I have mental health

[Makeitmakesensetoday]

Not a goady thread at all, genuinely do not understand the terminology but I see it on mumsnet and elsewhere a lot.

People say 'I have mental health' but to me this seems like an unfinished sentence.... should end with 'issues/problems/conditions' etc.

We'd never say 'I have physical health' we would say I have physical health conditions and then maybe discuss them if relevant.

Where did this phrase come from? I'm quite an open person so I'd probably say 'I have depression' but for those that just say 'I have mental health' why do you say it? It makes no sense. Health is something we all have - health problems or conditions we may not all have?!

YABU 'I have mental health' makes sense
YANBU you're right it makes no sense

@Centralperky they don't necessarily even have mental illness.

Often used to mean I was really upset or I was very anxious.

The sarcastic part of me wants to reply that everyone has mental health, but not everyone has a grasp of grammar! But I am not a bitch, so So I keep that thought in my head, and just let my teeth itch!

I've only heard it said (irl) by British people aged around 50-65 who grew up poor, maybe it's a generational/circumstances thing?

Yes it’s unfinished. It’s similar to the ‘I have a viral’ that I have seen.

Was going to write almost exactly that. Had to check the username in case I'd already posted

Everyone has mental health as we all have brains! It can be good, bad, indifferent etc but I think it is not a complete sentence to say "I have mental health".

There was an advert at one point that said something like “1 in 3 people suffer from mental health”

it used to really annoy me, surely it should be “suffer with their mental health” or be something like “suffer from mental health problems”

I grumbled every time it was on.

I've heard people say 'he's got Mental Elf'.

I work in this field and it’s so irritating to read/hear!

Yes, I see this all the time on social media and on local news websites, especially in the comments section. For example, "I'm fumin the bus times have changed, my daughter's got mental health so she can't leave the house 5 minutes earlier."

YANBU OP, I trained as a nurse years ago and when we were doing our MH module, someone else on the course described this patient group as 'mental health people'. Was disrespectful and our lecturer was less than impressed

Never heard this before?

As someone with life long and severe bipolar disorder, I consider myself to have a mental illness and, agree, the term really annoys me

Teenagers refer to having mental health all the time. Keep having to say everyone has mental health, the difference is whether you have good, bad or indifferent mental health.

I've seen this

Such a stupid sentence

I see/hear it all the time, not necessarily on Mumsnet but definitely social media/IRL. It's really annoying.

Omg yes!!! I say this all the time to my partner, it just makes no sense. Everyone has mental health… but are you trying to say good/bad MH? Grinds my gears

Same!

I've never seen nor heard it used like that, thank goodness!

Even worse is they’ve got ‘the mental health.’ Agree with you OP.

Entirely agree it’s nonsense; also my youngest DD20 is housebound and pretty much nonfunctional due to mental illness - let’s call it what it is - a neuro-psychiatric disorder. Yet it’s all lumped in under this “mental health” that people appear to have! It’s grammatically incorrect, clinically incorrect and serves to mislead and minimise. Anyway, good thread OP.

I think you're right but I've only ever heard this from people with poor literacy or learning difficulties so I think it's worth being understanding on the internet when you don't know a person's background.

No need for the snarky emoji.

I've seen it in multiple threads. Probably because it annoys me so much so I notice it every time. The same way I notice when a poster puts should of, would of etc. We notice the things that irritate us.

YANBU. Everyone has mental health. Some people have good mental health. Some people may have mental health illness / conditions. But we all have mental health. Like we all have physical health it just might be good or poor.

I agree, I hear this all the time. It has entered the lexicon, like 'myself' and 'yourself' instead of me and you.