Have you ever tried saying the same word over and over again and realized all of a sudden that the word suddenly becomes a meaningless sound. This task is often employed in psychological interventions where individuals are fused to harmful thoughts, such as “I’m bad” or even just the word “anxiety”. Continually repeating a formidable word or phrase for a couple minutes has the ability to render that word less powerful and therefore less influential on the person’s psychological well-being. This technique also applies to the field of semantic satiation—the study of linguistic repetition. Semantic satiation maintains that the repetitive echoing of a word causes it to lose all meaning. Ultimately, there are many studies that illustrate both the power of words or the loss of that power.
We have all heard it. When someone is having a challenging day and they casually say to you, “I’m having a total panic attack about it”. At face value, we often accept this as common vernacular. But at a deeper glance, it is quite odd to claim a medical episode when in fact you’re probably referring to a mildly stressful incident. Why would you refer to something that really means your experiencing a sudden surge of debilitating anxiety and fear, trembling and shaking, shortness of breath and choking feeling, and an intense fear of losing control or going crazy.
Ultimately, this misuse of language and terminology applies to several mental health related disorders. It is very common to hear or read on social media that “I’m so OCD”, “he’s completely bipolar”, and “so depressed right now”. Why has this slipped into our collective vernacular in the first place? It is undeniable that we are a culture with an insistence on hyperbole, often exaggerating things to be taken seriously. Further, the trend of social media appears to be one of over-sharing, and of course emotions are going to be at the forefront of sharing.
There is usually not any maliciousness or bad intent involved, but when individuals say they are “depressed” because it’s a Monday, or “OCD” because they keep their car clean, it points to both a misuse of language and self-diagnosis. Naturally, everyone should be able to express themselves as they wish, but at what cost and to whom?
Dr. Zsofia Demjen is a linguist who examines the relation between language, psychology, and health. She cautions this trend when saying “using bipolar or schizo or essentially technical words to describe mundane or everyday experiences means the original technical meaning of the term becomes diluted and it becomes more strongly associated with these simpler or more fleeting experiences”. Ultimately it normalizes mental illness in a troubling way, wherein “I’m depressed” now means “I’m sad”. It then begs the question as to how someone with clinical depression or bipolar disorder describes their illness and feelings. Dr. Demjen goes on to say, “How can people differentiate the much more complex, much more intense thing they have from this thing everyone always claims ownership of?”
Understandably, individuals with an actual clinical illness might be upset and frustrated when they hear the label wrongly used. Making light of a real illness that causes a real struggle is harmful, and those that misemploy certain disorders ultimately don’t have to deal with that struggle on a daily basis. It not only spreads a false idea of the true nature of mental disorders, but it can also further the stigma associated with mental illness. When these mental disorders become diluted because they are flippantly applied, it has the power to trigger an attitude of “just get over it”. This can further stigma that already exists in the mental health community because symptoms aren’t taken as seriously as they should be. It is also further troubling when people use real mental disorders as a negative evaluation, referring to other people as “acting bipolar”. When this is said it does not mean that the person has that specific mental illness, but rather that their behavior is not seen as positive. Since words acquire and change meaning, the mental disorder being used receives a negative association. This furthers not only the stigma that is felt by those with mental illness, but also the stigma that might be imposed on them from others.
Thankfully, language use changes over time, especially when there are growing numbers of brave individuals who stand up and consider the implications of what is being said. Historically, the term “psycho” was in headlines referring to anyone criminal or mentally ill, but now that has changed and there is awareness that it is no longer acceptable. No publication would dare to do that now. Currently, there are mental health anti-stigma campaigns putting in work on this issue, but it is also up to individuals and larger communities to grow in awareness and consider the words that are spoken.