The Problem With Casual Phrases Surrounding Mental Health
By: Katie Harbaugh
Disclaimer: this article talks about specific mental health issues and side effects, such as anxiety and panic attacks, which might be sensitive topics to some readers
Walk through the hallways of almost any school in America, and you’ll hear talk about mental health. Most of the time, it is not in a positive context. It is easy to blur the distinction between general mental health, which everyone is involved with, and specific mental health diagnoses, as we see happen so often when it comes to school. It makes sense that school is a place that students associate with a deteriorating sense of mental health, because it is impossible to ignore that school makes students stressed out. However, there is a clear difference between saying: “I’m so anxious about this math test” vs. “Math tests give me anxiety.” Even though the two might seem interchangeable, the latter puts the speaker in a position of giving themselves a medical diagnosis on a whim. Let’s face it, we’ve all said some version of that before, but the problem is that throwing around those casual phrases helps the cycle continue. School is definitely very stressful, but the way we speak about it has the potential to invalidate those who struggle with acute mental health issues on a daily basis. Math tests may make you anxious, but it is very different from having to deal with the burden of anxiety in everyday life.
The same goes for so many other phrases. Panic attacks, for example. Panic attacks, from those who have experienced them, are described in a number of ways. Some say it feels like not being able to breathe. Others describe having a panic attack as getting an instant feeling that something horrible is going to happen, but that it is out of your control. In other words, panic attacks can be terrifying. So, when someone casually says something like “That chem homework last night literally gave me a panic attack,” it can be hard to make that distinction, and there is a potential consequence of invalidating someone who has truly had that experience.
One final example that I can speak to is OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). How many times have you heard someone say “I’m so OCD,” simply in response to their cleanliness or organization? However, I don’t think it is fair to blame those who don’t know any better about what OCD actually is. While most media portrays OCD as a mental health disorder which makes people really, really organized and clean, the reality is that OCD is so much more than that. Some people engage in obsessive compulsive behaviors like Trichotillomania, which is repeatedly pulling out one's own hair. Others engage in repetitive, comforting behaviors such as counting or hand-washing. OCD can range from being a minor presence in one's life, so something that seriously interrupts day-to-day activities. The truth of OCD should not be stigmatized, but people should try to be more intentional with their words when discussing OCD.