Why Language Matters During Mental Health Month

TL;DR: May is Mental Health Month, a time to raise awareness and encourage conversation. The words used in that conversation matter. Careless language reinforces stigma and confusion. Clear, precise, human-centered language builds trust, protects dignity, and strengthens public support for mental health and substance use services. 

May is Mental Health Month, a national observance led by Mental Health America that focuses attention on mental wellbeing, access to care, and the barriers people still face when seeking support. Each year, organizations, advocates, and institutions increase their public messaging around mental health. That increased visibility makes language more important, not less.

Language shapes how mental health is understood. It influences whether people feel seen or labeled, whether systems respond with empathy or suspicion, and whether mental health is treated as a public health priority or a personal failure. During Mental Health Month, the words used in campaigns, press releases, social posts, and interviews often become shorthand for how the issue is framed the rest of the year.

In mental health and substance use communications, outdated or imprecise language can quietly reinforce stigma. Defining people by diagnoses or behaviors reduces complex human experiences to a single trait. Sensational language may drive clicks, but it often distorts reality and undermines trust. Over time, this weakens credibility with the very audiences organizations are trying to reach, including clients, families, funders, and policymakers.

Mental Health Month is meant to encourage openness, but openness without care can do harm. Awareness campaigns that rely on clichés or oversimplified recovery narratives can unintentionally erase the realities of long-term care, relapse, and uneven progress. Responsible language acknowledges complexity without dramatizing it. It centers people without turning them into symbols.

Public communications play an outsized role. Media coverage, fundraising appeals, and educational materials are often reused and reshared well beyond May. When language is clear and consistent, it signals professionalism and competence. When it is vague or emotionally inflated, it creates confusion and skepticism. In a crowded information environment, clarity is credibility.

Funders and partners are paying attention as well. Mental Health Month brings a surge of appeals and proposals. Organizations that articulate need, impact, and outcomes with precision stand out. Clear language demonstrates an understanding of both lived experience and systems-level challenges. It shows that an organization can be trusted with resources and responsibility.

None of this means avoiding hard truths. Mental illness and substance use involve real harm, loss, and crisis. The goal is accuracy, not sanitization. Language should reflect evidence, context, and respect. It should avoid blame while still acknowledging urgency and accountability.

Mental Health Month is an opportunity to pause and examine how we talk about the work. Strong communications begin with shared standards, internal alignment, and a willingness to evolve. What felt acceptable a decade ago may not meet today's expectations or reflect current research.

As conversations intensify throughout May, language becomes part of the impact. Choosing words carefully is not about being cautious or polished. It is about being responsible, effective, and worthy of trust in a field where trust can be a deciding factor between silence and seeking help.

AI-generated image. Not representative of real individuals or events.