Table 3.

Examples of divergent naming of groupings of signs of distress across participants

Vignette	Names given
Imagine you meet someone who has recently changed their behaviour, and sits alone for a lot of the time, just thinking. Their mood is unstable – sometimes they're OK then sometimes they are silent. They say they feel hopeless about the future. Friends and family have noticed that the person has stopped taking care of themselves – they are dirty, and their clothes and hair are untidy.	Mad or crase (4); frustrated/traumatised; no name; frustrated; aflahun (3); fool; poverty
Imagine you meet someone who has recently changed their behaviour. They seem to be thinking too much, and people have noticed that they are drinking and smoking more than they used to. They are not able to concentrate on what people say to them because their mind is always on their own issues, and they forget things they have been asked to do. They still take care of themselves – they are clean and tidy, and they are never violent or abusive to people, they just seem to be lost in their own thoughts for most of the time.	No name (2); de posɛn wan go off; the head box up; traumatised; mamuu (mental person); crase (2); stress; thinking sickness; frustration (2)
Imagine you meet someone who has recently begun talking to themselves and to objects such as trees. They appear to see people that others cannot see, and to hear things that others cannot hear. They are very sad, and they cry a lot of the time. They have almost stopped eating and say they feel useless to society and hopeless about the future. They do not drink alcohol or take any kind of drugs, so their family cannot understand why they have started behaving this way.	Crase (5); devil sickness (3); traumatised; not normal; no name (2)