Mindfulness, self-care, cry rooms, safe spaces. There are so many misunderstood, misused terms right now in the mental health world that seem to take on a life of their own when you factor in social media and throw a hashtag in front of a group of words. In “real life” I hear it so often- when describing something weird that happened- “she’s so psycho” or “he’s being really bipolar”, “I’m so anxious about this test”, “I’m being bullied” the list can go on and on. When true mental health issues get taken out of context, in the grand scheme of things, it minimizes these things for the individuals who truly are suffering from real mental health issues or need a little extra support.
I, in no way, am minimizing that people are bullied, and people do suffer from bipolar disorders, or any of the other examples I gave above, however, I think it is time we really take a look at the words we are using and think about what they really mean. Is it really bullying if someone makes a mean comment here and there? What is the difference between a normal amount of teasing, and actual bullying? That’s an issue for another day, however, it is important to think about how that comes off to someone who is truly dealing with a bully, when it is so nonchalant in normal everyday conversations.
In the same vein- the word “anxiety” is so overused, when many times, it is truly just nervousness- and a healthy amount of nervousness at that! Having “anxiety” because of an upcoming test is something that can be used for the betterment of your test score. If you are nervous about the test and start studying a little bit earlier, great! If the upcoming deadline at work causes you to think about it a little bit more- or work just a little harder- I don’t see any harm done. However, when we use the word “anxious” so casually in our daily lives, it really makes it less meaningful for someone who is in the daily struggles of an anxiety disorder- which by the way is impacting somewhere around 1 in 5 people in the United States right now. Anxiety is many times caused by something unknown and/or a constant, nagging feeling of unease. Anxiety is so much more for so many people than simple nervousness and can truly be a debilitating issue that needs to be taken seriously. Anxiety is one of the more common presenting issues that I see in clients- and I have a lot to say on this topic- but for now I’m going to leave it at: be careful how you are using the word 'anxiety'. You never know what the people around you are dealing with, and if anxiety could be impacting their lives right at this very instant.
The stigma of mental health care is slowly becoming lesser; however, it is definitely still there, especially in rural communities. It absolutely blows my mind that it is so normal to go to the doctor when you have a medical issue, but it somehow makes a person lesser to seek out mental health treatment. The research is there- mental health issues cause a huge amount of physical health issues, and we are only seeing more and more mental health disorders being diagnosed, and more and more research on the link between the brain and the body. It’s time we make a change. It’s time we guard our words, and think about what we are really saying, but also it is time that we have these tough conversations.
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