Gaslighting, Narcissist, and More Psychology Terms You ’ re Misusing

If you spend any amount of time online, you’ve probably picked up a few psychology terms without realizing it. Take “gaslighting”—which recently became so popular that it clinched the mantle of Merriam-Webster’s 2022 Word of the Year. Other terms that have crept from the therapist’s couch into the public lexicon include love-bombing, triggered, grooming, and toxic. Frequently, mental-health experts say, when we overuse these words, we also misuse them. Doing so “can dilute the meaning of the words themselves, and we know that words have power,” says Naomi Torres-Mackie, a psychologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and head of research at the Mental Health Coalition, a nonprofit that aims to end stigma around mental health. “If we’re very quick to throw labels on something, it can derail nuanced, important conversations, and create this idea of an assumed meaning.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] While terms like gaslighting have existed in therapeutic practice for decades or longer, most only started to become common lingo within the past few years, fueled by use on social-media platforms. One viral Reddit post or TikTok video is all it takes for the masses to latch onto a previously overlooked word. Here are 10 psychology terms mental-health experts say that we’re using the wrong way, plus what they really mean. More from TIME [video id=oRzVU4XX autostart="viewable"] Gaslightin...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Psychology Source Type: news