How To Not Be Socially Insensitive
As humans, it is almost a natural instinct to defend ourselves when we feel attacked. Often, this is justified by evolution and our need to fight for survival when we are threatened.
However, under the intense pressure after being attacked, we lose conscious control over our words and say things out of anger that shouldn’t be justified. These “words” that we use as an insult to protect us then become a part of our daily diction where we don’t realize the weight and potential they have to harm others around us. With reference to the terms, we use and have regretfully ‘normalized’, it calls for change with the intention for all of us to be more sensitive and accommodating towards people who go through the illnesses we joke about or use as insults altogether.
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“Stop being so depressed.”
We’ve grown accustomed to using this mental illness to describe how we feel at the smallest inconvenience or if someone’s being quieter than normal. We must realize that being depressed is NOT the same as being “sad”. Sadness is a normal emotion we all experience, but it’s usually temporary and cannot be used interchangeably with depression, which affects people chronically and disrupts their lives. We need to be more sensitive about describing our sadness because to refer to a mental illness as a joke takes the weight and importance away from it and normalizes our light approach to an illness, which needs to be addressed among people with more seriousness. So, the next time things aren’t going your way, replace this phrase with words like: “sad, upset, hurt, annoyed, bored”. It’s the least you can do.
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“You’re being a retard.”
This is a pejorative term that’s been used to describe normal people who take a bit longer to understand a concept or act in a way that slightly deviates from social norms. However, we have neglected the original meaning of the term that was for someone with intellectual disabilities. Eliminating the R-word is crucial because its usage furthers the negative stereotypes associated with people who are cognitively impaired. When you use the word informally to replace ‘stupid’ or ‘idiot’, you are also reducing people with an intellectual disability down to that one characteristic, which cannot be used to define all their complexities and valuable experiences. I can only ask for you to think twice before using this as an insult.
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“You’re so bipolar.”
To be bipolar is more than being unpredictable or moody. Approximately, 47 million people are reported to have bipolar disorder. So, you are saying that the weather, lights, your GPS or a friend is being bipolar, is wrong and inconsiderate on so many levels. People with a bipolar disorder experience symptoms causing them extreme distress like insomnia, poor decision-making skills and agitation. Using ‘bipolar’ so casually, alters the meaning for other people and risks them not being able to identify if they or others are bipolar and creates a certain stereotype that might make it more difficult for them to function in society overall. This phrase can be replaced with words such as:unpredictable, frustrating, difficult or unreliable.
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“They're psycho!”
It’s a slur that’s been overused by teenagers who’ve missed the meaning and damaging impact it can have on people. The word is short for ‘psychopath’ or ‘psychosis’. A person with psychosis has trouble differentiating between reality and their imagination, where they may hallucinate and find it difficult to cope with their daily lives. Additionally, psychopaths have impaired personalities where they fail to express themselves and lack empathy. To call someone psycho belittles their behaviour and trivializes their mental illness. If someone is angry or to describe a horrifying act, they are not “psycho”. Using the word incorrectly also makes people with psychosis more anxious about their behaviour and stops them from interacting socially. It’s time we reconsider and replace it with words like this: wild, impulsive, reckless, fearless, out of control.
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“That’s crazy.”
It’s a word we’re all guilty of saying as a filler and its meaning has changed over time from describing deranged behavior to describing anything negative to a more modern-day tone of enthusiasm. Calling someone or something ‘crazy’ is quite demeaning as they most likely don’t qualify for having a mental illness and you using the word implies, they’re living with a characterological condition. Describing someone as crazy perpetuates the stigma around mental illnesses and inhibits people from asking for help if they need it. The burdening negative connotations and stereotypes associated with the word astronomical. I urge you to not be lazy with your diction, take more control over your daily vocabulary, and possibly replace the word “crazy” with words that might be more fitting and appropriate to your situation. In place of ‘crazy’, you can use adjectives like “absurd, ludicrous, laughable, wild, outrageous, funny, surprising”. It might make you sound more literate and considerate, too!
There are so many more terms we have misused over the years and the ones mentioned above are only some we come across and hear most frequently. It is our responsibility to recognize the damaging effects of the words we use sometimes, even unintentionally, and actively take charge to correct it. It is crucial to be more sensitive and bring us closer to ending the stigma around mental health by acknowledging the struggles people face and enabling them to seek help and start conversations by using terms that make them feel like they are more than their mental illness. It’s the least you can do as a human to make them feel more human in return.