Anything to do with mental illnesses/disorders
Thoughts on the term "broken" in mental illness?
I personally consider myself "broken" and it is a term I use, I also have friends who fell the same however I also have friends who fell the opposite.
So what do you think about?
Also what do you think it describes?




I tend to use it to describe the pieces of myself that don't quite fit together with each other and the things I want to be able to do that I can't, the ways that I want to interact with the world and just can't manage.
I generally use in the sense of "my job broke me and now I have PTSD". (Forex I can't read and comprehend a long document that has any formatting of a certain type; bodycam-esque footage makes me shake; a fax machine sends me almost catatonic.)
I use the term broken on a rare occasion; like @HopeInSight and @the_rck have expressed, usually in a depressive episode to convey me not being able to interact with the world as I should or just things in general I guess.
It breaks my heart when I hear others with mental illness use it as a descriptor though. We're not broken. Nobody is broken. :hugs:
So I guess you might say that you've got a broken heart.
No?
Yeah okay.
😑
I've used "broken" to describe myself, but mostly when I'm in the middle of a depressive episode. I think for me it's a mark of shame. An indicator of something that I feel I "should" be. Other times its just a nod to the difficulties I face in life. It all depends on how I feel.
I've kind of steered away from it mostly to gentle and well intended reprimanding from the husband when I used to.
I've probably said my mind/brain is broken or ill or dysfunctional, so I could also say "I" am broken. It sounds kinda dramatic though, I prefer sounding pragmatic. Other than that, I don't really see anything negative or shameful about the term.
I use it for various reasons. From feeling fragmented into who I need to be for various parts of my life, to feeling like I don't fit in anywhere, to the feeling that I feel like my life has been a bit of a wrecking ball, to feeling shattered emotionally.
Compounded with health issues, I've been working this year to explore and heal as much as I can. Therapy feels like it is doing good for once. I'm using imzy for journaling. My therapist is encouraging to get way from critical narratives, and I strive, though days like today are more difficult than the good days.