“That’s crazy”: Stop using psychiatric words as insults

Words matter. At some point, we all may have casually tossed a psychiatric adjective to describe a situation or person. There is usually no malicious intent behind the use of these colloquialisms. However, during these strange and unprecedented political times, psychiatric terms seem to be thrown around more so by those trying to paint a picture of current prominent figures. A late-night show host referred to someone as “being off his meds.” A former White House official used the term “paranoid schizophrenic” to describe an adversary. Whether being used humorously or not, these phrases have the potential to do more harm than is realized. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (a great resource for those with mental illness as well as family and friends impacted by it), approximately one in five adults in the U.S., roughly 43.8 million, experience mental illness in a given year. Furthermore, one in 25 adults, roughly 9.8 million, experience a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S., and individuals with a serious mental illness are at a higher risk of having various other chronic medical conditions. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Conditions Psychiatry Washington Watch Source Type: blogs