I think this is important yet it is usually neglected, minimized, or underrated.

Referring to people as "the mentally ill" or "personality disordered" is offensive and promotes stigma. When there is a school shooting, public chatter about policies for the "mentally ill" ensue.

Calling someone with an anxiety disorder, for example, as one of "the mentally ill" implies that person is incompetent or has a flawed mental capacity. This promotes stigma, as evidenced by how people are viewed and treated by various entities and organization--work places, medical facilities, etc.

It's not even technically accurate to use this terminology. It's more accurate to label someone with dementia as "mentally ill" than it is for those with more other mental conditions. Instead, someone with dimentia is often referred to as having a neurological condition.

Someone with back pain isn't considered 'orthopaedically ill', as if their whole orthopedic system is defective. The same should hold for those with mental conditions. People who have mental health conditions do not have a defective brain. We create things, solve problems, offer compassion...we have careers and life accomplishments. Using this terminology divides the "mentally ill" from the "non-mentally ill". Yet, they are not even close to being mutually exclusive.

It's also time for mental health workers to stop labeling people as "personality disordered". This is extremely offensive and damaging to some. It's about time to change it to C-PTSD. Labeling people who grew up with hardships and trauma as "personality disordered" as if their very being is defective, is immoral or just plain wrong*. Just as it was offensive and damaging to label people who are gay as having a "mental illness". I really question the ethics within the mental health industry and its claims to promote well-being if it is promoting stigma and damaging labels, ideas, and concepts. And just because it is in the DSM, doesn't mean it's acceptable to use in a damaging manner. Not only that, but large groups with social power can work to change this.

If this site is truly purposed to help people with mental conditions, and is an influential source of education, reaching millions across the world, steps to end stigma should start here. What could be more helpful and supportive of the population for which it is designed to serve?

Thanks.

*I am very aware that a small percentage of those labeled with personality disorders do not report trauma (although I continually see people say they were loved and have a good childhood, yet describe parental abuse or neglect in the same thread). This thread is not to debate these concepts.

[FallDuskTrain]

Thank you for taking the time to write this. I agree with you. But the issue goes beyond this website.
You know, George Carlin has a very cool video on PTSD. I recommend it..

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Rayne_

I think this is important yet it is usually neglected, minimized, or underrated.

Referring to people as "the mentally ill" or "personality disordered" is offensive and promotes stigma. When there is a school shooting, public chatter about policies for the "mentally ill" ensue.

Calling someone with an anxiety disorder, for example, as one of "the mentally ill" implies that person is incompetent or has a flawed mental capacity. This promotes stigma, as evidenced by how people are viewed and treated by various entities and organization--work places, medical facilities, etc.

It's not even technically accurate to use this terminology. It's more accurate to label someone with dementia as "mentally ill" than it is for those with more other mental conditions. Instead, someone with dimentia is often referred to as having a neurological condition.

Someone with back pain isn't considered 'orthopaedically ill', as if their whole orthopedic system is defective. The same should hold for those with mental conditions. People who have mental health conditions do not have a defective brain. We create things, solve problems, offer compassion...we have careers and life accomplishments. Using this terminology divides the "mentally ill" from the "non-mentally ill". Yet, they are not even close to being mutually exclusive.

It's also time for mental health workers to stop labeling people as "personality disordered". This is extremely offensive and damaging to some. It's about time to change it to C-PTSD. Labeling people who grew up with hardships and trauma as "personality disordered" as if their very being is defective, is immoral or just plain wrong*. Just as it was offensive and damaging to label people who are gay as having a "mental illness". I really question the ethics within the mental health industry and its claims to promote well-being if it is promoting stigma and damaging labels, ideas, and concepts. And just because it is in the DSM, doesn't mean it's acceptable to use in a damaging manner. Not only that, but large groups with social power can work to change this.

If this site is truly purposed to help people with mental conditions, and is an influential source of education, reaching millions across the world, steps to end stigma should start here. What could be more helpful and supportive of the population for which it is designed to serve?

Thanks.

*I am very aware that a small percentage of those labeled with personality disorders do not report trauma (although I continually see people say they were loved and have a good childhood, yet describe parental abuse or neglect in the same thread). This thread is not to debate these concepts.

I appreciate your point of view but something to consider here....this site is made up of members from around the whole world. each person posts using their own locations terms for things. example here in NY where I am located it is politically correct to say someone has a mental illness and that a person is mentally ill. its not a stigma here. its a cover all tern for someone with .....any ....... form of mental illness. Just like it is politically correct to say someone is physically challenged or handicapped when discussing physical health diseases/ disorders.

