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AIBU?

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Original poster

To correct people on the use of the words mental health!!

134 replies

AyrshireAmbler49 · 22/01/2021 04:57

People everywhere use the words ‘mental health’ all wrong and it makes them look thick.
For example “He had mental health” referring to someone who had poor mental health or who was struggling with their mental health.
Argh has anyone else noticed this!?

OP posts:
Restlessinthenorth · 22/01/2021 07:26

Mental health nurse here too. I see this everywhere and it infuriates me!

As a society we have started to pathologise normal human experience (ie it's normal to be anxious in a worrying situation, it's normal to be low in mood when something sad happens). It does not mean you have mental illness!

@Covidcovid my issue with the "bipolar" gang is they are most likely self diagnosed people who know nothing about the horror that bipolar disorder is and what it actually means to live with it. People throw these very serious diagnoses round far too lightly

Sadly, the co opting of anxiety and depression into our language to equate with mental health has made things so much worse for people with conditions like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and OCD. They are left out of the conversation and continue to be marginalised

OhTheTastyNuts · 22/01/2021 07:32

I hate 'is ASD' and 'is SEN'. My son has autism. But he IS so much more than autism!

ABitOfAShitShow · 22/01/2021 07:33

This has been frustrating me for years!

IDontMindMarmite · 22/01/2021 07:34

I work in mental health and this drives me slightly potty too. I've even heard nurses say it!

The general over use of diagnostic labels in the general public means that I often have to ask people what they mean when they say they have panic attacks or are feeling paranoid, feeling 'high' in mood etc etc because they don't actually know what those mean and I have to figure out what they're actually talking about.

And as a previous poster said, it's NORMAL to feel sad/anxious etc sometimes! We need to stop pathologising human emotions.

And breathe.

midgebabe · 22/01/2021 07:36

@CarinaMarina

I saw a thing on FB that said "MENTAL HEALTH IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF".

Shared by an otherwise perfectly intelligent human being. You might as well say THERE IS NO STIGMA IN DIGESTION

Physical health is nothing to be ashamed of

The opposite of what the original person meant

iVampire · 22/01/2021 07:37

Yes, I’ve seen it and it grates

I am also concerned that any reaction to any adversity is being labelled as such - including those that are entirely normal

And I am concerned about the misuse of PTSD - a specific diagnosis - as a kind of general descriptor for anything difficult after anything traumatic

Bandying about terms devalues them

StringyPotatoes · 22/01/2021 07:37

@Restlessinthenorth

Mental health nurse here too. I see this everywhere and it infuriates me!

As a society we have started to pathologise normal human experience (ie it's normal to be anxious in a worrying situation, it's normal to be low in mood when something sad happens). It does not mean you have mental illness!

@Covidcovid my issue with the "bipolar" gang is they are most likely self diagnosed people who know nothing about the horror that bipolar disorder is and what it actually means to live with it. People throw these very serious diagnoses round far too lightly

Sadly, the co opting of anxiety and depression into our language to equate with mental health has made things so much worse for people with conditions like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and OCD. They are left out of the conversation and continue to be marginalised

I have been saying this for so long....

In terms of "pathologising normal human experience" I'd say it is a mental health issue but in the same way a graze on your knee is a physical health issue. It's good to acknowledge it, keep it clean and make sure it doesn't get infected but ultimately it's treatable from home.

Someone on my FB (that I don't know particularly well) shared a post about suffering with social anxiety and it had a list of "symptoms" like "rehearsing how you say your name before it's called on the register". I wrote very gently and pointed out that in my experience, everyone suffers with those things at one time or another.

He was genuinely shocked and reassured.

Of course we have to reduce the stigma around mental illness but that involves normalising it and admitting we all feel sad sometimes and we all feel worried/nervous in scary situations - and sometimes it can be irrational.

LadyCatStark · 22/01/2021 07:43

Oh I thought I was the only one that can’t stand this! Every time you see it, congratulate them on their health 😂.

It’s usually used by people who’ve self diagnosed themselves too.

Chunkymenrock · 22/01/2021 07:45

I agree completely. I loathe the casual 'obsessed with' too. A genuine obsession is very serious and debilitating. Whatever happened to adoring, loving, or being very fond of? Hmm

Cowgran · 22/01/2021 07:52

Oh this infuriates me. They didn't have mental health, they had a mental health condition or a mental illness (old language). It's like saying someone with a health condition "has health".

Candiscophonous · 22/01/2021 07:53

Yes I saw this just the other day , a tweet...
‘Having mental health is no joke’.

