A Linguistic Investigation of Mental Health Discourse on Instagram: A Transitivity Approach

Authors

  • Scholastica A. Anake

    Department of Languages and General Studies, College of Leadership and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
  • Lily Chimuanya

    Department of Languages and General Studies, College of Leadership and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
  • Adesina Evaristus

    Indigenous Language Media in Africa Entity, Northwest University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
  • Oluwagbenga A. Kayode

    Department of Languages and General Studies, College of Leadership and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
  • Charles U. Ogbulogo

    Vice-Chancellor, Maduka University, Enugu, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i6.9033
Received: 9 March 2025 | Revised: 26 March 2025 | Accepted: 3 April 2025 | Published Online: 10 June 2025

Abstract

Online discourse has contributed to the widespread dissemination of mental health awareness (MHA) worldwide. These mental health advocacies are mediated using discourse, also known as language in use. However, studies on online MHA, especially from the perspective of applied linguistics in Nigeria, appear to be few. Therefore, this study examined MHA discourse in two purposively selected Instagram platforms: Sanemind and the NEEM Sanctuary. The study’s objective is to identify the discursive contents in the selected platforms and the lexical resources in the selected MHA texts using a mixed method of data analysis. The data were analysed using the transitivity strand of the systemic functional analysis. The data analysis and discussion of findings identified three main themes of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery communicated through the transitivity processes: material, mental, verbal, relational, behavioural, and existential processes. This study concludes that the material process of ‘doing’ and ‘happening’ are the most used verbs for communicating MHA, followed by the verbal process of ‘saying’ and the relational process of ‘being’, which indicates that mental health concerns are more prone to what people do, say and their relationship with self and others. The study recommends that online content creators must ensure the lexical resources employed in mental health awareness communications are accurate, concise, and clear to avoid misrepresentation and misunderstanding of their intended messages. Thus, they may require the services of language and linguistics experts to review their online content.

 

Keywords:

Discourse; Mental Health Awareness Discourse; Online Discourse; Instagram; Transitivity

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How to Cite

Anake, S. A., Chimuanya, L., Evaristus, A., Kayode, O. A., & Ogbulogo, C. U. (2025). A Linguistic Investigation of Mental Health Discourse on Instagram: A Transitivity Approach. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(6), 737–750. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i6.9033

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 6 (July 2025)

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Article

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Copyright © 2025 Scholastica A. Anake, Lily Chimuanya, Adesina Evaristus, Oluwagbenga A. Kayode, Charles U. Ogbulogo

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.