[delicatefade26]

I am doing a project on adult children of the mentally ill...their experiences and stories...however-someone brought to my attention that there might be a better way to say mentally ill (but I've tried others-like parents with mental health concerns) and it just doesn't seem to fit or have the same meaning...does anyone have any thoughts or ideas-or synonyms?!

[doubtful]

I prefer people-first language that doesn't define anyone by an illness. Rather than "the mentally ill" you could say, "people who have experienced mental illness." Saying people first acknowledges everyone's humanity.

Good luck on your project!

[Ygrec23]

Originally Posted by delicatefade26

I am doing a project on adult children of the mentally ill...their experiences and stories...however-someone brought to my attention that there might be a better way to say mentally ill (but I've tried others-like parents with mental health concerns) and it just doesn't seem to fit or have the same meaning...does anyone have any thoughts or ideas-or synonyms?!

Oh my, delicate. You may well be gilding the lily. You're entering the no-man's-land of politically correct euphemisms. There's no telling at all whether what you come up with will satisfy all parties. Keep in mind that the phrase "mentally ill" itself was introduced as a polite replacement for "lunatics" and "crazies" and other such insulting words. The phrase "mentally ill" was deemed to be quite a step upwards from its predecessors.

Has anyone invented anything better? I don't think so. The "phenomenologically challenged"? Dubious. Very dubious. My suggestion would be that if your project is undergraduate that you pay no attention to such highfalutin' concerns and simply say "mentally ill." If, however, you're working on your master's or Ph.D., you might want to sneak a look at your professor's prior publications and use whatever term they may have used most recently.

It's really a "no-win" situation, delicate. You'll catch flak regardless. There will never, ever be a term or phrase that makes everyone happy. Might as well stick with what makes the person grading you happy. Machiavellianism.

mental health issues or concerns...

kind of bland but gets the point across..personally mental illness doesn't offend me..as the child of 2 of the most ill people who now abide in the toasty place below.... if your parents had physical illness you would say that...so i don't think there is harm in seperating the physical from mental..but as stated above there will always be those who are not happy.

I think since it's about the adult children's experiences and stories, it would be most interesting to know... what did they label their parents' difficulties as? Then and now? What words were used to explain it to them? How did they explain it to others? A bit of exploratory work might result in some wording you could use which really reflects the heart of your project.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by delicatefade26

I am doing a project on adult children of the mentally ill...their experiences and stories...however-someone brought to my attention that there might be a better way to say mentally ill (but I've tried others-like parents with mental health concerns) and it just doesn't seem to fit or have the same meaning...does anyone have any thoughts or ideas-or synonyms?!

"Mentally ill" has this advantage: everyone will know what you are talking about.