Growing up, did you have language to talk about mental health and inner wellness with others? I didn’t. Well, not outside of the standard clinical language of diagnoses. The only references to doing any kind of personal work on the psyche were in the context of therapy. There was nothing personal and accessible, nothing to help me understand what was happening in my inner world and definitely nothing to help me understand how to work with it.
The first word that I came across to change that was transformation: “A thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance.”1 I understood it as a process, something to engage in that would get me from here (hurting and feeling completely messed up), to there (something better than where I was at). I still had no clue what the tools of transformation were – how was I supposed to do this? – but it was a beginning and I ran with it.
This led me to another word, evolution: “the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.”2 On the surface these two words are similar – transformation and evolution – but dig a little deeper and we find a difference. While transformation is about changing, evolution is about changing into something else that is more “complex.” To me, evolution seemed like something that was a life-long task and wasn’t just about changing what felt wrong, but about moving toward something more right for me. I was getting closer.
Healing is a word that I have found useful, but for a long time struggled to understand and relate to. As someone who experienced a lot of trauma at a young age, I knew that I needed it but wasn’t sure I believed it was possible. Its simplest definition is “the process of making or becoming sound or healthy again”.3 Not very inspiring. Later, I would come to understand healing as part of a larger process of working on Self. My own definition of healing evolved into “attending to my wounds”.
All my seeking paid off though. Finally, I found it. A word that comes from the field of Depth Psychology. A word that clicked, the idea that found a home in me – Individuation.
“[Individuation is] the process of self realisation, the discovery and experience of meaning and purpose in life; the means by which one finds oneself and becomes who one really is.” 4
Mind. Blown. Like nothing else, this idea gave meaning to my struggles as part of a process of becoming myself, not simply something to overcome.
When I became a Peer Specialist in the mental health field the word that everyone used was recovery. I had only ever heard that term used by people coming through substance use struggles, or when someone was physically ill. SAMHSA defines it as, “a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”5 While there’s nothing wrong with this – in fact I agree with the statement – it has never felt like the right word for me. “Recovery” feels too connected to being sick, which feels disempowering. I want something that brings dignity to my struggles. I’ve heard other Peers sometimes talk about their process as discovery. It seems I’m not the only one dissatisfied with the term.
What’s in a name? A lot, as it turns out. Having the right language to describe and discuss how we’re feeling and the process by which we’re trying to have a more meaningful life is important. We don’t have to all agree on what the “right” language is, but if there is no connection to the word – to the idea – then it is nothing more than an empty concept belonging to someone else. Not very useful.
Whatever words we choose, what matters most is that we do have language to talk about our inner process, the personal work of transforming and evolving and healing and individuating and recovering and discovering. These words give us the means to normalize talking about mental health, a way to destigmatize and counter the shame associated with personal struggles. Clinical language is fine for clinicians but if you’re anything like me, you probably find it cold and empty. Finding the right words for ourselves gives us framework, a perspective – a way of seeing and understanding and doing the work. A way to make it our own.
Citations
Christina Carney is the Coordinator of the Peer Voice Project at Via Hope, a leadership program for people with lived experiences around trauma, mental health and substance use. You can read her blog on leadership here.
