To hate the "Mental Health" brigade.

Original poster

IAKnowyou · 06/02/2025 21:15

Well I guess it IS just me 😳

OP posts:

TheLightSideOfTheMoon · 06/02/2025 21:17

It’s not just you. It’s insanely annoying.

But if someone is suffering with mental health problems it’s not the time to criticise their use of language.

Scutterbug · 06/02/2025 21:17

Not just you, it really bugs me too. As you say, everyone has mental health.

RabbitsRock · 06/02/2025 21:18

I started a thread on this before - it’s getting worse.

AutumnalPuffin · 06/02/2025 21:20

I once had to do a presentation with someone who insisted on speaking about ‘mental health illness’: it was so clumsy and nonsensical.

emmetgirl · 06/02/2025 21:21

Not just you. It drives me mad too.

Strawberryfruitcorner · 06/02/2025 21:22

I think you have mental health you seem quite stressed OP.

It may surprise you but not everyone in the population can articulate themselves perfectly and social media gives you access to these people.

You should do some research on the average reading age in the UK.

AgnesX · 06/02/2025 21:25

Strawberryfruitcorner · 06/02/2025 21:22

I think you have mental health you seem quite stressed OP.

It may surprise you but not everyone in the population can articulate themselves perfectly and social media gives you access to these people.

You should do some research on the average reading age in the UK.

Doing that is more than likely to lead to mental 'elf...

hunkysnory · 06/02/2025 21:27

Strawberryfruitcorner · 06/02/2025 21:22

I think you have mental health you seem quite stressed OP.

It may surprise you but not everyone in the population can articulate themselves perfectly and social media gives you access to these people.

You should do some research on the average reading age in the UK.

I agree

GeneralChaos1 · 06/02/2025 21:29

I completely agree. And I work in mental health.

it is a problem with the way the language is used. We all have mental health. You are struggling with your mental health at the moment. You have mental health difficulties.

I also don’t like when people say to me “I have anxiety”. You don’t HAVE it. You are suffering from it. It is hard, without a doubt. But it is not a permanent diagnosis like autism or adhd. You can overcome anxiety. Yes, some people are more susceptible to it than others and have to work much harder at managing it, but it is not a permanent state.

Starlightnights · 06/02/2025 21:29

I think the same when someone tells me they have blood pressure.. well clearly everyone does! I'd like to hope anyway
I think they mean high blood pressure!

Hobbesmanc · 06/02/2025 21:31

You know I'd rather have some empathy and compassion for their struggles than get my knickers in a twist about their grammar. All a bit petty and not a very good look.

GeneralChaos1 · 06/02/2025 21:35

Hobbesmanc · 06/02/2025 21:31

You know I'd rather have some empathy and compassion for their struggles than get my knickers in a twist about their grammar. All a bit petty and not a very good look.

It’s more than just grammar though. It’s an understanding about what mental health is and how it can be managed and that we are all move along a spectrum of good and bad mental health. This is exacerbated by social media where people diagnose themselves and take it as a permanent state. It is misinformation

sometimesmovingforwards · 06/02/2025 21:36

Some people confuse mental health issues with a lack of resilience and inner resourcefulness.

Irisilume · 06/02/2025 21:47

This really grinds my gears. You don't say "I have health" so why would you say "I have mental health"?

Serencwtch · 06/02/2025 21:54

GeneralChaos1 · 06/02/2025 21:29

I completely agree. And I work in mental health.

it is a problem with the way the language is used. We all have mental health. You are struggling with your mental health at the moment. You have mental health difficulties.

I also don’t like when people say to me “I have anxiety”. You don’t HAVE it. You are suffering from it. It is hard, without a doubt. But it is not a permanent diagnosis like autism or adhd. You can overcome anxiety. Yes, some people are more susceptible to it than others and have to work much harder at managing it, but it is not a permanent state.

Are people allowed to say things like 'i have cancer' or 'i have chicken pox' ?

They're not permanent either.

Why does there have to be so much scrutiny of how people talk about their own mental illness?

Eyesopenwideawake · 06/02/2025 22:01

Pedantic is a word that springs to mind.

...many people do not know how to articulate a sentence. Maybe they didn't enjoy your standard of education.

But then again they might know that God is a proper noun and how to place the exclamation mark correctly.

But PLEASE for the love of god, learn to speak properly !!

Live and let live, I say.

HaddyAbrams · 06/02/2025 22:07

I also don’t like when people say to me “I have anxiety”. You don’t HAVE it. You are suffering from it. It is hard, without a doubt. But it is not a permanent diagnosis like autism or adhd. You can overcome anxiety. Yes, some people are more susceptible to it than others and have to work much harder at managing it, but it is not a permanent state.

Ehhh? I do have anxiety. I also currently have a cold, a headache and period pains. None of these are permanent, but I do (currently) have them.

Veryworriedhelp23 · 06/02/2025 22:10

Hope your mental health is ok, op

Strawberryfruitcorner · 06/02/2025 22:16

Serencwtch · 06/02/2025 21:54

Are people allowed to say things like 'i have cancer' or 'i have chicken pox' ?

They're not permanent either.

Why does there have to be so much scrutiny of how people talk about their own mental illness?

Show quote history

Exactly! I’ve lived with anxiety since primary school and I’m nearly 40. I feel like I will never be 100% free from anxiety. I don’t always suffer but I do always feel like I have anxiety underlying in me that I need to be aware of. It’s not the feeling someone might get before an exam or a presentation. It’s anxiety that I have and have to manage every day.

My anxiety has ranged from mild to severe, and it’s managed by my lifestyle choices. It’s like an iceberg. The tip is always there on the surface but it’s part of something much bigger. It’s the same anxiety whether it’s big or small it just intensifies if I neglect my mental health.

Veronay · 06/02/2025 22:22

Yeah, I hate the lacking grammar too. What's worse though is everyone assuming that mental health problems arise completely spontaneously when in reality if you're depressed or anxious, there's almost certainly a good reason for it, and it's better to address the reason you feel like shit rather than treat the symptoms.

Parlezz · 06/02/2025 22:24

It is becoming increasingly clear that many people do not know how to articulate a sentence. Especially on social media.
I am seeing - more and more, people claiming...

None of these lines are grammatically accurate sentences, either. The punctuation is particularly unhelpful.

Also, 'bad mental health' as an alternative isn't very clear; maybe 'poor health' or 'illness' would be more descriptive.

SpringBunnyHopHop · 06/02/2025 22:25

I often think that the people who go on about it the most live better lives than anybody else. They’ll pull the MH card when they need to then in the next social post they’re having the time of their lives acting like they don’t have a care in the world.

SleeplessInWherever · 06/02/2025 22:26

SpringBunnyHopHop · 06/02/2025 22:25

I often think that the people who go on about it the most live better lives than anybody else. They’ll pull the MH card when they need to then in the next social post they’re having the time of their lives acting like they don’t have a care in the world.

One of those is usually a lie, and it’s usually the shiny happy social media post.

Joker01 · 06/02/2025 22:28

As someone who struggles with poor mental health, it really upsets me that there could be professionals taking away from me articulating my issues that I’m saying it wrong.

Seriously, when you have days where you contemplate suicide, getting the terminology correct is just not on your fucking radar. I don’t care if my grammar is right, I’m just trying to see tomorrow.

Couldn’t give a shit if you don’t like how myself and others talk about it OP, kind of got bigger things to deal with.

Must be nice to have the mental capacity to waste on such things @IAKnowyou