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Good post
Amazing!
As someone who studies psychology and linguistics, nothing angers me more than people who do not use specific language when talking about mental disorders. Society has become much more aware of specificity in language when talking about minority or marginalized groups of people in recent years, which begs the question of why we haven’t updated our lexicon for people with mental illness and developmental disorders in the same manner.
The reason is simple — stigma. Everybody has mental health, so mental health isn’t stigmatized. What are stigmatized are mental illness and developmental disorders. Using “mental health” to talk about mental illness and developmental disorders further stigmatizes them and diminishes the struggles of people with mental illnesses and developmental disorders.
Mental health is something that you need to keep up just like physical health. You keep up physical health by eating healthily, exercising and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule. You can improve your mental health by taking a walk outside, spending time with friends or doing something that you love. Everybody needs a break sometimes and that’s okay. Mental illness — and developmental disorders — are not that simple.
The words “mental illness” refer to mental disorders that are usually diagnosed in adulthood and can include mood, personality and psychotic disorders, among others. Some of these disorders include depression, bipolar disorder, general anxiety disorder, OCD and schizophrenia. Mental illness cannot be cured by a walk in the park or a self-care day. These mental illnesses are just that — illnesses of the brain. They usually require therapy and medication to get better, just as an injury requires medication and physical therapy to get better. Even with therapy and medication, they may not be cured. These disorders impact day-to-day functioning for people socially, physically and emotionally. Needing to take a day to relax for your mental health is not the same as not being able to move from your bed all day because of a mental illness.
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