How Mental Health is Trivialised by Language

November 2022

Mental Health

"To this day persons with addictions, as well their family and loved ones, feel shame, humiliation and guilt when terms like junkie, alcoholic, former addict, relapse and drug abuse are tossed around. "

 

"That is so autistic!", "How OCD of him!", "Are you bipolar? Why does your mood change so fast?" (OCD=Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)

It is not a challenge to add on to this laundry list of the casual usage of mental health conditions as adjectives and offhand remarks in everyday discourse. Whether in the workplace, in schools, or in conversations with friends or family members, many of these casual comments are typically not provoked by ill intent. Yet they contribute massively to the trivialisation and subsequent normalization of serious, distressing and possibly life-threatening experiences of those actually diagnosed with these mental health struggles.

And the way various mental illness is understood by society is often shaped by ideas from mainstream as well as social media. For instance, "Sorry, I am so OCD. Let me arrange this nicely" or "I am very OCD, I need to plan my week by the hour" perpetuate the notion that OCD is just a casual adjective used to describe people who like to be overly organised and tidy. Yet, while a certain subset of OCD does concern itself with orderliness and tidiness, there are so many more subtypes of OCD that are unrelated, such as intrusive thought OCD, contamination OCD or even relationship OCD.

These offhand remarks casually brush aside the intensity of distress felt by people diagnosed with the better-known orderliness OCD, while denying those with the unrelated subtypes recognition. What remains unseen to the public eye are the painful moments spent ruminating about an obsession, the inner turmoil of thoughts constantly toggling between logic and feeling, the hours spent on executing irrational rituals or compulsions – just to provide a moment of respite from the loud, irrational but haunting thoughts.

Some people who suffer from OCD sometimes experience a feeling of dissociation from reality when they are so caught up in the rumination, the intrusive thoughts and anxiety. As with OCD, a myriad of mental disorders are unjustly misrepresented today.

Many persons with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism or personality disorders who want desperately to seek help, may be too afraid to do so for fear of being rejected, ridiculed or shunned by their peers. What compounds this reluctance to seek treatment – particularly for those who do not understand what is happening to them – is the irrational dread they are not "sick enough" to seek help. And this is often attributed to the fact that they assess the severity of their distress by the expectations that society sets.

To illustrate, many people use the term "anorexic" to describe someone who is physically skinny. Many subscribe to the pervasive stereotype that to be anorexic, one has to be underweight. Someone who is genuinely struggling from an eating disorder may feel like they are not deserving of help because they do not fit into society's definition of this mental condition. The normative idea of anorexia is tied only to physical appearance and thus is misrepresented as to be solely about vanity, when in fact it is about so much more than that.

Addiction is another area of mental health disorders that is rife with stigmatization by language. The term "addicted" is itself so casually bandied about, that anyone who enjoys coffee, Netflix or Candy Crush can claim they are addicted. Yet the label "drug addict" is often associated with images of someone who is unkempt, out of control, and permissive.

To this day persons with addictions, as well their family and loved ones, feel shame, humiliation and guilt when terms like junkie, alcoholic, former addict, relapse and drug abuse are tossed around. The direct consequence of stigmatization is that people who are diagnosed with mental illnesses will continue to be seen in a negative light – and frequently perceived as weak, incapable or lacking in moral fibre.

What remains unappreciated is the strength, courage and tenacity that persons with mental health issues require to cope with their daily lives. Moreover, such labelling wrongly reduces those suffering to merely a condition. For people suffering from a physical illness, such as diabetes, we are able to separate the person from the sickness. Why the divergence and double standard when we speak of those with mental ill-health?

One does not have to live through a mental illness to empathize with those who have to navigate through life with it. There are many ways to support those with mental health issues. To start, the simplest and most basic of steps would be to refrain from using language that invalidates the experience of people going through life with mental illness.

If you want to show your concern to someone you know with a mental health issue, read up and learn about their condition. Let them know you are there to listen whenever they are willing to share. And ask how they would like to be supported. A small action on your part can go a long way in making their lives better.

 

By Tammy