Stigmatizing Words

                   I remember hearing the old saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” as a kid. As I reflect on it, this saying could not be further from the truth. Words do hurt. As a person with a mental illness, it hurts when I hear references to mental illness used as adjectives, slang, or derogatory statements. These words should not be used in this manner. 

                  I think I’ve written about this before, but it is worth repeating. I am not crazy because I have a mental illness. Depression is real. It is not something to be taken lightly. I struggle with my illness at times. It hurts to hear people use illnesses like mine so casually. 

For example, no one should be saying that they are depressed that their football team lost this weekend. A person can be sad or disappointed that their team lost, but depressed is not the word to use. Depression hurts. Depression is combination of symptoms that go much deeper than losing a sporting event. I was a basketball coach. Believe me, I was never depressed over a loss. Was I disappointed over losses? More times than I’d like to remember, but I was never depressed over a loss. 

                  Mental illnesses are comprised of much more than people think. For example, anxiety is much more than being nervous. For me, anxiety is a combination of mental and physical symptoms. When I am anxious my mind is filled with thoughts that just won’t stop. My chest hurts. I shake. I feel like everything is closing in on me. It is an intense feeling. Anxiety is not a casual nervousness. As such, it should not be used to describe how you feel in the closing moments of a sporting event. A person can feel anxiety without having an anxiety disorder, but it is still an intense feeling.

                  Another mental illness that is all too frequently used as an adjective is OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). A person is not OCD. A person does not have OCD just because they like things clean. How often do we hear it used that way? Too often. People with OCD have crippling thoughts. They have rituals that they need to engage in to feel okay. This term should never be used as an adjective for neatness.

                  What about the word “crazy”? This word is tossed around without thought. A person with a mental illness is not crazy and should never be described as such. A word I’ve heard used frequently is delusional. Again, this is not a word that should be tossed around. A delusion is a psychological term. It is not a way to describe a person who is speaking in a way you do not like. People who suffer from delusions do not chose to have the delusions. It is a symptom of their illness. We should not be using the word casually. 

                  In all honesty, I think society is getting a little better at being aware of how these terms are being used. Unfortunately, getting a little better is not enough. Mental illness is real. Mental illness is an illness. That means depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and more are all illnesses. We should be sensitive in how we talk about these illnesses. 

                  I have both a mental and a physical illness. My physical illness has never been the butt of jokes or used as an adjective. My mental illness has. It hurts. When I hear these words tossed around negatively, it makes me want to hide my mental illness. I feel a sense of embarrassment. I shouldn’t have to feel that way. It leaves me asking myself why my mental illness is treated so differently from my physical illness.

                  One of the major impacts of using mental health terms negatively is that it creates a stigma that prevents many people from getting treatment. There are many people who don’t reach out for help because of a fear of being ridiculed. That shouldn’t be happening today. There is a lot of knowledge out there about mental illnesses. They should be taken seriously and not used as sources of ridicule. Stigma hurts. Stigma prevents treatment. Stigma leads to a worsening of mental illness. Ending stigma starts with the words we chose. It starts with how we chose to speak about these illnesses. It is not easy, but I have learned to speak up when I hear a mental illness being used incorrectly. It is hard and people often just don’t get it. I am going to keep speaking up. I hope others will join me.