mental health colloquialisms and the anger they cause me to feel.

[cath55555]

hi all.

I realise I've been posting lots lately; I went from a serial lurker to a serial poster I guess. sorry if you've read my other ramblings.

just venting today about anger; anger is my most hated emotion and I feel alot of it bubbling up right now.

some people see anger as red, but for me, it's anxiety which is more of a red, a scribble with no discernable ends. no, anger to me is not red. it is a horrible grey-purple-yellow, like a bruise. it doesn't hurt so much at first- you may even question where it has come from. but eventually it becomes a dull ache that feels like it will never pass. and if you touch it? BAM. the pain explodes anew all over again.

one thing I'm really angry about today is the way that mental health terms, conditions (even just "mental health") have become so irreversibly colloquial. don't get me wrong here. I'm glad there's more awareness, funding, honesty and help out there. however I'm feeling very mad about the jokes.

by this I mean- people continuing to say they're OCD because they like to line things up nicely on shelves, and yet have never actually suffered an intrusive thought or debilitating anxiety issue in their life. people saying they're "cute but psycho" (as a psychotic individual, this one particularly irks me) despite not ever having had or even knowing anyone other than a distant relative or ex friend with a condition others use the harmful psycho term against. when something minor goes wrong and someone who has never in their life had a serious suicidal thought (yes, I know most get the "I could jump" in high places; when I say "serious" I am referring to ideation that often comes with mental health issues/trauma etc) suddenly says "I'm going to kill myself!" then proceeds to life a life free from this feeling, free to live, to not just exist in this state as I feel I am doing lately.

I don't know if I am being too sensitive. I am probably angry an irrational amount about this, because I've grown up surrounded by those who want it both ways. that is to say- they want mental health stigma to end and will happily tell anyone about various conditions, yet make offhand and to be honest quite rude and backhanded comments about the sufferers themselves.

it feels like I'm shouting into the void sometimes.

and sometimes? the void shouts right back.

 

[FuneralCry]

I think that it's insensitive making jokes about mental health conditions. It might mean that people who actually have those conditions are taken less seriously. Often in a world like this other people just make things worse. There is already enough suffering without this.

 

[cath55555]

I think that it's insensitive making jokes about mental health conditions. It might mean that people who actually have those conditions are taken less seriously. Often in a world like this other people just make things worse. There is already enough suffering without this.

I couldn't agree more with you there. I sometimes feel like people have taken meaningful words, or the definitions of illnesses and twisted them. MH is not a joke :/

 

[Lookingtotalk]

hi all.

I realise I've been posting lots lately; I went from a serial lurker to a serial poster I guess. sorry if you've read my other ramblings.

just venting today about anger; anger is my most hated emotion and I feel alot of it bubbling up right now.

some people see anger as red, but for me, it's anxiety which is more of a red, a scribble with no discernable ends. no, anger to me is not red. it is a horrible grey-purple-yellow, like a bruise. it doesn't hurt so much at first- you may even question where it has come from. but eventually it becomes a dull ache that feels like it will never pass. and if you touch it? BAM. the pain explodes anew all over again.

one thing I'm really angry about today is the way that mental health terms, conditions (even just "mental health") have become so irreversibly colloquial. don't get me wrong here. I'm glad there's more awareness, funding, honesty and help out there. however I'm feeling very mad about the jokes.

by this I mean- people continuing to say they're OCD because they like to line things up nicely on shelves, and yet have never actually suffered an intrusive thought or debilitating anxiety issue in their life. people saying they're "cute but psycho" (as a psychotic individual, this one particularly irks me) despite not ever having had or even knowing anyone other than a distant relative or ex friend with a condition others use the harmful psycho term against. when something minor goes wrong and someone who has never in their life had a serious suicidal thought (yes, I know most get the "I could jump" in high places; when I say "serious" I am referring to ideation that often comes with mental health issues/trauma etc) suddenly says "I'm going to kill myself!" then proceeds to life a life free from this feeling, free to live, to not just exist in this state as I feel I am doing lately.

I don't know if I am being too sensitive. I am probably angry an irrational amount about this, because I've grown up surrounded by those who want it both ways. that is to say- they want mental health stigma to end and will happily tell anyone about various conditions, yet make offhand and to be honest quite rude and backhanded comments about the sufferers themselves.

it feels like I'm shouting into the void sometimes.

and sometimes? the void shouts right back.

I am going to play devils advocate, i think you are being too sensitive, they are just words, i am much more concerned with other things, and IMO there are other things to be way more upset about in society today.

 

[cath55555]

I am going to play devils advocate, i think you are being too sensitive, they are just words, i am much more concerned with other things, and IMO there are other things to be way more upset about in society today.

I understand that there are lots of important things to be upset/concerned with, not just MH issues/rise in suicides. especially the way the world is atm!! and I do appreciate the viewpoint, however (and this is my opinion ofc not fact)- I don't honestly think MH stigma, stigma around suicide, misdiagnosis due to lack of information etc will improve much unless people realise the harm words can do when using them so flippantly. I do also know it's a sensitive topic to me, I just don't see MH care/places like Pegasos being widely understood without talking yaknow

 

[LaVieEnRose]

I don't think you're being overly sensitive in the sense that it is understandable to be irked when people misuse these terms, especially when you've really suffered from your mental health. I feel the same way as you. Stigma is a serious problem and there will probably always be ignorance so even if anger or irritation is warranted we have to learn how to brush it off in some cases.

 

[rationaltake]

The classic one is the way people say they are depressed when they mean they're a bit low or unhappy.

 

[cath55555]

I don't think you're being overly sensitive in the sense that it is understandable to be irked when people misuse these terms, especially when you've really suffered from your mental health. I feel the same way as you. Stigma is a serious problem and there will probably always be ignorance so even if anger or irritation is warranted we have to learn how to brush it off in some cases.

I agree that it's a serious issue (stigma I mean). I do usually brush it off, I just get mad to myself about it when I'm in a foul mood really :/

The classic one is the way people say they are depressed when they mean they're a bit low or unhappy.

yes!! that one too

 

[LaVieEnRose]

I agree that it's a serious issue (stigma I mean). I do usually brush it off, I just get mad to myself about it when I'm in a foul mood really :/

yes!! that one too

I understand. Having serious issues and then hearing other people be flippant about those issues just makes it worse. I guess when people say that they're going to jump off an cliff because they forgot something, for example, they don't really appreciate the concrete magnitude of what they're describing. It's just a hyperbolic figure of speech. At least that's how I try to approach it to feel less piqued. I know if it catches you off-guard it can be tougher though.