4 ms·

There's a stigma with 'mental health'? Jeez. Will we keep having to change the names of things because people get offended or upset at a descriptive (and accura

There's a stigma with 'mental health'? Jeez. Will we keep having to change the names of things because people get offended or upset at a descriptive (and accurate) word? Mental health and emotional health seem like very different things. I think that's more of the problem than a stigma with the words 'mental health'. Truth is, being depressed is mental unhealthy the same way over-eating is physical unhealthy. (and mentally unhealthy too, hah!)

jimkleiber 5y ago
Oh, I'd say that in many places there definitely is a stigma around either the term "mental health" or the concept in general. I've focused on emotions for the last 10 years or so with work and I've heard innumerable times people talk about "mental health" and "getting rid of the stigma." I personally believe it has more to do with the phrase and the history of the phrase—i.e., coming from mental health institutions and how it has been used for extreme cases—than with the concept itself. I also think the phrase can evoke defensiveness in a lot of people. If someone says to me there's something wrong with my mental health, I may think they're saying there's something wrong with my brain and lash out. If someone says there's something wrong with my emotional health, I may go, "Yeah, I've been stressed, worried, frustrated, etc." > Mental health and emotional health seem like very different things. How would you say they differ?
- seoulmetro 5y ago
  I would say that a mentally disabled person has physical properties of their brain that do not work. Emotional disability is... what? I wouldn't call a person with down syndrome of having poor physical health, or emotional health. I'd say their mental health is permanently damaged. The same way someone with a life long disease might have permanently poor physical health.
  - jimkleiber 5y ago
    This helps me a lot actually, in feeling more clear about how to proceed. I think I had been saying to myself that "emotional health" should replace the term "mental health" and in reading what you wrote, I think maybe the two terms can co-exist and appeal differently to different people. For example, I think I often hear "mental health" including everything from down syndrome to dyslexia to depression to stress. It reminds me of being in a bookstore and I asked about books on empathy and the person led me to two sections: one on psychology and one psychics. I skimmed the psychology book and it talked about setting boundaries and paying attention to how one felt. I skimmed the psychics book and it talked about psychic walls and auras. I then realized they may be talking about very similar things but with different and slightly different approaches. Regardless, thank you for helping me feel more clear on just using the language that resonates with me and seeing if and how it resonates with others.
    - seoulmetro 5y ago
      Sure. I would put depression in the emotional health category. If it can be cured/aided with empathy, it may be accurate to call it an emotional health issue. ADHD? Mental or emotional? Well it doesn't have to be either, it can be both! Taking a baseball bat to the brain will damage your physical and mental health, why can't taking a few distractions to the eyes do something similar? No need to thank me. I am only giving you my justification. You are the one doing the work. :)
      - jimkleiber 5y ago
        > Mental or emotional? Well it doesn't have to be either, it can be both! haha, exactly! I think I can try to force my thinking into an either/or, when it can be both/and. > No need to thank me. I am only giving you my justification. You are the one doing the work. :) I thank people when I feel grateful and I felt grateful :) Kinda like how I apologize when I feel guilty, even if the other person doesn't feel angry at me. I think we're both doing "the work," however one defines it :)

jimkleiber 5y ago

Oh, I'd say that in many places there definitely is a stigma around either the term "mental health" or the concept in general. I've focused on emotions for the last 10 years or so with work and I've heard innumerable times people talk about "mental health" and "getting rid of the stigma." I personally believe it has more to do with the phrase and the history of the phrase—i.e., coming from mental health institutions and how it has been used for extreme cases—than with the concept itself. I also think the phrase can evoke defensiveness in a lot of people. If someone says to me there's something wrong with my mental health, I may think they're saying there's something wrong with my brain and lash out. If someone says there's something wrong with my emotional health, I may go, "Yeah, I've been stressed, worried, frustrated, etc." > Mental health and emotional health seem like very different things. How would you say they differ?

seoulmetro 5y ago
I would say that a mentally disabled person has physical properties of their brain that do not work. Emotional disability is... what? I wouldn't call a person with down syndrome of having poor physical health, or emotional health. I'd say their mental health is permanently damaged. The same way someone with a life long disease might have permanently poor physical health.
- jimkleiber 5y ago
  This helps me a lot actually, in feeling more clear about how to proceed. I think I had been saying to myself that "emotional health" should replace the term "mental health" and in reading what you wrote, I think maybe the two terms can co-exist and appeal differently to different people. For example, I think I often hear "mental health" including everything from down syndrome to dyslexia to depression to stress. It reminds me of being in a bookstore and I asked about books on empathy and the person led me to two sections: one on psychology and one psychics. I skimmed the psychology book and it talked about setting boundaries and paying attention to how one felt. I skimmed the psychics book and it talked about psychic walls and auras. I then realized they may be talking about very similar things but with different and slightly different approaches. Regardless, thank you for helping me feel more clear on just using the language that resonates with me and seeing if and how it resonates with others.
  - seoulmetro 5y ago
    Sure. I would put depression in the emotional health category. If it can be cured/aided with empathy, it may be accurate to call it an emotional health issue. ADHD? Mental or emotional? Well it doesn't have to be either, it can be both! Taking a baseball bat to the brain will damage your physical and mental health, why can't taking a few distractions to the eyes do something similar? No need to thank me. I am only giving you my justification. You are the one doing the work. :)
    - jimkleiber 5y ago
      > Mental or emotional? Well it doesn't have to be either, it can be both! haha, exactly! I think I can try to force my thinking into an either/or, when it can be both/and. > No need to thank me. I am only giving you my justification. You are the one doing the work. :) I thank people when I feel grateful and I felt grateful :) Kinda like how I apologize when I feel guilty, even if the other person doesn't feel angry at me. I think we're both doing "the work," however one defines it :)