Thanks to those who have responded - its been interesting to hear your thoughts on this. I think for me, it must have hit on some core belief or fear and perhaps I was misinterpreting the intent of the way the word was used - maybe different people mean different things by it. Some people do seem to use words to label or stigmatise - almost as an excuse for rejection - but others are just trying to get to the bottom of what's been happening in a person's life, rather than making a judgement about the person.