*Trigger warning: mental illness, suicide, ableism, eating disorder*
*Disclaimer: there are some ableist terms in this article, while this is my writing I do not in any way support the usage of such words, nor do I mean any harm by them. I am merely quoting what another individual said*
We've all heard them; we may have even used them: those phrases that may seem harmless but sound off countless alarms and triggers in the heads of millions of silent sufferers. "This weather is so bipolar." "You look anorexic." "Don't be such a retard." "I'm so depressed."
By using mental illnesses as descriptive words for things considered to be inherently "strange" or "abnormal," we're not only reinforcing the stigma associated with mental illness, but we're also diminishing the seriousness of mental illness and categorizing certain illnesses as good or bad. By treating these illnesses as facetious diagnoses, we make it more difficult for those with legitimate clinical diagnoses to speak up or seek further treatment.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports 43.8 million American adults (about 19 percent of the population) has some form of mental illness. So chances are, when you're telling your friend he's "so OCD" for keeping his desk perfectly clean and organized, you're (unintentionally or not) undermining him or possibly one of your other friends and their daily struggles.
By throwing these words around as if they're just meaningless descriptions for your "quirks," you're implying that what millions of people go through on a daily basis is just as easy to deal with or get over as your quick moment of fear when you think you may have lost your phone but soon find it in the bottom of your purse, or your desire for cleanliness.
Mental illnesses are not something that you suffer through for a few minutes and then get over and go about your day afterwards. These are actual illnesses. The illnesses themselves may not be physically visible, but their symptoms often are, and just because they aren't necessarily visible to you, doesn't mean they aren't any less real or any less serious.
As I was writing this article, I happened to be attending a Keith Urban concert. Keith was lovely as usual, but one of the opening acts, Brett Eldredge, started out his performance singing his song "Lose My Mind." He is escorted onto the stage by a "doctor" who is forcefully leading him up to the mic, while Eldredge dons a straight jacket and begins singing about a girl who made him "lose [his] mind." I found the performance and the song to be incredibly offensive and insensitive (here are the lyrics). I researched the song after the concert and came across the video which was just as, if not more, disturbing than his live performance. I will not be linking the video to this article because I do not believe Eldredge deserves any more publicity than what he is getting from me. He sexualizes mental instability and equates it with being in love. This romanticization of mental illnesses is extremely problematic because there is absolutely nothing beautiful or romantic or sexy about living with a mental disorder that makes things like simply waking up every morning a living hell. This kind of ignorant behavior makes those suffering with mental health problems seem like they're bad people, like they're "cr*zy" as the country singer puts it. It dehumanizes them and fuels the stereotype that they're criminals who are out to cause trouble. People suffering with illnesses (such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder), are not bad people. They are only trying to distinguish the real world from the confusing "world" in their mind. Their mind controls them in a certain way that those without the disorder find difficult to understand. This ignorance causes people to cast those with mental illnesses in a bad light that they don't deserve to be cast under.
As someone who suffers from numerous mental disorders, I was deeply hurt by his "innocent joke" of a performance. Mental illness is not a joke. Do not turn our struggles into something meaningless. These illnesses consume our lives. Don't you dare turn our lives into a meaningless joke; they are anything but that.
In order to keep myself and others from being anymore emotionally drained from some of the things in this piece, I will conclude it by simply saying, have compassion for those around you and keep a conscious mind and an open heart for those fighting the struggle. Fight with them and for them; make sure their voices are heard because they're the voices of millions. Also, get a thesaurus.
