Antoaneta Dimova, Queen Mary University of London

Tuesday 8th March:

Prevalence of mental health distress is so widespread that one in four people will experience it in their lifetime (Mind 2021). Societal attitudes around mental health are still prone to stigma, which can negatively influence affected individuals. Non-governmental mental health organisations (Mind, Time to Change, Rethink Mental Illness) are conducting social media campaigns (on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) with the aim to decrease stigma and provide support. The WHO (2013) has highlighted advocacy’s ability to induce positive change for affected individuals. Organisations conducting health advocacy campaigns further play an intermediary role “between those with formal power and those communities whose collective ‘voice’ can be used to influence policy decisions” (Jackson & Parker 2021: 153). The discourse used to convey messages within these mental health campaigns can not only impact campaign outcomes but also how messages are perceived by affected individuals. Discourse used further has the ability to shape societal attitudes towards affected individuals and mental health conditions. In my PhD research, I conduct an analysis of the language used in organisational social media mental health awareness campaigns. In order to examine how stigma reduction and support provision are expressed, appraisal theory is used in combination with multimodal analysis (using Kress and Van Leeuwen’s Visual Grammar 2021). Both approaches conflated allow for explorations of how meaning creation occurs linguistically and visually (typography, image/post structure, gaze), through different social media affordances (functions). The WHO has previously pointed out that, in order to improve mental health globally, a “unifying” language needs to be adopted around all sectors of mental health activities, which focuses on “health as opposed to illness” (WHO 2013). This statement forms the basis for what will be investigated in the first research question, whereby focus on health over illness within the campaigns will be explored. The first research question thus (RQ1) seeks to explore what positive and negative evaluations are expressed by UK mental health organisations. This also entails identifying representations of “good” and “bad” mental health, which are of interest due to their impact on societal attitudes. Appraisal’s positive and negative attitudinal categories are particularly relevant for what is framed as good or bad by organisations. The second question (RQ2) focuses on linguistic and semiotic expression of agency, as this can reveal how responsibility, blame and power are assigned to parties represented in the charities’ social media content. Finally, the last two research questions discuss how charities position themselves amongst other mental health actors (RQ3), and how the above explored questions (RQ1-3) work together to construct an organisational identity on social media (RQ4).

Andrea Vaughan, UCL

17th November 2020

Estimates suggest almost half of all people who die by suicide have no contact with healthcare professionals for their mental health. Prejudice and stigma surrounding mental health disorders mean that few seek professional support for suicidal thoughts. There is a need, therefore, to develop other methods to enable engagement with people who do not have the inclination or the ability to discuss these openly. Social media can provide a safe place to discuss mental health , including suicidal thoughts.

Much existing research to identify the linguistic features unique to users with suicidal ideation focuses on data from thematic contexts dealing directly with the topic of suicide or mental health. Its usefulness in identifying people at risk is therefore limited. It is probable the features identified in the current literature are only of the theme of suicide, rather than being indicative of suicidal ideation. For linguistics to be useful to identify those with suicidal ideation, and to save lives, those at risk need to be identifiable from a wider range of contexts.

This project investigates linguistic features of suicidal ideation, comparing data from r/suicidewatch with data from unrelated subreddits by the same users. The overarching aim is to explore whether users with suicidal ideation use language on social media differently to people without, regardless of topic. This presentation will provide a brief overview of current research, describe the methodological approach I intend to take, as well as detail the ethical considerations of this topic and in the context of social media