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> It’s just an illness. I mean, it’s right there in the name “Mental ILLNESS” so it shouldn’t have been the revelation that it was I think this is actually a b

by ken 8y ago

> It’s just an illness. I mean, it’s right there in the name “Mental ILLNESS” so it shouldn’t have been the revelation that it was I think this is actually a big part of the problem. In most other contexts we encounter, stuffing an adjective in there means "NOT". Soy milk? Not real milk. Computer science? Don't see anyone using the scientific method. I'm absolutely certain that mental illness is real, and deserves real study and real treatment, but even so, whenever I hear "mental illness" I can't help but hear a twang of "... (not real illness)". The phrase "physical illness" is relatively rare because we normally just call it "illness". Is there a better word for mental illness, which stands on its own? Names matter, and I don't think this one is doing us any favors.

gascan 8y ago
Kind of like how "heart disease" means, not actually a disease? Or "lung cancer" means, not really cancer?
dragonwriter 8y ago
> In most other contexts we encounter, stuffing an adjective in there means "NOT". No, in most contexts in English, modifying a noun with an adjective doesn't invert the meaning of the noun. A “respiratory infection” is a real infection. A “premeditated homicide” is a real homicide. Or, from your post: A “big part” is a real part. A “better word” is a real word. The “scientific method” is a real method. “Real study” is real study and “real treatment” is real treatment.
- xanthopan 8y ago
  > In most other contexts we encounter, stuffing an adjective in there means "NOT". I think that's less a comment on grammar and more about how there's a tendency to name stuff that is similar to other stuff, yet markedly different, in oxymoronic ways. For example: "virtual reality", "business ethics", "educational television", "military intelligence", "magic realism"
  - mc32 8y ago
    To me, none of those on their own, without context are oxymoronic. Yes, their meaning is often stretched without that being realized by the speaker, but at the same time they have a useful baseline meaning.
dominotw 8y ago
> Is there a better word for mental illness, which stands on its own? Edited out offensive comment
- mchahn 8y ago
  As a person who suffers from mania I would argue that everyone "suffers from it" does not apply to mental illness. Do you have 3 or 4 days in a row where you can't sleep? Do you send emails to everyone at three in the morning that are totally crazy (such as only a maniac would write)? Do you speak at company meetings and have one of your employees write "shut up" on a piece of paper and hold it so that only you can see it? Your comment is offensive.
  - dominotw 8y ago
    sorry I agree that such extreme cases shouldn't be called mental illness and grouped with symptoms op is describing.
    - mchahn 8y ago
      > shouldn't be called mental illness What should mania be called?
      - dominotw 8y ago
        mania?
maccam912 8y ago
I see people already picking apart what you said, but I see where you're coming from. If course lung cancer is not fake cancer, because it's treated at the same places as other types of cancer. We have hospitals for physical illness though, and you usually see mental illness treated at a separate place. The mental health therapists in my town work out of unremarkable buildings behind some restaurants, while the major hospital has a block to itself with flashy signs identifying what it is. I think that is that leads me to see the "illness" in "mental illness" with a different connotation.
mindgam3 8y ago
After wrestling with this linguistic problem for quite some time, the best term I’ve come up with this far is “mental injury”. I strongly prefer it to “illness” because illness connotes a disease of the flesh, and there is no proof that any of the things we typically call mental illness (with a few notable exceptions like alzheimer’s and possibly seizures) are actually based in the body. In contrast, most of the common “mental illnesses” can be linked to specific forms of psychological trauma or injury. For example, depression and anxiety being caused by emotional abuse. Or PTSD resulting from a traumatic event. The other term that comes to mind is “fracture” or “break”. Like, I fractured my femur when I was in college. I got surgery, the femur healed. My femur didn’t get an “illness” and I certainly don’t feel any stigma or shame around the experience, other than regretting skiing way too fast. It would be cool to say the same about the depression I experienced. “What happened to you?” “Oh, I fractured my mind after a really bad relationship with an emotionally abusive ex. Yeah, my mind broke pretty good, but thankfully it was a pretty clean break, I got it set right and after a few years of psychoanalysis and some quality entheogens it’s as good as new.” It’s time to ditch the illness/disease model for mental illness and use terms like injury/fracture/break that both accurately describe the situation and clearly indicate that the situation can be remedied. The idea of chronic and untreatable mental illness is a self fulfilling prophecy and does far more harm than good.
- ken 8y ago
  That's interesting. The Wiktionary definition of "illness" says "an instance of a disease", and their definition of "disease" specifically says "distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired". If one gets PTSD from a traumatic event, then, is that by definition not mental illness? Wouldn't that literally be a "mental injury"?
  - mindgam3 8y ago
    Unless I’m missing something obvious - always a possibility - I believe we’re in complete agreement on PTSD being a great example of a “mental injury”. You may want to re-read my original comment.
- 8y ago

by ken 8y ago

gascan 8y ago

Kind of like how "heart disease" means, not actually a disease? Or "lung cancer" means, not really cancer?

