The Language We Use

Whether we take something seriously or not depends on the language we use. Flippantly saying that something or someone is being bipolar, schizo or manic dilutes the meaning of those terms. Bipolar, as you know, if you have read this blog, is a grave illness; it is one that should not be taken lightly. But yet, I hear time and again that the weather is bipolar or that so and so is acting schizo.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 52.9 million people in 2020 in the U.S. live with a mental illness. That’s just the United States. Worldwide, the number of people living with a mental disorder, according to the World Health Organization, is 970 million. Can you feel the gravity of those statistics? It’s not something to have weakened by flippant language. We need to rise up and bring not just awareness, though it is important to do so, but also action.

While it is good to have honest, open dialogue about the mental health issue, there needs to be a plan of attack. I cannot stress this point enough. And because I don’t wish to push my political views on anyone, I won’t go into detail about what I think that plan of attack should be. Let’s just say that health care and the cost of prescription drugs should be more affordable than they currently are.

Political issues and the need for action aside, the current misuse of the terms bipolar, schizo and manic among others that get bandied about non-chalantly, which I said only serves to dilute their meaning and to further push the issue to the fringes of society, needs to stop. That being said, let’s keep the various diagnostic terms where they belong, in the doctor’s office, in mental health support groups and in serious discussions concerning the mental health problem.

In this post so far, I’ve stood high on my soap box to preach about what one shouldn’t do, which I felt was needed. I do apologize if it seemed like a tirade; however, it’s so frustrating to hear those medical terms tossed around so casually without any thought to those who may actually be suffering from those illnesses.

The English language is so rich. There’s a word for nearly every occasion. I’m not saying that you need to have a scholar’s vocabulary. You don’t. You don’t need to have studied at Oxford, Harvard or any of the other prestigious schools to have a broad vocabulary. What I am saying is that we need dip into the vastness of the English language and find words to replace how we use bipolar. This is so that the weather can be erratic, slapdash or random instead of bipolar and so that someone can be acting odd, strange, eccentric, or potty instead of schizo. Granted that being eccentric is not necessarily a bad thing. Nor is being strange or odd. The point is this, never should schizo take the place of more common and appropriate words to describe someone’s frenzied behavior.

All this to say that we ought to be kind to each other and use words that lift people up rather than demean them or tear them down. Let’s not be lazy. Just like we shouldn’t use a screwdriver to hammer in a nail; we also shouldn’t use bipolar to describe the weather or someone’s erratic behavior.

That’s it for this post. Please consider joining in the discussion by commenting your thoughts below. Thanks for reading.