Mental Health or Mental Illness?

Mental health or mental illness, which terms do you use? It’s no secret that the mental health industry is saturated with lingo designed to describe the psychological experiences of large groups of individuals. Some would suggest that the overwhelming numbers of terms used in mental health language is tricky to navigate and stressful when considering what is and is not faux pas.

We believe that semantics matter. Yes, we went there. Especially when our mission is to decrease discrimination and end the stigma of mental health care. 

The short of it is that our mental health falls on a continuum. Just like our physical health, how we are doing can range from ecstatic (!), to so-so, to blah, to debilitating.

When we say mental health, we mean our overall mental well-being. Think, a healthy relationship between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours including how we interact with ourselves, others, and the world.

When we say mental illness, we mean a set of symptoms that fit into diagnostic categories. We believe it is OKAY to say illness (cringeworthy? not your fault, that’s society’s doing). Just as someone with asthma has a respiratory illness, someone with depression has a mental illness. Physical illness is normalized and we think mental illness should be too. This way, people aren’t ashamed to seek out support for their mental health just as they don’t hesitate to mend a broken arm.

Mental health condition and mental illness are often used interchangeably.

To-MAY-to. To-MA-to.