dragonwriter 8y ago

> In most other contexts we encounter, stuffing an adjective in there means "NOT". No, in most contexts in English, modifying a noun with an adjective doesn't invert the meaning of the noun. A “respiratory infection” is a real infection. A “premeditated homicide” is a real homicide. Or, from your post: A “big part” is a real part. A “better word” is a real word. The “scientific method” is a real method. “Real study” is real study and “real treatment” is real treatment.

xanthopan 8y ago
> In most other contexts we encounter, stuffing an adjective in there means "NOT". I think that's less a comment on grammar and more about how there's a tendency to name stuff that is similar to other stuff, yet markedly different, in oxymoronic ways. For example: "virtual reality", "business ethics", "educational television", "military intelligence", "magic realism"
- mc32 8y ago
  To me, none of those on their own, without context are oxymoronic. Yes, their meaning is often stretched without that being realized by the speaker, but at the same time they have a useful baseline meaning.

dominotw 8y ago

> Is there a better word for mental illness, which stands on its own? Edited out offensive comment

mchahn 8y ago
As a person who suffers from mania I would argue that everyone "suffers from it" does not apply to mental illness. Do you have 3 or 4 days in a row where you can't sleep? Do you send emails to everyone at three in the morning that are totally crazy (such as only a maniac would write)? Do you speak at company meetings and have one of your employees write "shut up" on a piece of paper and hold it so that only you can see it? Your comment is offensive.
- dominotw 8y ago
  sorry I agree that such extreme cases shouldn't be called mental illness and grouped with symptoms op is describing.
  - mchahn 8y ago
    > shouldn't be called mental illness What should mania be called?
    - dominotw 8y ago
      mania?

maccam912 8y ago

I see people already picking apart what you said, but I see where you're coming from. If course lung cancer is not fake cancer, because it's treated at the same places as other types of cancer. We have hospitals for physical illness though, and you usually see mental illness treated at a separate place. The mental health therapists in my town work out of unremarkable buildings behind some restaurants, while the major hospital has a block to itself with flashy signs identifying what it is. I think that is that leads me to see the "illness" in "mental illness" with a different connotation.

mindgam3 8y ago

After wrestling with this linguistic problem for quite some time, the best term I’ve come up with this far is “mental injury”. I strongly prefer it to “illness” because illness connotes a disease of the flesh, and there is no proof that any of the things we typically call mental illness (with a few notable exceptions like alzheimer’s and possibly seizures) are actually based in the body. In contrast, most of the common “mental illnesses” can be linked to specific forms of psychological trauma or injury. For example, depression and anxiety being caused by emotional abuse. Or PTSD resulting from a traumatic event. The other term that comes to mind is “fracture” or “break”. Like, I fractured my femur when I was in college. I got surgery, the femur healed. My femur didn’t get an “illness” and I certainly don’t feel any stigma or shame around the experience, other than regretting skiing way too fast. It would be cool to say the same about the depression I experienced. “What happened to you?” “Oh, I fractured my mind after a really bad relationship with an emotionally abusive ex. Yeah, my mind broke pretty good, but thankfully it was a pretty clean break, I got it set right and after a few years of psychoanalysis and some quality entheogens it’s as good as new.” It’s time to ditch the illness/disease model for mental illness and use terms like injury/fracture/break that both accurately describe the situation and clearly indicate that the situation can be remedied. The idea of chronic and untreatable mental illness is a self fulfilling prophecy and does far more harm than good.

ken 8y ago
That's interesting. The Wiktionary definition of "illness" says "an instance of a disease", and their definition of "disease" specifically says "distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired". If one gets PTSD from a traumatic event, then, is that by definition not mental illness? Wouldn't that literally be a "mental injury"?
- mindgam3 8y ago
  Unless I’m missing something obvious - always a possibility - I believe we’re in complete agreement on PTSD being a great example of a “mental injury”. You may want to re-read my original comment.
8y ago