is it ok to call it a "MENTAL" illness ?

[mirry]

Dont know if its just me but I find it insulting when people call anxiety and panic attacks a MENTAL illness.
After all I do not consider myself "mental" , also recently a friend of mine had a form to fill in for her sons school bus, it asked about his mental illness, he has a chromosone missing (a proper illness) , yet they named it mental.

[bubblygirl]

Thats a tough one to answer. I would say when i think of mental I imagine a room with padded walls. I just think of myself as having afew issues with life and find it hard to cope. I think mental is when you are not in control of your actions meaning you are a danger to others and yourself. I certainly wouldnt say im mental but i suppose i am suffering with a mental illness! But i don't think most of us are as bad as that sounds! x

[domino]

Ianswered i don,t care what they call it. Because unless "they" whoever "they" are have been there they won,t understand.

[yorkylover]

Hi,I dont mind being told I have a mental illness, but prefer to be told I have mental health issues.At least its called something so its not like its all in our heads. I have anxiety and depression and depression and anxiety,panic attacks ect are all recognised mental health problems,so is described as a mental health illness.Its just some people have worse mental health problems than others,doesnt mean we are crazy,although sometimes I think I am .
Its the word Mental it sounds worse than it is.Dont let it get you down.

[ksmith]

I think of it more as a mental impairment than illness.


Kay

[davidthegnome]

The term mental illness doesn't bother me at all. To me, I think panic disorder is just as disabling as a number of physical illnesses, more so than many. Personally though, I generally refer to it as a nervous system disorder rather than a mental illness.

[honeybee]

i dont mind it being called a mental illness becauise i suppose thats what it is but i dont like admitting i have a mental illness... which is quite stupid cos ive got a mate who's just been diagnosed with schitzaphrenia (spelling???) but i dont judge her any different...

[Piglet]

No I don't like being labelled as mentally ill AT ALL - perhaps I prefer the word emotional rather than the word mental.

I guess this is down to what era you have been brought up in - when I was growing up anyone or anything to do with mental illness was talked about in hushed tones, like it was a secret, or something to be ashamed of. So it's no wonder then that it has negative conotations for me is it!!

Hopefully in our lifetime this concept of anxiety/depression/stress and panic attacks will change.

I also think it's wrong to lump it all together with other mental illnesses.

Piglet

[happyone]

This is a funny one. I don't really mind what it is called, I have depression/anxiety. Yet when discussing things with my GP, counsellor, shrink (I suppose to have a shrink I do really qualify eh ) I hate when they say 'illness' not even 'mental illness' just the word 'illness' makes me feel weird. I don't think it makes me feel bad as such, it is just that part of me being 'ill' is that I often try to deny it.
happyone

[kate]

I don't see the problem to be honest. Mental illness is defined as illness of the mind. Emotions are also controlled by the mind, so I don't see what the difference is myself

Kate