I am not offended when someone says to me physically handicapped because I have MS and I am not offended when someone says I have a mental illness or that I have a history of mental illness or that Im mentally ill. the truth of the matter is I am in that category and being listed in the category of handicapped, mentally illness opens the door for many different options that would not b e available to me....example if I wasnt considered mentally ill and physically handicapped I would not have my service dog that can go into stores, on local transport, to work.... If I wasnt labeled handicapped/ mental illness I would not be eligible for accommodations when attending college classes, .... to me its a situation of so what I am legally labeled dissociative disordered, trauma and stress related disordered, physically handicapped, mentally ill, mentally challenged, physically challenged and other perfectly acceptable and politically correct terms used for this here in my location. what matters to me is that these labels are there to ensure I get the help and services that I need.

and your statement of...

"If this site is truly purposed to help people with mental conditions, and is an influential source of education, reaching millions across the world, steps to end stigma should start here. What could be more helpful and supportive of the population for which it is designed to serve?"

my opinion is this site is doing a fantastic job of helping people with mental illness of any kind. there is a wide range of educational sources here. all you need to do is click on the links. example if you are looking for being educated on a mental disorder just click on the ..... conditions..... tab at the top of the page.

there isnt a lot of professional info on the forum boards because the forums are support group oriented where people with mental problems can post to each other about their day, problems and so on just like talking to a friend. but thats not saying there isnt other areas of the site where there is this kind of stuff....

theres ask a therapist
theres info on mental disorders in the conditions tab
theres ongoing research info in the research tab
theres blogs some of which are wrote by professionals who write on educational and other info about mental disorders/ mental illness
theres a resources tab where you can find information on many mental physical and medications, parenting and more....

my point the forums are only a small part of what psych central is all about. maybe you can check out all the other pages too and maybe you will find what ever educational info you are looking for and if not there is always private messaging Doc John and the mods who can locate the info you may need.

psych central is a huge place, as far as I see no one here is doing any stigmatizing, discriminating. everyone is just using the vocabulary used in their own locations around the world. and there are many options for just about anything a person could need here, which is why people are here and most stay for years. people come and go but i figure if the person is here year after year then despite what may be wrong they are benefiting somehow from being here, otherwise they would not be here day after day, week after week month after month or year after year.

[Fuzzybear]

In general, stigmatising language is offensive, wrong, and can cause immense harm.

Thanks for this post.

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by Rayne_

I think this is important yet it is usually neglected, minimized, or underrated.

Referring to people as "the mentally ill" or "personality disordered" is offensive and promotes stigma. When there is a school shooting, public chatter about policies for the "mentally ill" ensue.

Calling someone with an anxiety disorder, for example, as one of "the mentally ill" implies that person is incompetent or has a flawed mental capacity. This promotes stigma, as evidenced by how people are viewed and treated by various entities and organization--work places, medical facilities, etc.

It's not even technically accurate to use this terminology. It's more accurate to label someone with dementia as "mentally ill" than it is for those with more other mental conditions. Instead, someone with dimentia is often referred to as having a neurological condition.

Someone with back pain isn't considered 'orthopaedically ill', as if their whole orthopedic system is defective. The same should hold for those with mental conditions. People who have mental health conditions do not have a defective brain. We create things, solve problems, offer compassion...we have careers and life accomplishments. Using this terminology divides the "mentally ill" from the "non-mentally ill". Yet, they are not even close to being mutually exclusive.

It's also time for mental health workers to stop labeling people as "personality disordered". This is extremely offensive and damaging to some. It's about time to change it to C-PTSD. Labeling people who grew up with hardships and trauma as "personality disordered" as if their very being is defective, is immoral or just plain wrong*. Just as it was offensive and damaging to label people who are gay as having a "mental illness". I really question the ethics within the mental health industry and its claims to promote well-being if it is promoting stigma and damaging labels, ideas, and concepts. And just because it is in the DSM, doesn't mean it's acceptable to use in a damaging manner. Not only that, but large groups with social power can work to change this.

If this site is truly purposed to help people with mental conditions, and is an influential source of education, reaching millions across the world, steps to end stigma should start here. What could be more helpful and supportive of the population for which it is designed to serve?

Thanks.

