By Barbara Pierce
Recently, it’s become common to use terminology from the language of mental health to describe everyday behavior.
“I’m being so OCD!” we might say, referring to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Or, “Don’t you think you’re being paranoid?” we might ask someone.
“She’s just schizophrenic!” we might say about someone who changes her mind frequently or does unusual things from time to time.
We use these terms loosely, though the mental health community is specific about how these conditions are defined.
Clinical terms that originated to define severe conditions that affect one’s functioning are used to describe ordinary, everyday emotional distress.
Why is it harmful when these terms are misused and misrepresented?
“Using or misusing these terms can dilute the meaning of the words themselves,” said Beth Harris, licensed clinic social worker in Herkimer. “It’s fairly easy to throw around labels. They started out being valuable diagnostic descriptions but have become commonly used and overused in recent years.”
“However, these words have power and meaning.
If society is fairly quick to throw around labels and misuse these words, it can fuel misinformation that can rapidly spread throughout social media and other outlets alike.
Major social media influencing sites, such as Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other popular platforms, make it quite easy for large groups or masses to grasp and hold onto terms or ideas that can become misunderstood, abused and can be ostracized or even demonized.
“It takes away actual meaning, empathy and understanding toward legitimate and real mental illness,” Harris added.
When everyone is OCD, paranoid, traumatized or depressed, the terms lose their real importance. This considerably underestimates the reality for those living with these severe, chronic clinical conditions; it is a complete lack of understanding of the complexities of these diagnoses.
Also, when we adopt a medical label for our quirks or our distress, we can then view these challenges as fixed biological traits rather than a temporary emotional state that can be changed. We can ignore the cause and ignore the need to change the actual cause of our distress.
We asked Harris to explain what some of the terms that we’re using the wrong way really mean.
True meaning of certain words
• Narcissist A person with an inflated sense of self-importance and a deep need for excessive admiration, coupled with a lack of empathy for others. This is one of the internet’s favorite diagnoses; it’s become shorthand for anyone who appears self-centered or entitled.
• OCD: The clinical reality involves exhausting, debilitating compulsions and intrusive thoughts. In casual speech, it is routinely minimized to describe a preference for cleanliness or order.
• Psychopath: A person characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, a lack of remorse or empathy and bold, disinhibited or solvent cruel interpersonal traits. Their behavior is more calm, cold and calculated than a sociopath. Genetics are typically considered the main cause.
• Sociopath: refers to a pattern of antisocial behaviors and attitudes, including manipulation, deceit and a lack of empathy for others. The behavior of a sociopath is more erratic, angry and impulsive. Childhood trauma or difficult environments often play a large role in causing it.
“Neither psychopath nor sociopath are actual diagnostic terms,” she added.
The terms are not endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association or used by most mental health professionals. Sociopath and psychopath are often used interchangeably in the public and can be overlapped and misused, creating frequent confusion.
“The closest diagnostic or clinical term or option encompassing sociopathic or psychopathic traits or symptoms would be antisocial personality disorder,” she said. “Also, it is inaccurate to assume that every psychopathic or sociopathic individual is intent on harm towards others. That is a large misconception in the public and the media.”
• Trans: Transgender describes people whose internal sense of gender does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. According to UCLA School of Law, about 1% of people in the U.S. older than 13 identify as transgender.
• Gaslighting: A form of psychological manipulation where a person makes someone doubt their own perception, memory or sanity.
• Grooming: The process used by an abuser to build trust, lower defenses and manipulate someone into compliance before abuse begins.
• Toxic: A broad descriptor for relationships or environments that are emotionally damaging, stressful or unsupportive.
• Traumatized: Experiencing a profound psychological and physiological response to a deeply distressing or life-threatening event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope.
This term has broadened to describe almost any distressing, uncomfortable or highly stressful interpersonal event.
What to do?
Use these terms as a way of learning, Harris suggested.
“When someone gets into therapy and starts engaging with their therapist, these terms and words can be quite powerful. They can help someone become their own self advocate, reduce stigma around mental health and normalize their disorders,” she said. “It can also help someone feel validated and better understood. It reduces victimhood and oftentimes empowers the person.”