It is not rare to see people use physical conditions as figures of speech. “That was so horrible I think it gave me cancer”, “I’m allergic to you”, etc. When it comes to mental illnesses, to what extent are these figures of speech just cute metaphors and hyperboles, and when should we avoid using them? These are all things worth thinking about.
These figures of speech have found their way into our daily conversations, often without even reaching our conscious mind. People frequently say (and I’m guilty of this myself) that they are “super OCD” about the way they organize their notes, or that they still “have PTSD” from their biochem midterm, or that they feel “totally depressed” about missing their favourite show last night. Most of the time, they are not referring to compulsions or obsessions that significantly disrupt their daily lives; but only that they are organized neat freaks. They are not referring to brain and body-altering traumas, but only that they have experienced distressing events. They are not referring to depression as we know it, but simply that they are sad. All this seems obvious, yet we often throw these figures of speech around so loosely that it makes us wonder whether we are destigmatizing mental illnesses or contributing to a negative effect – undermining the impact of mental illnesses and decreasing awareness of what they actually are.
How mental health comes up in our conversational speech is a topic area worth exploring.
Written by Jenny Li