Fuzzyowleyes, when you said that you prefer the actual name of what you are going thru, that resonates with me. I do prefer to use the name of the actual condition or disorder, for myself or someone else if I know it and know they are comfortable with it. I really use "mentally ill" more as a broad term for the community as a whole, since everyone has different experiences and disorders/conditions. It makes me think, tho, if something like "psychiatric/psychological condition" would be better than "mental illness" for those who find the term unsettling...

This does bring up the concept of preference and how some people are okay with some words while others aren't. Even in this thread, there are some that are okay with "crazy" in some situations or conversations. Then there are the words that are being taken back by those they were used to stigmatize, like some of the derogatory words for women.