Do you feel 'ill' or 'unwell'?

[Pomegranate]

I was thinking about this earlier. Regardless of whether or not you have a diagnosed mental health issue I was wondering if you consider yourself to be 'ill' and how you feel when professionals (or other people-friends/family) use phrases or words like 'poorly' or 'unwell'? I am not unwell. The 'professionals' say I just don't realise I am. That's not totally true. I know I feel am not 'right' and I feel awful but I don't consider that the same as being 'ill'. I was just wondering if anyone else feels the same?

[Buttons.]

Personally I do consider it as unwell/ill, it actually irritates me when people don't recognise it as such! To me when my thoughts are irrational (or, if I can acknowledge this, when other people say they are ;-p), or I'm having panic attacks, or the chemistry in my brain has caused my mood to drop, that is an illness for which I need treatment, be it medication or therapy.

[tamobhuuta]

when i'm not busy furiously denying there's any kind of problem, yes, i feel unwell. i could just say something's wrong but in my worst phases there seems to be more to it than that. not that your way of dscribing it makes it less! just, for me they do have different meanings according to how bad things are, but i wouldn't use those words to describe how 'serious' i thought other people's problems were, if you see what i mean?

[Retrosimplicity]

That's a hard one. I mean, by definition, it's an illness, because the brain is effected, and basically an illness is when a part of the body is affected to a state of dysfunction. So it is an illness but does it feel like one? Not really. I mean, I'm not in a hospital bed dying, and it's much more preventable and easier to treat than cancer or something. Sure, I can feel sick and tied down and trapped, but it's just not the same.

[shadow-light]

I generally don't think of myself as "ill", but I consider my issues as more "adaptation" than "disorders", every issue I have I can trase back to a source/reason and I can see why and how it became. So I see them as adaptations to past events and that I need help to readjust now that past things are n longer relivant. However, my "issues" are all trauma based rather than chemical imbalance based. I think if my stuff was more physicalogical and chemical based then I would be more inclined to class them as illnesses

[Serendipity.]

I don't feel unwell, no, and right now I genuinely do not think I am 'ill', I think I am unhappy and tired which is not the same as being unwell. Whenever professionals talk about how I'm 'unwell' or worse, put words in my mouth ('So you say you haven't been feeling well the past few weeks...') it makes me really uncomfortable and depending on how assertive I feel I'll try to correct them.

Having said that, earlier this year things were really bad for me and when I started to feel better, I was able to see that I had, probably, been 'unwell', although that is still difficult to acknowledge. I am also aware that I have different rules for myself and other people; I wouldn't say to anyone else with the same kind of problems "no, you're not ill".

I'm also fully prepared to use the term 'unwell' when necessary even if I don't believe it - I'm about to email my lecturer for an extension and say I haven't been feeling 'well' haha. Oh, the hypocrisy :)

[Sigma]

I think of it as a 'condition' rather than an 'illness' - a bit like diabetes or asthma. It's part of me and who I am, though doesn't define me, and I'm hoping the right meds will make me feel better as it's having a bad effect on my well-being untreated

[xlaurenx]

When i was depressed i never saw myself as been unwell or ill i would accept it , it bugged me when my mum would say 'we want you to get better' or something along them lines and i would think i arent ill or unwell so what is she on about. Saying that i would say that i had a few problems (depression, sh and anxiety) but i never saw depression as been an illness whhile i was depressed.

When i wasn't having a depressive episode ( whivh was quite rare) i would see myself as been unwell, normal people wouldn;t react the way i reacted or even thought about doing the things i did and nearly did

Now i know that it is but when i was ill i couldn't either accept that i was ill and i didn't think it was an illness or that i was unwell.

[Soviette]

Whatever about ill/unwell, I think being classed as 'disabled' is worse. >.<

[Foxtrot Oscar]

When I am very depressed, I feel unwell, because it is so different from when I'm not in a depressive episode. I withdraw from people/activities, can't concentrate, don't sleep/eat properly, have no energy etc but when I'm not depressed I don't experience those symptoms and feel like I am able to manage and live my life how I would choose. I definitely see myself as 'ill' during those periods of depression.

[Carrina]

I was going to create a thread like this, you beat me to it! I was going to ask if people blamed themselves for feeling like they do, despite being diagnosed as having a mental illness. For me despite having depression I still blame myself for feeling this way, for some reason I just can't reconcile myself with having an 'illness' and feel I'm just a weak character. I can't differentiate between feeling ill and my personality. Is my personality just feeble? etc. I think it's partly because I've had mental health problems since I was a child, so I can't remember *not* feeling anxious/depressed/mood swings.

By the way, I'm not saying depression isn't an illness or anything, I'm just discussing how I feel. I wish I could accept that I actually have an illness, then maybe I wouldn't feel so much guilt.

[Carrina]

Ironically feeling like I do about my depression is actually a symptom of depression!

[random.swirls]

I made a thread about this once!

I don't know what I am but I'm not ill.

But right now I'm in hospital and normally you are ill if your in hospital so yeah.

[Merc]

I think that most ppl, when at their most 'ill', do not believe it or want to accept it. I know I can easily see someone else's behaviour/actions to be considered 'ill', etc...but the same in ourselves? It always seems so very different.
So much easier to lable it as a 'personality flaw' or 'personal failure'

[Too Shy]

I don't see myself as 'ill', I find it a really odd concept for myself. I went through a phase a few weeks back where uni were saying to me 'You're not well' and 'You need some time to get better', and where lots of people got involved, and I still can't see it as being 'ill'.

I accept that I struggle with coping with life sometimes, but I see it as generally situational, just as 'coping very badly' rather than being 'ill' if that makes sense.

[Gone.]

This is a hard question to answer. For me, this past week I have described myself as 'ill' or 'being ill' because I have not been in the mindset I prefer to exist in. When thoughts become more toxic and I do things that I wouldn't ordinarily consider I think that there must be something wrong. Also, not attending lectures and such is easier to allow yourself if you are actually 'ill' otherwise it'd be skiving. I don't like medication for this 'illness', ironically, but I think that sometimes it should be recognised that there is the ability to be better from this and, not necessarily cured, but a bit more over it.

[courtlymed]

I don't see myself as ill or unwell. Everybody's normal or "well" is different. I think just because thoughts are irrational or feelings come up that shouldn't doesn't mean that one is sick. I think that saying someone with a mental health issue is "ill" is degrading. Who are you?

[Pomegranate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by courtlymed

I don't see myself as ill or unwell. Everybody's normal or "well" is different. I think just because thoughts are irrational or feelings come up that shouldn't doesn't mean that one is sick. I think that saying someone with a mental health issue is "ill" is degrading. Who are you?

Who? Me? I am a little confused by your question to be honest.

[Jaada]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadow-light

I generally don't think of myself as "ill", but I consider my issues as more "adaptation" than "disorders", every issue I have I can trase back to a source/reason and I can see why and how it became. So I see them as adaptations to past events and that I need help to readjust now that past things are n longer relivant. However, my "issues" are all trauma based rather than chemical imbalance based. I think if my stuff was more physicalogical and chemical based then I would be more inclined to class them as illnesses

I completely agree with this!
<3
Jaada

[trekkinthrulife]

I am ill. I dont choose to feel this way. A person is is mentally healthy may get upset, be unhappy or impulse, but they can use reasoning and get through it. I can't always do that. I have a mental illness. So yes I am sick.