To think the term "mental health" has become meaningless

[Floatyboat]

This crisis has lead to an epidemic of concern about "mental health". This new "mental health" is not what people used to refer to by the term. Rather than illnesses such as depression, psychosis or anorexia people are now referring to something closer to "emotional wellbeing" or "feeling good".

The object of concern has also changed. It used to be worried about other people's mental health, particularly people we care about. Now people typically use the term whilst referring to their own "mental wellbeing".

Mental health problems have rightly come some way in being destigmatized. A byproduct of that is that the term has been co-opted by people describing their own desires and emotions as if it gets them a free pass on the responsibilities others face.

People don't tend to say I do x because it's good for my "physical health" , they're more specific, eg to lose weight, reduce chance of cancer, avoid covid19 etc. But people just seem happy to use this ill defined "mental health"in such a way.

It has also become unfashionable to specify the degree of "mental health" problem. As if some mild worry or inner tension is the same as something which destroys your life. We don't often classify viral sore throat and throat cancer together. Why do we lump mental health problems all together in the same boat?

Am I being unreasonable to ask you to think twice about using the term "mental health" and try to avoid the erasure of people with severe and debilitating problems. Being more specific can only be a good thing.

I don't get this 'insulting to people with genuine problems' as how do you even begin to determine that they don't have genuine problems?

Absolutely. And often you don't know how severe the person's problems are (I think most people's problems are "genuine"). But that's why people using the term at the drop of a hat is unhelpful. It means that serious and mild/normal problems all get lumped together and they therefore respond to you assuming you're somewhere in the middle - which can often be unhelpful for people with severe issues.

You don't need to tell everyone everything but using stress, or upset or feel low or on edge etc is not that much harder and allows the person to actually begin to understand what it is you're experiencing.

I disagree SO much with this. Suggesting that only those with a diagnosis can refer to their mental health issues or they’re somehow “diluting the brand” is not just judgmental, it’s dangerous. And I speak as someone diagnosed and medicated.

This could so easily be used as a tool to dismiss people with. Why would you want to do that? Do you only have so much empathy available that you wish to husband it for the most “deserving” cases? Do you lack the necessary perspicaciousness to make that judgment for yourself? What scenario do you anticipate where you are negatively impacted by someone who is struggling referring to their mental health without giving chapter and verse on the precise cause, manifestation and symptoms of their issues?

I think what you really want is to be able to tell someone who claims they are struggling that “it’s not that bad, could be worse, buck up and get over yourself.” Which is far from the stunningly original and iconoclastic approach to mental health issues that you clearly consider it to be

I agree OP. I feel the same when I hear people saying I'm heading for a "breakdown" when they really mean they are feeling very stressed.

I do understand that they use that word to articulate how awful they are feeling and I certainly wouldn't minimise their feelings and I often think - spend some time as an inpatient in a psyche unit and then tell me you're having a "breakdown".

@venice

I'm not sure if you're responding to anything in particular but I don't think you understood the point I was trying to make. I was talking about the use of a particular term and how vague it is.

I've never suggested people should have a diagnosis and that is necessary to get help. They were examples to highlight the breadth of experiences that comes under "mental health".

How can you have empathy for someone if they use a term as vague as mental health. You might feel sorry for them but it's quite hard to begin to understand how they're feeling if they haven't described how they feel - they just use a catch all phrase.

I understand the OP point of view but also think it's good that mental health issues have become destigmatised and recognised as something that can happen to everyone, as stigma about mental illness is very damaging.
I work in mental health, and I like that people come forward for help with mild and moderate difficulties. Even if it's a mild issue, it doesn't mean we shouldn't seek help for it.
Anxiety is a heavily overused term. Anxiety is universal and a normal part of the human condition. Saying "I have anxiety" is fairly meaningless as in my view it is essentially like saying "I am a human" or even "I am alive". An anxiety disorder is different - that is when your anxiety is no longer working for you.

@leftovercoffeecake

I have bipolar. It’s still very stigmatised against, so much so, I don’t feel comfortable telling people. Being able to say ‘sorry I have to cancel our plans, I’m having a bad mental health day’ is much easier than saying ‘i can’t see you right now because I’m lying on my bathroom floor having a suicidal meltdown’.

I don’t think we should be gate keeping the term ‘mental health’. It allows people to share that they’re struggling without having to go into great detail, when they don’t want to. Better that than people suffering alone.

Comparing it to physical health, I would happily tell someone I’ve got tonsillitis, but I wouldn’t want to share that I’ve got crabs. So we’re not open about all physical health related issues.

