AIBU to ask you to explain what people mean by MH?

[BarryWhiteIsMyBrother]

Here on MN I keep on hearing people say that they MH is suffering for one reason or another which sometimes sounds to me just like stress. I used to think that MH issues are when someone is actually ill with a MH condition like bipolar, multiple personalities, etc. Serious stuff. I would hope not all the people saying their MH is suffering actually suffer from one of those MH conditions.

I have a very stressful job, one you can never really switch off from, I have to do a few hours' work even when I'm on holiday. But that was my choice when I decided to go down the path I chose. So I'm rarely 100% relaxed, but I wouldn't say my MH is suffering.

Am I completely misunderstanding what MH stands for?

But that was my choice when I decided to go down the path I chose

I think it's more the stress that's forced upon us that impacts our MH.

It's very different to say you knowingly chose a stressful career and are therefore not impacted by it.

My DD is suffering from germ related anxiety which came on at the start of the year. It means she can't go to school or even a walk along a canal in case we have to pass someone at close quarters. She will eat popadoms with a knife and fork.

Earlier this year that was also massively impacting my mental health, as I had no time to relax, and couldn't go anywhere even for a walk by myself without DD texting me needing me home. I could no longer focus or concentrate on anything (even on finding help for myself), and was constantly tired and tearful.

Thankfully things are slowly improving as we got some help.

Everyone has mental health. You can be healthy or unhealthy, mentally.

I think the meaning has probably changed a bit and some people say their MH isn't good because they don't want to go into details of having been abused or what the specific problem is. Its become less stigmatised (which is great) but is a bit more of a "catch all" or short hand phrase. Traditionally saying you have MH problems wouldn't always be met with sympathy so people were less able to disclose a range of symptoms that they might be happy to discuss now.

I don't think work related stress is anything to do with MH unless there are other issues.

I think it's Greek, rather than Russian, isn't it?

Whaaaaaat? I had two threads open and I swear to god I replied on the right one! Sorry!

I think no one has any right to dismiss other people's mental health..

I too have a very stressful job and often work in the holidays..this term has broken me.. I've been so stressed and anxious and am now on antidepressants and seeing a counsellor...my mental health massively deteriorated..I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, was vomiting through the night and close to tears.. yet still lots of people never asked if I was ok, including my boss as she "really doesn't get mental health issues".. it made me feel worse to be honest!

Yet I've managed to still go to work, been taking it each day at a time... still stressed but coping slightly better... it has been horrendous though!

Just like physical health, things can have a negative effect but that doesn’t mean you have a serious diagnosable condition.
Eg someone saying that physical health suffered in lockdown due to gyms being closed, not walking to work, kids not doing PE etc. They don’t have a physical health condition, but their physical health is worse than it was before. Similarly you can take steps to improve your physical health, and wouldn’t necessarily only do that if you were physically unwell.

Mental health is the same as physical health. Either can be something you're struggling with or not having a good time with, but doesn't mean you necessarily have a diagnosed condition or something severe.

Pressed send too soon, was going to add that mental health is the same. Things can negatively effect it, you can do things that improve it. That doesn’t require you to have an actual mental health condition.

When I did my work training, they distinguished between mental health and mental wellbeing. MH they said was a diagnosed condition, but your MW could still be good if well managed. Whereas you can have bad MW if it's a time of great stress, while still having good MH. MH and MW are often used interchangeably in conversation though.

YANBU. Everyone has mental health, just in the same way as they have physical health. Some have poor mental health, in the same way as some have poor physical health. I think that, in trying to raise awareness of poor mental health, people have gone way OTT and things that are the normal stresses and strains of everyday life are now being attributed to poor mental health.

This does not further awareness. It demeans those who are truly suffering with psychotic disorders, bipolar depression, severe unipolar depression, Scitzophrenia and personality disorders.

We all get low at times. If you can just go to a GP and have access to therapies through them, you cannot compare it to having severe mental health issues.

Like any condition, mental illness can be mild or severe. Stress in itself can be mild or severe, and at the most severe end of the scale can result in symptoms of trauma and suicidal thoughts.

