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

[AyrshireAmbler49]

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!?

@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

Go fart in an elevator and see if that second statement holds up

Yes OP!!! Infuriating.

Along similar lines OP, My personal favourite sayings are-
I've got rheumatic.
I've got sugar.
It always makes me chuckle

I've heard people say phrases like "he has mental health" and it is ridiculous, agreed.

"He has mental health issues/ difficulties /problems" is perfectly fine. No different to "he has health issues" etc.

This also annoys me. I have (NHS) colleagues who refer to ‘patients with mental health’.... I usually respond with ‘we all have mental health’.

And just to add - I have bipolar 2. That’s how I refer to it.

I am in favour of talking about issues, but at the moment we seem to be talking ourselves into having a mental health crisis. I am sorry if that offends anybody, but the way mental health is thrown around these days it devalues people that really do suffer with their mental health. A lot of Z celebs talk about it because it gets them on Loose Women, or tries to monetise it by bringing out a book or a podcast.

The situation we are in at the moment, it is effecting everybody. That and winter and the unending nature of the pandemic and restrictions are bringing lots of people low but some people almost seem to think it is compulsory to label themselves as having mental health issues when the anxiety and low mood are to do with the extraordinary time we are living through and it's a passing thing, but could be made worse by trying to make it bigger than it is. The media is not helping.

Is this a regional thing perhaps? I have noticed people in the midlands (as in deep Birmingham or the Black Country) predominantly do this

@Spidey66

Another mental health nurse who it irritates.

I'm also annoyed by those describing themselves as having bipolar disorder when they're nothing of the sort. Bipolar disorder is a very serious condition. When sufferers are in a manic stage, they're often hospitalised, often under section.

Often those suffering from EUPD are convinced they have bipolar disorder because they feel it is less stigmatising.....EUPD often means difficulties regulating emotions meaning they have rapid mood swings, but the mood swings are usually more swift and not sustained in the same way as a manic phase, which can last several weeks. I think sufferers see a personality disorder as being their "fault" or a criticism. Personally I see EUPD as quite often being a form of complex PTSD, as many sufferers have had disrupted and damaged childhoods.

Don't get me started on people diagnosing themselves with ADHD because they struggle to complete a task especially if they're not interested. It's called procrastination and we're all guilty of it. Often the same people will say 'it started a couple of years back.' It's not ADHD then, which starts in childhood.

I’m sure people do self-diagnose and getbit wrong. However, you are also wrong about Bipolar. It can be as you describe, but can also be less severe, or can’t be well managed. I have Bipolar (diagnosed in 2005) and I’ve never been hospitalised in a manic state and never been under section. I manage life quite well, with the right meds, and most people are shocked to learn I have it. Not nice to have a judgemental person like you say that people like me “have nothing of the sort”.

Yeah it doesn't make sense. I think they mean he has mental health issues. But the equivalent of he had physical health makes no sense either grammatically or factually.