I think you have articulated a point really well. It is easier to say 'mental health' rather than bipolar because there is still a stigma. Just as having crabs still has a sense of shame and embarrassment attached to it so someone might use 'physical health problem' to describe this instead. The term 'mental health' can be a useful sheild, however ideally all mental illnesses should be as easy to talk about as saying 'I have tonsillitis.' A shield shouldn't be necessary. I think being specific could help break down stigma, as could education and awareness etc. Hopefully both work in tandem, the more bipolar becomes viewed like tonsilitis the more people feel able to use the term instead of the generic and the more people react to that with less preconceived negative ideas. I think all conversation is good, but naming things for what they are is important too.

I also want to say it's not on the person with the mental health illness to tackle this/speak in ways they aren't comfortable with. It's not up to them to break down stigma it's everyone's responsibility. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this but you do whatever you need to do to and say whatever you need to say to manage your own condition in a way that seems best to you x

@xiphi
@leftovercoffeecake

Good points well made.

Very often when people are vague and say they have mental health problems or anxiety- they’re not opening up and giving you all the information. They’re letting you know there is a problem but maybe they’re just not ready for you to know it all. Because yes there is still stigma and maybe they don’t know which side of the line you stand on- whether you’re a doubter (like some here clearly are) or whether you’re a supportive ear. That doesn’t mean they’re not actually suffering from poor mental health. You’re not seeing everything that’s going on with them.

^^ So much this

Anorexia or another condition would be having bad mental health and being unwell.

Mental health is just the opposite of physical health - you could not have a condition but not looking after yourself and so not be very physically healthy. Ditto the mind.

It’s probably because often treatable MH issues like minor depression and anxiety respond better to proactive and preventative actions rather than reactive / passive ones. As can affect us at a cellular level and have been linked to suicides, drug use, heart disease, dementia and shorter telomeres overall, it makes sense we treat them.

Everyone has mental health and I don’t see an issue with someone having a bad time referring to it. Mental illness is different. I wouldn’t think, for example, someone saying they’re having a hard time with their mental health automatically mental illness, that’s quite a big jump.

However skimming the thread a few things have stood out to make me think no wonder mental illness is still stigmatised.

Jumping on the bandwagon
Poor me
It’s a spectrum
Fashion statement

To name a few. And you wonder why people don’t speak out

Everyone who is remotely tense about something now claims “anxiety”. Everyone who keeps a tidy house claims I am OCD!”

Yeah except that's not actually true, is it? What you meant, presumably, was 'some people'.

People get very stroppy, saying 'anxiety is a diagnosed condition, not just a feeling of being a bit anxious'. But that's not actually true - it means both things. The word 'anxiety' is just the noun related to the adjective 'anxious' and it existed long before anxiety was a diagnosable mental health condition.

If the mental health profession wanted to eliminate vagueness, it might have been better to choose technical medical terminology for diagnosable conditions, rather than use words that were already commonly used for normal states of mind. Because telling people to stop using normal words isn't really going to work.

...whereas people who use an actual medical term to refer to a 'quirkly' personality trait , like "Oh I'm really OCD" are obviously insensitive arses.

YANBU. Some people seem to think that if they’re experiencing some of the normal stresses and strains of everyday life - i.e. if they’re not peacefully contented all the time - it means that they have MH ‘issues’.

Not to mention that MH issues are too often used as an excuse for bad or selfish behaviour - it’s often enough on here that posters say in reply to someone having a perfectly justified moan about someone else - ‘Oh, but she may have MH issues.’

In many cases it’ll be more likely that the person is merely rude/lazy/selfish/just a CF, etc.

I tend to agree OP. I’m redeployed at the moment but my job involves supporting student nurses on clinical placement. Every other student it seems has “anxiety” and they lack resilience and coping skills. They ask for shorter shifts, no early starts, longer time to complete assessments, placements in hospital x as getting the bus “triggers their anxiety”, not to do group work, not to do presentations etc etc. It’s a bit ridiculous really and most have no diagnosis other than presenting themselves to the disability services. God knows how they will function and hold down a job once they qualify.

@lazylinguist If the mental health profession wanted to eliminate vagueness, it might have been better to choose technical medical terminology for diagnosable conditions

This made me laugh. I don't think you can blame the mental health profession here.
They do use specific terminology - General Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Psychotic Depression.

In general usage the co-opting is more from the medical terminology eg 'I'm a bit OCD', 'he went absolutely psychotic', 'she's delusional'.

