For All Personnel
Overview
What is Mental Health?
Our mental health directly influences how we think, feel and act: it also affects our physical health. Work, in fact, is actually one of the best things for protecting our mental health, but it can also adversely affect it.
Common Mental Health Conditions
The purpose of this information is to give you greater understanding of these issues. If you are concerned about yourself or a colleague, professional assistance is recommended.
Remember, it is not your job to diagnose yourself or someone else.
Anxiety
Depression
Substance Misuse
Reactions to Critical Incidents and Trauma
The Language We Use
- Can include or exclude someone and says a lot about our own approach to and inclusion of mental illness.
- What words and phrases have you heard?
- What words and phrases have you used?
- Please take a few moments to write them down and then read the table below to learn about the impact of words and how to use different words to be more inclusive.
- What will you use next time you speak about mental health conditions?
| Issue | Problematic | Preferred |
|---|---|---|
| Certain language sensationalises mental ill-health and reinforces stigma | Terms such as ‘mental patient’, ‘nutter’, ‘lunatic’, ‘psycho’, ‘schizo’, ‘deranged’, ‘mad’ | A person is ‘living with’ or ‘has a diagnosis of’ a mental illness |
| Terminology that suggests a lack of quality of life for people with mental ill-health | Referring to someone with a mental illness as a ‘victim’, ‘suffering from’ or ‘afflicted with’ a mental illness | A person is ‘being treated for’ or ‘someone with’ a mental illness |
| Labelling a person by their mental illness | A person is a 'schizophrenic', 'an anorexic' | A person ‘has a diagnosis of’ or ‘is being treated for’ schizophrenia. |
| Descriptions of behaviour that imply existence of mental ill-health or are inaccurate | Using words such as ‘crazed’, ‘deranged’, ‘mad’, ‘psychotic’ | The person's behaviour was unusual or erratic |
| Colloquialisms about treatment can undermine people’s willingness to seek help | Using words such as ‘happy pills’, ‘shrinks’, ‘mental institution’ | Accurate terminology for treatments e.g. antidepressants, psychiatrists or psychologists, mental health hospital |
| Terminology used out of context adds to misunderstanding and trivialises mental ill-health | Terms like ‘psychotic dog’, using ‘schizophrenic’ to denote duality such as ‘schizophrenic economy’ | Reword any sentence that uses psychiatric or medical terminology incorrectly or out of context |