Project Focus

Rather than treating language as neutral, this project examines how discourse actively constructs meaning. The analysis highlights how certain ways of speaking about mental health can make some experiences visible, while others remain marginalised or unspoken.

Alongside this analysis, the project includes reflective writing that considers how these public representations relate to lived and intergenerational experiences of mental health.

Structure of this blog

This blog is organised into four main sections:

• About — an introduction to the page: what it is about, aims, and more
• Critical Discourse Analysis — examining how mental health is represented in Maltese public discourse with thematic sections that explore key discursive patterns such as crisis framing and stigma
• Reflections — personal and reflexive responses to these discourses
• Conclusion — bringing together discourse and lived experience
• References — a reference list of theory and media sources used for the analysis

This project does not aim to provide a clinical definition of mental health, but rather to explore how language shapes what mental health becomes in public understanding, and how this intersects with lived experience.