Well yes, it goes both ways. And I was being kind if tongue-in-cheek about the first bit. Yes, things like anorexia and psychotic depression have their own proper terms, which is why I don't think that the OP's right that the general use of the phrase 'mental health' in any way diminishes how seriously those kinds of disorders are taken.

Yes it drives me crackers, people twittering on about their "mental health" non stop because they are a bit pissed off with lockdown or worried about giving a presentation at work - perfectly normal things.
Having worked in prisons and psychiatric units you soon see what having mental health problems are all about and the resulting crisis.

I agree. I do think it’s important to talk about emotional well-being. But I work in mental health and it frustrates me that people are never talking about psychosis. Psychosis is still very hidden.

It's a double edged sword sometimes, I think.

Being able to say "Oh I had to take care of my mental health" as a normal thing now is freeing in a way. It doesn't invite a lot of questions and it's become more normalised. I like that.

But at the same time it can be that people think I just want to deep breathe or do yoga.

I dont like the attitude of "Oh everyone thinks they have anxiety these days". I think that's a harmful myth. I suffered so much for so long because I thought everyone thought like me, everyone felt the way I did and my anxiety wasn't real. Hearing these things still makes me feel defensive and like I'm just faking it and I was in regular high intensity CBT for two years because of my serious social and generalised anxiety disorder.

I would rather 100 people thought it was trendy to say they have anxiety than have 1 person who genuinely does put off seeking help because they are being told that "everyone is claiming to have anxiety but they dont really".

I work in mental health and I could not disagree more. Everyone SHOULD be talking about mental health because it affects us all. Just because someone hasn’t been diagnosed with schizophrenia doesn’t mean their mental health doesn’t matter. That’s like the equivalent of saying unless you have a severe illness like cancer or diabetes you can’t talk about your physical health because it’s offensive to those who are seriously ill. Nonsense. Everyone should be taking care of both their physical health and their mental health.

The entire point of removing stigma of mental illness is the fact that it DOES affect us all in some way or another. I don’t know if a single person who hasn’t at one point in their life suffered from acute anxiety or depression or a phobia or some kind of issue affecting their emotional well-being. Implying that mental health should only refer to those with chronic diagnoses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder is othering those people and is exactly what lead to the horrific treatment of those illnesses years ago. Those people were treated appallingly as they were seen as “different” from the rest of us. They aren’t. We are all on the mental health scale somewhere and we sll have the potential to suffer from mental illness.

Very often when people are vague and say they have mental health problems or anxiety- they’re not opening up and giving you all the information. They’re letting you know there is a problem but maybe they’re just not ready for you to know it all. Because yes there is still stigma and maybe they don’t know which side of the line you stand on- whether you’re a doubter (like some here clearly are) or whether you’re a supportive ear. That doesn’t mean they’re not actually suffering from poor mental health. You’re not seeing everything that’s going on with them.

Very well put^ 👆
Also, for those who like to act as a gatekeeper for anxiety/depression and believe some people are exaggerating attention seekers who don’t really have mental health issues. Well it’s funny that when I did get a diagnosis, I was reluctant to even mention the words ‘depression’ to the Dr as I’d been so paranoid I was being pathetic and so many others were suffering more. Because of this mentality, I put off seeking medical help for a while

Sometimes anxiety or depression can be caused by being in a shit situation

That doesn’t mean they’re not actually suffering from poor mental health. You’re not seeing everything that’s going on with them

So well said. I know of people who have vaguely alluded to mental health issues on social media and it would be so so easy to look at their pretty pictures and selfies and scoff and assume wtf do THEY know about mental illness? In actual fact I happen to know that several of them have attempted suicide in the past. The idea that an outsider can instantly diagnose someone on social media and know it’s all an elaborate exaggeration is an extremely dangerous and ignorant viewpoint. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors.

I will admit I had been guilty of not believing someone in the past though. I now realise those thoughts were wrong and judgemental
(Although I never accused the person of exaggerating their symptoms - just remembering doubting them in my head)

I had bad social anxiety, and one confident outspoken colleague was saying she was “scared of talking to people”, “I always have to use the self scanner” and “I refuse to open the door to the delivery guy my bf does it” etc

As I was extremely quiet at work compared to her, I remember feeling like how could someone so loud have social anxiety. But then, how could I invalidate her feelings? She very well may have experienced anxiety in some situations, but be able to control her symptoms to appear ‘normal’ in other situations.

I mean if someone were to chat to me alone one on one, they may think I’m socially competent, but if they watched me in a group of people they’d be shocked at how quiet and anxious I get.