*I am very aware that a small percentage of those labeled with personality disorders do not report trauma (although I continually see people say they were loved and have a good childhood, yet describe parental abuse or neglect in the same thread). This thread is not to debate these concepts.

I concur with the points AmandaLouise has stated. I also have a service dog and my "mental illness" is a category of disability that allows me to use this in my treatment. I prefer "mental health disorder" over "mental illness" but I am not necessarily offended by "mental illness."

Furthermore, I would disagree with you to reclassify all personality disorders as c-PTSD. There are many personality disorders and they develop because of a range of issues. C-PTSD does not necessarily develop because of the same issues as personality disorders nor does it necessarily present in the same way. There is even a lot of cases were a personality disorder does not arise out of any conflict or trauma. There has been research indicating that it's both genetic and environmental. Perhaps the issue is that you don't like the use of the word "personality" in the classification of those disorder, but lumping them all in with c-PTSD is a huge over-reaction and not appropriate, in my opinion. Someone with OCPD has very different symptoms than someone with c-PTSD. For example, there has been discussion in the psychiatric community of re-naming borderline personality disorder as emotional disregulation disorder or EDD. That seems more appropriate to me than lumping it under c-PTSD. It has a different classification and definition for a reason, and that's because the symptoms are different and also treatment options are different.

And they aren't labeled as "personality disordered" because they grew up with hardship. They are DIAGNOSED with that based on the meeting the criteria in the DSM. It is a diagnosis, not a label. And each disorder is different, hence why they have different criteria for each.

I feel like this is an emotional response to words that may have a negative connotation. But none of the mental health disorders have pleasant names. Do you think being referred to as "obsessive-compulsive" is pleasant? "Post traumatic stress disorder?" "Panic disorder"? "Depression"? None of them are pleasant terms. Just like obesity isn't a pleasant term, nor is brain tumor or cancer. Having a mental illness or mental health disorder isn't a pleasant thing. Changing the name won't make it any less pleasant.

When it comes to world events where the mentally ill are involved, the problem is not the use of the word mentally ill, the problem is the vilification of an entire group of people with no education. It doesn't matter what you call it, we would still be vilified, because the nature of society is to stereotype and generalize and lump everyone together.

Originally Posted by FallDuskTrain

Thank you for taking the time to write this. I agree with you. But the issue goes beyond this website.
You know, George Carlin has a very cool video on PTSD. I recommend it..

Thanks for the recommendation.

Sure, it goes beyond this website--that's for sure. However, everyone who has a role in education/authority on the subject, has a responsibility to take steps to diminish stigma, not promote it.

[QUOTE=amandalouise;5969781]

Hi Amanda-I wasn't specific, but I am not referring to the posters, only the authors of the site. Most authors are mental health workers.

I'm on the East Coast too but think it does result in immense stigma, although that can be subjective. Again-using "mentally ill" puts people into a binary category. You're a mentally ill person or you are a non-mentally ill person.

Anyone can have a mental disability or mental health condition but not be labeled "mentally ill". The label and concepts nothing to do with ability for accommodations or financial assistance.

Anyway, a post on another thread sparked my awareness*, and I wanted to share on this thread. People labeled "mentally ill" are often not taken seriously. Credibility or judgment is questioned. People can't get health care. It is often assumed people lack capabilities or cannot be responsible or make rational decisions. The stigma is harmful.

I realize the mission of this site is not to stamp out stigma, but again, if it is a source of education, and widely read, I would like to see more done to try to diminish stigma. I'm seeing many authors promote it, so it was a concern I wanted to raise.

*https://forums.psychcentral.com/othe...diagnosis.html

Seesaw-millions of children experience trauma and as adults many would fit into a personality disorder diagnosis. Not all get labeled for various reasons; and a good number of mental health workers purposely do not use these labels to avoid branding a person, but many do. That less than 100%/not everyone has experienced trauma is not the point of the post. I am referring to the label that applies to most.

The label does matter. I hear mental health workers (know several personally) use the labels in a very derogatory tone. The person is objectified and viewed through the label. Instead of seeing a person for who they are--both positive and negative, the mental health worker's projections are incorrectly attributed to the client. The outcome of that can be very damaging.

ps not CPTSD but Developmental Trauma Disorder

http://www.traumacenter.org/products...a_disorder.pdf

[FallDuskTrain]

If I may chime in... yes, labeling matters but labeling is not the problem. It is rather the result of the present approach, which often lacks important components, to mental health education and training. Yes therapy and drugs help but only to a point. (Yes i have been on medication for 14 and in therapy for much longer than that).
I fear that labeling will continue as long as the mental health professionals and workers are trained to drug the patient and take them into rooms and have them talk for an hour about bad things that had happened to them.
This video does a better job explaining my thought process.
https://ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon...n=tedspread--a

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by Rayne_

Seesaw-millions of children experience trauma and as adults many would fit into a personality disorder diagnosis. Not all get labeled for various reasons; and a good number of mental health workers purposely do not use these labels to avoid branding a person, but many do. That less than 100%/not everyone has experienced trauma is not the point of the post. I am referring to the label that applies to most.