StepOutOfLine · 22/01/2021 07:55

@Chunkymenrock

I agree completely. I loathe the casual 'obsessed with' too. A genuine obsession is very serious and debilitating. Whatever happened to adoring, loving, or being very fond of? Hmm
Because "obsessed with" can be negative and the examples you give aren't?
daisypond · 22/01/2021 08:05

I’ve never seen this.

Ylfa · 22/01/2021 08:05

@groovergirl

People are too scared to say what they really mean -- which is mental illness. They tiptoe around it and mutter about "issues".

I also miss the old '70s phrase nervous breakdown. It was a useful name for a certain type of mental illness that is quite common. It suggests a temporary condition rather than a chronic disorder.

Yeah this, even our community treatment teams have been rebranded to avoid any mention of what they actually work with. When I was first referred they were called something hopeless like ‘severe and enduring mental illness’, then it became ‘central recovery’ which was much better and now they are an ‘integrated delivery team’. Hmm
PainterInPeril · 22/01/2021 08:13

I agree with all of this except for the idea of making it your 'mission' to correct people when they use these terms.Hmm If someone says they have 'mental health issues', maybe they are struggling with quite serious depression and anxiety but feel uncomfortable saying it straight out. Can't you focus more on what they are trying to say, and why? Reading between the lines etc. If this thread is meant to be light-hearted, I'm sorry! My sense of humour hasn't woken up yet!Grin It's still half-asleep!

hammeringinmyhead · 22/01/2021 08:28

Yeah, the usage of it like this annoys me too! It's not "mental health issues" that they say, just " has/have mental health". Sometimes it's clearly just been relayed to the poster as such because there is nothing seriously wrong with someone, they just want to excuse their behaviour. For example when a cocklodger doesn't work because "He can't, he has mental health."

SkeletorAttack · 22/01/2021 09:01

This annoys the hell out of me too! Please correct them. The stupid need educating x

CaptainMyCaptain · 22/01/2021 09:01

If someone says they have 'mental health issues',
It's not this that is the problem it's when people say they have 'mental health'. Mental health (like physical health) is surely a good thing.

That's what this thread is about.

purpleme12 · 22/01/2021 09:06

Oh god yes
This so annoys me
And when some post says there's no shame in having mental health.... Well no obviously as mental health can mean anything from really good mental health to mental health problems!

LaMarschallin · 22/01/2021 09:08

@Covidcovid

I don’t understand the issue with someone saying they have bipolar. They’re just shortening the term “bipolar disorder”

Yes, and I tried to explain my dislike of that usage in my post:

It wouldn't be so bad if so many people weren't amateur psychiatrists/psychologists

Maybe the abbreviations are to show how familiar they are with the diagnoses.

Restlessinthenorth put it better:

@Covidcovid my issue with the "bipolar" gang is they are most likely self diagnosed people who know nothing about the horror that bipolar disorder is and what it actually means to live with it. People throw these very serious diagnoses round far too lightly

Ch3rish · 22/01/2021 09:10

@LizFlowers

I know what you mean. People also say they have blood pressure :-).
And also, I have a temperature
TitInATrance · 22/01/2021 09:12

The BBC have started using this term recently and I’ve actually switched off the news because of it.

People who say proudly ... I can’t do x / need y because I have mental health ... yes, we all have mental health but if I say that they will think I’m also impaired / swinging the lead.

Agree with pp, I miss the term nervous breakdown which was readily understood and not judged.

Calmandmeasured1 · 22/01/2021 09:24

I think it shows a lack of education, probably used by the same people who think punctuation doesn't matter. The posters, evidently, do not realise their mistake and the opening post will probably be totally lost on them too.

I am not trying to be patronising but for any readers who are confused and don't understand the point being made:
Health is the state of being free from harm or injury. Therefore, to have 'mental health' is to have no problems with it. Some posters are using it to mean the opposite.

HerselfIndoors · 22/01/2021 09:28

YES op I hate this too! So annoying! How can people think that "mental health" is a term that means mental illness? It's bizarre!

majesticallyawkward · 22/01/2021 09:29

I agree OP, there is so much misunderstanding because the terms are misused and misunderstood to the detriment of those who genuinely have poor mental health or diagnosed MH conditions.

It also annoys me when people immediately try to justify shitty behaviour or stomp their feet because they have 'anxiety'- 9/10 times it's self diagnosed and bullshit.

I've had genuine panic attacks, it's horrific. To hear someone saying 'oh I had a panic attack because I have anxiety' when what happened was they were a little nervous, maybe their heart raced a bit, so they didn't bother doing something but carried on with the rest of their lives really grates on me.

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