Do you feel 'ill' or 'unwell'?

[akita]

I use "not well" when I feel depressed and suicidal and want to hurt myself but when I'm sick with a headache or cold, I say I'm sick.

[Disturbia]

I dont call myself ill or unwell

[Mrs Sam]

When my therapist tells me i'm ill i argue with her. I can't see how this is classed as a illness. However, sometimes when things get bad i do feel really unwell. Sometimes i can't even put a finger on it but i just feel really really poorly.

When i've been ill and come out the other side though i can look back and see how ill i've been.

[Sigma]

From what people here have said it seems as if there's a different perspective depending whether you have a continual depression as long as you can remember (less likely to call it being 'ill' and more likely to see it as a 'condition' or 'not good at coping'), or whether you experience episodes that are much worse than other periods in your life (more likely to see it as 'being ill').

[Carrina]

I think it's a societal thing too, and ties in with the stigma that's unfortunately still attached to mental illness/mental health. When we have the flu we'll describe ourselves as feeling 'ill', this is often not the case with depression. Maybe it's also because it can be difficult to distinguish it as something apart from the personality as they can be inextricably intertwined. I also feel people (me included) doubt our own feelings since it can be impossible to understand them at times. When I feel very low I don't even feel I have a right to define myself as 'ill' because I feel like I'm exagerrating and there are people who feel much worse than me.