Do you make mental illness your 'possession'? Well, read this.

One thing I've come to find problematic about the dialogue of mental illness is how people make reference to it.

Just to add a little disclaimer to this, as I don't wish to upset anyone - this post is NOT to penalise or criticise anyone. You can talk about mental illness however you feel most fit, as long as we're talking about!


But what I've noticed, based from my own experience and listening or reading other people's stories, is that they often refer to issues of mental illness as a possession.

My depression
My anxiety
My OCD etc.

Now grammatically, there is nothing wrong with this. But the more I've mused over it, the more I've found this is the only thing right about it (I am loving advocate of correct grammar).

Having spent a few months now really trying to tackle issues of depression and anxiety head on, I've found some of my most negative thoughts very often contain the phrases 'my depression' or 'my anxiety'.

'I can't get into university today because my anxiety is causing IBS.'

'My depression is making me feel too low today; I should stay in and not bother anyone.'

Now, you can easily just remove the possessives from these sentences and they would still be a negative thought. However, there's something about making mental illness our possession that makes these sentences seem worse.

Photo Credit: Laura Redburn
It's time to make a possession of your positive attributes!

When we refer to these things as our own, we do the right thing of acknowledging our emotions, but then we take it a step too far.

We absorb them. When they become our possession, they become something we can't put down. Rather than acknowledging our negativity and then moving on, we carry them around. Rather than creating a safe distance from illness, we rein it closer in.

Next, the label becomes part of our personality. It begins to define a part of who we are, and then engulfs our positive attributes.

When we never make reference to 'my confidence in social situations' or 'my ability to manage out of my comfort zone', it's not difficult for phrases such as 'my anxiety' to take over.

So really, this could be something of a great positive thinking exercise. A chance to reverse negative possession and absorb the positive parts of ourselves.

'My strength allows me to overcome depression.'

'With my great rationalising skills, I can overcome anxiety.'

Yes, it's only a minor change. But I'd found one day, when I was beginning to feel better, this thought just clicked. It just made sense - why would I ever want to own a mental illness?

I can recognise it's presence. Just like pain in a way, mental illness can tell us we are doing harm to minds by not looking after it properly. When I'm starting to feel down, have I made sure I've been eating well? Could I do some with some exercise? When I'm starting to feel anxious, have I made time to relax recently? Made sure I've spent some time in good company?

Yes, from now I will make sure I recognise it's presence, but I will refuse to possess it.

How do you talk about mental illness? Do you know any good tips on how to deal with a mental illness? Share below!