on now.

than they have grammar issues, its not something which is said by someone who is otherwise well spoken by anyone's standard. its not a saying so people who say 'i have mental health' must say it because they cannot articulate what they mean properly. give them a break ffs.

I work for a council, the people I deal with now refer to it as “ I’ve got the mental health”.

unfortunately like everything it’s a bandwagon and some people jump on to avoid taking any responsibility for anything.

We all have mental issues in varying degrees.

Well to be fair if you’re suffering with mental health then your mental health probably isn’t in a good way. Just like you can suffer with your physical health.

Yes! This really pisses me off. It's like saying someone has "physical health"! Makes them sound "healthy"

Whilst I kind of agree with you OP, I suspect that it arises from the stigma and the fact that "the mentally ill" conjures up very negative connotations.

Totally. So many ‘professionals’ use it. I normally challenge it but can’t always.

i say yes we all strive to have mental health. Which is met by confusion.

there’s also the phrase - john IS mental health.
a person is actually mental health.

oh ffs don’t get me started on these ‘professionals’

It’s exactly this, it’s almost become shorthand.

Thanks for the reply. And good luck combatting your illnesses.

Also, I hadn't particularly thought that people using the phrase 'mental health problem' implied it was fixable. Best wishes, folks.

Well don't get so worked up about it. Be positive, you've learned something new and from now on you'll be able to use the correct terminology.

I do use it correctly. what are you on about? i'm saying people dont say what OP suggests and if they do, they have some grammer issues so theres no point being annoyed at it!

Well don't get annoyed then. Calm down dearie.

I find it really annoying too. I have some older relatives who say things like 'I have blood pressure' (when they mean high blood pressure) and it drives me crazy because everyone has blood pressure, otherwise they'd be dead!

It’s because they are a bit stupid.

haha! touche

It sounds like you have a lot of decent wisdom to impart.

Agree!

You obviously don’t understand the words if you think that it doesn’t matter.

It's my pet peeve.

"I've got menkkle health!!" You've also got arm heath, leg health and eye ball health love. What are you on about?

That winds me right up!!

"I'm ADHD!"

Are you? You're a disorder are you?

You HAVE ADHD. And also maybe a bit thick. You are not ADHD.

@CrystalSingerFan Thank you 😊

It pisses me right off. "I got mental health" is a vile earworm I've had for too long!

It makes me think of people who say "My son is down syndrome" or "That down syndrome kid" which I think is awful.

But companies don't help, by having 'mental health days'. We take this to mean 'days to benefit your mental health', but it's being understood as 'days off because you suffer from poor mental health.'

I tend to say I am ADHD, because I AM attention deficit. I lack attention. I know I could just say I am ADH because you can't BE a disorder, but then everyone would wonder what the hell it stood for.