In today’s world we see images of success, wealth, happiness, and what society deems as “normal”. These are all lovely thoughts, but the glossiness of these images may have also clouded the way our society views mental health, mental illness, and mental disorders. The stigma that is attached is rooted from many beliefs and societal perceptions. A lack of understanding and fear, as well as inaccurate or misleading media representations or religious and cultural beliefs, also contribute to the stigma.
According to the Mayo Clinic, mental illness and mental health disorders refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking, and behavior. Some examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviors.
In the United States, 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness with 1 in 20 adults experiencing serious mental illness. It is reported that 17% of children aged 6 to 17 also suffer from mental health issues. This does not necessarily mean these mental health experiences are constant. Many people have mental health concerns from time to time, however; a mental health concern becomes a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and affect one’s ability to function.
A mental illness can make a person feel miserable and can cause problems in his/her daily life. School, work, or relationships can be added stressors and make routine functions more difficult. In most cases, symptoms can be managed with a combination of medications and therapy. Mental illness symptoms can affect emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. The signs and symptoms can vary per person depending on the disorder. A person’s circumstances and support systems also play key roles in managing theirmsymptoms
Examples of signs and symptoms include:
Feeling sad or down
Confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate
Excessive fears or worries, or extreme feelings of guilt
Extreme mood changes of highs and lows
Withdrawal from friends and activities
Significant tiredness, low energy or problems sleeping
Detachment from reality (delusions), paranoia or hallucinations
Inability to cope with daily problems or stress
Trouble understanding and relating to situations and to people
Problems with alcohol or drug use
Major changes in eating habits
Sex drive changes
Excessive anger, hostility or violence
Thoughts of suicide/self-harm
Now that we know what mental illness is and some of the signs associated with it, let us look at how we should talk about it to each other in such a way that helps us all. We must first normalize the language we use when referring to mental health so as not to minimize or seem judgmental of the experience a person is going through. Productive phrases such as: “What you are going through is challenging.” or, “It is understandable to feel down or overwhelmed with everything that’s going on with you.” This type of language is supportive and can help a person feel like what they are going through is okay, but counterproductive phrases can make them feel isolated or worse. Some phrases to avoid would be: “Why can’t you just snap out of it?” or, “Why are you so down, a lot of people have it way worse than you do”.
Person-first language is also essential to recognize someone’s experience with mental health as personal. It demonstrates respect for basic humanity and emphasizes a person’s unique traits and worth. Rather than saying, “my OCD brother” one should say, “my brother living with OCD”. This again is more productive and reduces negative connotations and avoids counterproductive speech.
There are many colloquial phrases that seem second nature in the American dialogue. They may not be intentionally negative but do contribute to stigma and may create additional fear and problematic assumptions. While they may be unintentional, these phrases devalue the severity of mental health, and can be hurtful to those who hear them. Saying, “the weather sure has been fluctuating lately” or “that’s unreal” rather than, “the weather is so bipolar” or “that’s totally crazy” is much more productive. Colloquialisms are particularly prevalent with the younger population. Efforts to simply change phrases can be more helpful than many people realize.
The language used around the topic of suicide is of the utmost importance in helping end the stigma and reduce the fear associated with getting mental health help for those in need as well as their loved ones. Because suicide has been a taboo topic for so long, the language used when talking about it has been thwarted. Research has shown that the language used when speaking on the topic of suicide is critical. When a person in need of mental health help is explicitly asked in nonjudgmental terms if they are thinking about suicide, the chances of them getting the help is much greater.
Removing phrases such as, “he committed suicide” or “it was an unsuccessful suicide” add to the harm and stigma of suicide. Instead, phrases should be used such as” he died by suicide” or “it was an attempted suicide” are far more productive and remove negative connotations and taboo. Once again, younger people say phrases too frequently and too relaxed about suicide. They may not even realize how harmful their words can be, but we must again change the language associated with suicide, so help is sought, and stigma is released. The single overused and harmful phrase heard within groups of teenagers and younger people is, “OMG, I want to kill myself, that was so hard”. In a not-so-delicate way, any reference to suicide must be removed from daily language. Suicide is a serious topic and should be treated as such.
Education and communication are the keys to removing such counter-productive language in the American vernacular. Completely changing how we speak may not be immediately easy, but it can be highly effective in changing the way we view mental health. To quote the great poet, Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Go forth and do better. Speak better, end stigma, help others.
If you are interested in becoming an advocate for those who suffer from suicidal thoughts and depression, please take a moment and visit our QPR page.
