I really don't think there is anything wrong with the term mental illness. There is, however, something wrong with how people sometimes view someone who has a mental illness.

Personally, I think that those who try to change the terms are the ones who have the biggest issues with it. Lately, I have been hearing the following terms, rather than mental illness:

Mental health issue/problem
Behavioral health issue/problem
Emotional issue/problem

Why are people afraid to say "illness?" I have a mental illness. At 17, I became ill for the first time. I am not afraid to say that. My dad has diabetes-- he has an illness. We do not try to hide this with other words.

I also hate the different names they give to therapy/psychiatry patients:

client
consumer
participant

When I go to my primary care physician, am I any of these things? How the %#@&#! does one consume treatment? You are a consumer if you are going into a store and buying products. You are a client of your accountant.

I don't understand why it is so important to shift the terms, rather than work on how other people treat all things/people associate with mental illness.

Terms like lunatic and insanity-- those aren't good terms to use. Terms like illness and patient? It blows me away how afraid and embarrassed people can be to use these in terms of the brain.

As far as the terms 'illness' and 'healing' I look at it like this-- First, as far as whether one will be 'ill' for the rest of his/her life-- well that all depends on the illness. As far as my diagnoses, I know that I will live the rest of my life with mental illness. I prefer to use the term 'recovery' rather than healing. Recovery means that although you are living with an illness, you are in the phase in which you can life your life way past what the minimum functioning would be. I will never be cured; I know that. However, I think that terms like healing, recovery, management, and treatment are all perfectly applicable.

I can't worry about society viewing me as ill because of my diagnoses-- fact is, I am ill. I have an illness. However, the goal would be to get to the point in which it is not so active that it disturbs my life.