037 - Concept creep and the inflation of mental health language | Prof Nick Haslam

This Matthew Iasiello and Episode 37 of Researching Happy, a podcast focused on the latest science on mental health and wellbeing, DIRECT from the researcher who product it.  I’m trying something different where every episode will focus on one research paper, this will help keep me a bit on track, but also help you decide which episodes will be most interesting to you.  I’ve also launched the Journal Club, which is a mailing list for the show, where I’ll keep you up to date on upcoming Guests and give you the opportunity to ask your own questions. Sign up at researchinghappy.com. and thanks to the 50 or so who have already signed up!  Today’s episode is with Nick Haslam, Professor of Psychology at the University of Melbourne. He completed his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and then taught at the New School for Social Research in New York City before returning to Australia. Nick's research interests are in social, personality, and clinical psychology and he has published 11 books and more than 300 articles or book chapters in these and related areas. We focus on Nick’s paper titled: Ill-defined: Concepts of mental health and illness are becoming broader, looser, and more benign We work through the notion of ‘Concept Creep’ and the INFLATION OF MENTAL HEALTH LANGUAGE, the expansive idea of what mental health is, blurred boundaries between mental health and wellbeing, and the problems associated such as growing trends of self-diagnosis which may ultimately be hurting more than helping.  The importance of conceptual clarity is something that we’ve covered across lots of episodes, and this conversation was joy to have.  Thank you again to Professor Haslam, and enjoy the episode!  Considering joining the Journal Club, and give the show a rating wherever you find it!  Show notes: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666560324000318?via%3Dihub   https://theconversation.com/do-you-have-a-mental-illness-why-some-people-answer-yes-even-if-they-havent-been-diagnosed-231687   https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/mental-health-wellbeing