Yes, you do seem to understand what MH stands for, and how it can affect individuals.

If you think about it in terms of physical health - struggling with physical health you might be run down, feeling tired etc. Not any diagnosable illness, perhaps a mild underlying infection.

It's like how you can be chronically anxious without having an anxiety disorder. You can be like in mood without being depressed. You can have mood swings without bipolar.

Mental health is the umbrella term - you can have good mental health, poor mental health. You can have a mental illness causing poor mental health, or mental health "issues" which is a term I don't really understand tbh.

YABU to minimise stress. Poorly managed it leads to a huge number of both mental and physical health problems.

This sounds really fucking goady op. Faux confusion bullshit.

Google mental health. Surely you can grasp in physical and mental health there's not simply we'll and unwell. So wow wig whoop to you. You handle stress in your big job and it downs effect your mental health cos you don't know what that is.

You just have mental health, like you have physical health. And it can be bad or good. Being stressed all the time to me sounds like poor mental health, to be honest.

You say you chose a high stress job and you deal with it. Well done. Front line staff have had an incredibly stressful situation forced on them this year. Add to that the non front line staff being told they are not "essential" and losing a proportion of their pay or even their jobs.
Yeah, if I was in the UK I think my MH would be suffering too.
I've worked with lots of people with MH issues, I have suffered myself.
I think it is primarily how you are taught to cope with things. Its much easier to be an optimist if you have good family support and you can see that there will be an end to current problems.
If you're never told you are loved and valued, how can you expect that in later life?
Just my opinion, not judging, and I do acknowledge there are exceptions to the rules.

I think you are mixing up mental health and mental illness a little bit. Those conditions you mentioned are specific mental illnesses, but everyone has varying degrees of mental health regardless of being diagnosed with a specific condition. Mental health is literally just what it sounds like- your mental well-being. You don’t need to have a diagnosed mental illness to have something impact your mental health

It is probably overused some people do say 'my MH is suffering' to describe normal stress or anxiety. That said Mental health isn't binary, it's not a case of either having paranoid delusions and being sectioned or being completely healthy. There are certain mild MH conditions.

I see mental health as similar to physical health - everybody has it and you can be going through a period of ill mental health without having a serious condition. There is a difference between mental health and a mental health condition/ illness, just as people can become physically ill without having a long-term or chronic health condition everybody has mental health and everybody can go through periods of ill mental health, but not all of those people will have a diagnosable mental health condition/ illness and not all mental health conditions are chronic/ long term. As a highly manual job might be damaging someone’s physical health (Eg: causing back and joint pain for example) a stressful job might be damaging to someone’s mental health (Eg: causing high levels of anxiety/ depression) but sometimes removal from the situation, adjustments at work. a change in lifestyle, medication or a break/ rest can be enough to get ones mental health back on track without things becoming so bad that it leads to a chronic mental illness. That said if the situation can’t be changed then this can lead to mental health declining to the point where the mental heart difficulties become a mental illness or chronic mental health condition, just as some chronic physical health conditions such as arthritis or sciatica can be caused/ exacerbated by situations damaging to physical health.

Everyone has mental health, just as everyone has physical health. Some people experience physical or mental ill health. I don't understand the confusion. Using your example- stress can impact on a person's MH and make them feel mentally unwell. Equally another person might thrive in a stressful situation and it have no adverse effect on their MH.

Think of 'good mental health being that of resilience - to problem solving,coping with stressful or unexpected situations. 'Bad' mental health is when people loose their resilience to cope and find themselves overwhelmed or unable to problem solve.
Poor mental heath often includes emotional distress which can be displayed in many different ways,ie; constant crying,anger etc or uncontrolled behaviour,ie; aggression, drinking to excess or illicit drug use.

HTH.

Whilst there always have been genuine anxiety sufferers and people with mh problems, I think it has now become the norm for people to use those as catch-all terms when they are worried about something, fed up, stressed out or just plain miserable with their lot.

The usage has changed over the past year or so, perhaps due to royals and celebrities talking about their "mental health".
Now instead of saying we're feeling low, or sad or pissed off we say our mental health is suffering.