What impact does language have on our understanding of mental health?

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. During the month of May, MHS joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. 

We know that MHS' range of assessments are vital in ensuring that our communities receive appropriate diagnoses, treatment, and intervention planning. MHS CEO, Hazel Wheldon, discusses Mental Health Month and how the way we communicate about mental health affects the way we as a community support this vital component of our overall well-being. 

Often when we talk about mental health, as a society, we tend to frame mental health as simply the absence of illness. Can you speak a bit about what the continuum of mental health looks like and how the language we use to talk about mental health interprets or creates an understanding of it? 

HAZEL: Right now, I think we are framing the conversation in such a way that we talk about people having a "mental health issue," but we don't focus on having "good mental health." So, it's actually not the absence of an illness in that sense. When we talk about mental health, it's a negative thing. The conversation is starting to shift to the idea that mental health is something to pay attention to and that it exists as a continuum so we should focus on positive or good mental health. Right now, though, through the language we use, we talk about mental health because there's a concern.  

If we take physical health as an example, we do talk about this as a continuum. We are comfortable with the idea that you always have physical health. Sometimes it's good, and sometimes it isn't good. We describe people as being overall in good physical or poor physical health. We might also say they have overall good physical health, but they're dealing with a broken arm. We can recognize that something like a broken arm is a temporary issue. We don't really speak about good mental health versus poor, nor do we have a framework or a generally agreed-upon lexicon to talk about temporary issues such as sadness. For example, when we lose someone or experience something that we expect to recover from relatively quickly, this could be understood as the mental health equivalent of a broken arm. Instead, we focus only on terms that imply longer or more permanent trait-based issues such as depression or anxiety. 

"I am depressed" can mean so many things to someone. This can mean "I have depression." It can mean "I'm sad because my dog died." It can also mean, "I am depressed because my friend got the latest pair of jeans, and I don't have them." We need much more specific language and our lexicon. I would love to see our language reflect mental health as a continuum to discuss longer-term mental health issues differently than shorter, more transient emotional fluctuations.  Not having this type of language makes it difficult for people to speak up and be taken seriously when they're experiencing challenges because we don't have the right framework and language to communicate effectively.  

In what ways can we better advocate for mental health for ourselves and within our communities?  

HAZEL: Of course, as we just discussed, I think one of the best ways to be a better advocate for ourselves and others is to be really specific in the language we use to describe how we are feeling and what we are feeling. I think another component of this is bringing a greater understanding that, as humans, we have a full range of emotions on purpose, and we need to learn to label the emotions we are feeling appropriately. So, as a society and as individuals, we really need to understand and accept that we’re not supposed to be happy all the time, that happiness is a state, not a trait. We need to know that we will move in and out of happiness and move in and out of sadness, anger, frustration, etc. Emotions, by definition, are fleeting, but mental health conditions like depression are a medical illness and need to be taken seriously and treated appropriately.  Using the word ‘depressed’ to describe how you feel because you don’t have the latest fashion item trivializes the experiences of those with serious depression.  

This year for Mental Health Awareness Week, the Canadian Mental Health Association recognizes the theme of empathy. How does true empathy show up when we’re engaging with others? 

HAZEL: Genuine empathy has many characteristics. When we’re engaging with others, we’re being patient, we are considering their point of view, we are not imposing our position on them or minimizing their experiences. Empathy means letting people finish their thoughts or their ideas. It means using active listening to reflect - not taking on another person's feelings but reflecting them back to them to put them in perspective. Empathy also means taking some time to understand the other person's position and finding ways to support them that doesn't own the problem for them. 

As evidenced through tools like MHS’ EQ-i 2.0®, we know that empathy is a skill that can be built. What are some ways we can flex and build this skill to benefit our mental health and others?  

HAZEL: Building empathy is an individual thing because it all depends on where you're starting. We are all at different points on our journey. I think we have to ask ourselves, "am I demonstrating empathy right now?", "do I understand what empathy is?", "do I know when I need to stop and listen to my team and try to find ways to support them?" And it also means learning to ask questions like, "are you looking to vent, or do you want me to help you solve this problem?". Or "is there something that I am not taking into consideration?" Empathy doesn't mean fixing someone's problems. It means giving them the tools and the support they need to fix it themselves. 

What are some ways you hope the conversation around mental health and mental illness can change going forward? 

 HAZEL: I think we've come so far, and honestly; it does go back to being really specific about the language we use. Let's all make a concerted effort not to overgeneralize and not use clinical terms to describe everyday challenges. We will honor those truly experiencing mental illness and learn more about our own experiences within this continuum.