The label does matter. I hear mental health workers (know several personally) use the labels in a very derogatory tone. The person is objectified and viewed through the label. Instead of seeing a person for who they are--both positive and negative, the mental health worker's projections are incorrectly attributed to the client. The outcome of that can be very damaging.

ps not CPTSD but Developmental Trauma Disorder

You suggested changing all PD diagnoses to c-PTSD. I disagree with that. I'm all in favor of renaming them with more accurate and objective descriptors, but lumping them all into c-PTSD, which has different criteria than those disorders is not a good solution. It's also not a "most people" thing, as you say. Not all the PDs come from the kind of trauma that creates c-PTSD. And again the symptoms are different. Why would it make any sense to lump together two disorders with different symptoms? That's like saying back pain and cancer are the same thing. They are different problems with different symptoms, different treatment options, and different prognoses.

Seesaw-please replace "CTPSD" with "CPTSD and other" or whatever term fits.* Again, that is not the point of the thread. I don't mean we should literally change all PD dx to CPTSD. That's just an example of how some of it could change, and a concept that can better explain what is going on with some people as opposed to referring to people as "the personality disordered".

I have enough education about these subjects, I made a note in my OP that I recognize not all these conditions are a result of trauma. Again, not the point of the thread--it's getting it off track.

*obviously, labels do matter as one single word I used is being focused on in replies

Interesting find--this came up on the top of the list from a simple Google search of the phrase "the mentally ill":

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers found that participants showed less tolerance toward people who were referred to as "the mentally ill" when compared to those referred to as "people with mental illness."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0126111942.htm

Ohio State University. "Why you should never use the term 'the mentally ill'." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 January 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160126111942.htm>.

Also might be worth checking out:

Darcy Haag Granello, Todd A. Gibbs. The Power of Language and Labels: “The Mentally Ill” Versus “People With Mental Illnesses”. Journal of Counseling & Development, 2016; 94 (1): 31 DOI: 10.1002/jcad.12059

The issue I raised wasn't necessarily "the mentally ill" vs. "those with mental illnesses". I don't think the word illness fits altogether. If I have endometrious, I'm not gynecologically ill. (Could you imagine if we went around referring to people with OBGYN conditions as "the gynecologically ill"! That would spur outrage.) If I have a hypothyroidism, I'm not classified as a member of "the endocrinoligically ill".

Surprised people support this, but to each his own. I personally don't think it's good for me to link my identity with being mentally ill and don't think it's ok for mental health workers (again, was referring to site, not the forum/members) to refer to people as "the mentally ill" or, especially, "the personality disordered" or "schizophrenics", so maybe I am not a good fit here. It is not the sole cause of stigma, but it certainly contributes. Labels assign concepts to words and denote characteristics of people--not exactly harmless.

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by Rayne_

Interesting find--this came up on the top of the list from a simple Google search of the phrase "the mentally ill":


https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0126111942.htm

Ohio State University. "Why you should never use the term 'the mentally ill'." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 January 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160126111942.htm>.

Also might be worth checking out:

Darcy Haag Granello, Todd A. Gibbs. The Power of Language and Labels: “The Mentally Ill” Versus “People With Mental Illnesses”. Journal of Counseling & Development, 2016; 94 (1): 31 DOI: 10.1002/jcad.12059

The issue I raised wasn't necessarily "the mentally ill" vs. "those with mental illnesses". I don't think the word illness fits altogether. If I have endometrious, I'm not gynecologically ill. (Could you imagine if we went around referring to people with OBGYN conditions as "the gynecologically ill"! That would spur outrage.) If I have a hypothyroidism, I'm not classified as a member of "the endocrinoligically ill".

Surprised people support this, but to each his own. I personally don't think it's good for me to link my identity with being mentally ill and don't think it's ok for mental health workers (again, was referring to site, not the forum/members) to refer to people as "the mentally ill" or, especially, "the personality disordered" or "schizophrenics", so maybe I am not a good fit here. It is not the sole cause of stigma, but it certainly contributes. Labels assign concepts to words and denote characteristics of people--not exactly harmless.

I never condone people being referred to by their diagnosis, but that is more than the one issue you raised. I feel you are backtracking now but whatever.

I never refer to someone with BPD as a borderline or a person with depression as a depressant...and I haven't really seen that on here. I don't think anyone here would say that we are our illnesses. They do not define us.

[Travelinglady]

I like "problems with living," as was suggested years ago by some professional who disliked the "medical model" term of "mentally ill." I think that sums up what's going on with us people who come here to Psych Central.

This is an example of the common portrayal and categorization of the "mentally ill":

Mental Health Professionals Declare Trump is Mentally Ill And Must Be Removed



It's disrespectful to people who have mental health conditions. Not only that, but whether you like Trump or not, the headline links mental illness with 'crazy looking' gestures, ability to perform a job, and involuntary psychiatric assessment; basically taking one's rights away.

It might be useful to have a stigma subforum to discuss these issues.

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by Rayne_

Seesaw-please replace "CTPSD" with "CPTSD and other" or whatever term fits.* Again, that is not the point of the thread. I don't mean we should literally change all PD dx to CPTSD. That's just an example of how some of it could change, and a concept that can better explain what is going on with some people as opposed to referring to people as "the personality disordered".

I have enough education about these subjects, I made a note in my OP that I recognize not all these conditions are a result of trauma. Again, not the point of the thread--it's getting it off track.

*obviously, labels do matter as one single word I used is being focused on in replies

It's not one single word that I'm focused on. Your original post covered a range of issues, and spent a whole paragraph dedicated to this. But thank you for the clarification in your thinking. As I said, I agree that new descriptors are needed for those diagnoses.

[FallDuskTrain]

Originally Posted by Rayne_

This is an example of the common portrayal and categorization of the "mentally ill":


Mental Health Professionals Declare Trump is Mentally Ill And Must Be Removed





It's disrespectful to people who have mental health conditions. Not only that, but whether you like Trump or not, the headline links mental illness with 'crazy looking' gestures, ability to perform a job, and involuntary psychiatric assessment; basically taking one's rights away.


It might be useful to have a stigma subforum to discuss these issues.

I sincerely wish that you hadn’t brought up Trump as an example. It is such a delicate subject....

[DocJohn]

We encourage the use of positive language when discussing mental illness, mental disorders, and mental health.

We do not, however, have the power to police every single person's post here to ensure they only use such positive language when referring to people who have mental illness.

It's a good reminder that words do matter, and you should try and think about your word choice when writing, even if its informal in a community of this nature.

I'm not sure if anyone read my note of clarification-my post only pertains to those writing from the mental health profession, not forum members.

Thanks for the opportunity to raise awareness about this issue.

[Gus1234U]

i often refer to "brain chemistry disorders" and "socialization difficulties", to describe what is commonly called MI. i agree strongly, that labeling the person rather than the symptoms is not optimal~

[-jimi-]

Originally Posted by Rayne_

I'm not sure if anyone read my note of clarification-my post only pertains to those writing from the mental health profession, not forum members.

Thanks for the opportunity to raise awareness about this issue.

The Expert blogs are laughable. I stopped reading them a long time ago. They just make me angry because all the blatant simplifying/misinformation/hate towards some groups of conditions.

Originally Posted by -jimi-

The Expert blogs are laughable. I stopped reading them a long time ago. They just make me angry because all the blatant simplifying/misinformation/hate towards some groups of conditions.

I now what you mean. I haven't read articles here forever, and just checked the home page. There were all kinds of articles about 'narcissists'; but they really seem to be more about shaming people or MH workers disparaging people to make themselves feel better (I suspect).

It is hateful. For example, many people on the psychotherapy forum write about struggles with people pleasing, caretaking, and other related behaviors. While this 'professional' calls them narcissists:

https://blogs.psychcentral.com/narci...ys-knows-best/

It's disrespectful and unprofessional to write about people in the manner they often do. Many therapy clients have those behaviors because they were raised by someone abusive.

Well I switched to advocacy because I am sick of people with licenses harming clients and patients over and over while making money doing it. It borders on exploitation. Just totally fed up.

The disrespect and disparaging in words about those they claim to want to help do reflect one's professional integrity, imo.

Glad to have a voice here.