A rant on ableist language

I have come across some things on here that I find both disturbing and hurtful and just want to vent about it. I am personally very hurt by ableist/saneist language and would like to just make that known. Here are some of my thoughts on using the word "crazy" to describe bad people and their behavior:



Be careful how you use that word “Crazy”. No one should be judged based on a diagnosis, and no one should be diagnosed from an armchair. No one. I do not like, or respect Donald Trump in any way. I believe he is a sexual predator, a racist, an ableist, and hates the poor. I consider what I dislike about Trump to be to do with his actions and his character, not his possible mental distress. Both his actions and his beliefs are possible for a sane person to exhibit and I will not excuse his evil, hateful behavior with the term “crazy”. Our dislike of a person does not excuse our own use of abliest attitudes and attacks on them. Have we ever stopped to consider that by calling Trump “crazy” that we the diagnosed, the mad, the disabled, the neurodivergent, will suffer even more stigma at the hands of the sane, able folks? I’m one crazy ***** and I do not want to be put in a box with hateful bigots!

Well, I for one don't use words like "crazy" or "retarded" because I know how hurtful they can make people feel. Just because a person isn't as able bodied, or able minded as someone else doesn't mean they don't have feelings and emotions.

My cousin has Down Syndrome and I learned from an early age that he wasn't like me in some respects. I also learned that he wanted what anyone wants, really. To be treated like we'd treat any other human being; with respect, dignity and consideration. I am going to acknowledge that I may lose sight of this during times where I'm more emotionally unbalanced, and revert to some more barbaric words and behaviors. I can't help but feel guilt and repulsion that I do that and if I have done this to anyone on here, I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart.

As for Trump, I call him what he is: a misogynistic, narcissistic, bully.

I have been lucky enough to have never been discriminated against severely for anything. I am a Caucasian female, grew up middle class (although my mother worked 1 full time job and 2 part time at one point), did well academically, and never got into legal trouble (tho I could say never got caught). But then I also have severe mental illness, have received disability benefits for 13 years, have not been able to keep a job because of the disability/mental illness,

Sorry hit the wrong button...

I still live with my mother, even tho she is abusive and responsible for the majority of my mental illness, I resorted to substances and unhealthy behaviors to cope, I identify as LGBT, the list could keep going.

I cringe when I hear the word crazy used to describe anything that is abnormal or extreme. "Did you see that car chase on the news? That was crazy!" "What do you think of that outfit so and so is wearing? It's all over the place, so crazy!" To so called normal people, the res nothing wrong with using that word in those sentences. To me, it's just a derogatory term that the definition has morphed over time, in the same sense as gay, queer, retarded, twig, sketchy, even b***h to an extent.

Some words that used to be insults have been taken back by the people they were used against, such as queer or dyke. But then for some, those words still have the power to sting. Maybe over time, we can take back the word crazy and make it ours, but it took decades for queer to become acceptable to some people, and there's still room for growth there. For communities to take these insults and make them their words, they had to speak up and express the hurts that were caused by people using them, which means we (the mentally ill community as a whole, not just PC) will need to be the ones to start the wheels of change. It takes starting conversation amongst ourselves first to get there, so thank you OP for your rant.

I agree and I don't use those words. I love to read murder mysteries and thrillers and I've noticed an uptick in the use of describing the killer as bipolar as if that he is bipolar explains his murderous actions. I don't know. It's just a sensitive spot for me. I don't like it.

Thank you all! I was beginning to think I was the only one on these chats who felt this way. I'm part of a movement of psychiatric survivors and users called Mad Pride who are trying to reclaim these words. It's a slow process but it's picking up steam every day. PM me if any of you would like to know more about Mad Pride.

I have to admit I haven't been all that bothered by the word "crazy," except when I'm the one referred to--or my friends--or my fellow sufferers. For example, my mother-in-law would say "They're crazy about it" when she meant someone really liked something, and it didn't bother me. Should it?

I don't like "insane." Or even "mentally ill." If I use the word "crazy," I put it it in quotes, to suggest someone else is saying it. I don't use it myself, though.

"Retarded" used to mean "slowed down," but then people started using it negatively/meanly to suggest someone is lesser in some way--or even saying someone is a "retard."

The word "crazy" doesn't bother me. Unless someone calls me crazy in a negative way . Yeah the president being called mentally ill should really be that he does uncompassionate and hurtful things. Though I don't really like the term mentally ill either. I have heard of mad pride. It sounds like an empowering movement. Though I don't know much about it.

Out of curiosity, travelinglady and starrysky, why do y'all not like the term "mentally ill"? I've never heard someone say that. If it's just a preference, what term to you prefer? Or is it something else, a way it was used toward you perhaps? I guess I'm confused because the "correct" term for things like depression or schizophrenia is that they are mental illnesses, so saying mentally ill would make sense to me.

(I mention a term I don't like, related to SH, so I TWed just in case.)

I just don't like how mentally ill sounds. I know it's used in everyday language to describe mental health issues. I'm not sure why I don't like it. It just has a bad ring to it for me.

I don't know exactly why I don't like "mental illness." Maybe because we usually don't say things like "physical illness"? Like, "You know, Frank, she has a physical illness." We seem to accept that people who are sick can't help it? But it's a brain problem we have. Would I like "she has a problem with her brain" any better? Probably not!

Years ago a mental-health professional suggested "problems in living" rather than "mental illness." Maybe I'm leaning toward that.

People even get scared of me if I tell them I am bipolar. I think lots of the media lead people to think we are dangerous.

Mentally ill is generally considered a stigmatizing term and it kind of flattens out the actual experiences of people when used. It also makes it seem like there is something wrong with your mind when really it's just that you're wired differently. I prefer to use the term mental distress, the actual name of what I'm going through, or neurodivergent sometimes.

Fuzzyowleyes, when you said that you prefer the actual name of what you are going thru, that resonates with me. I do prefer to use the name of the actual condition or disorder, for myself or someone else if I know it and know they are comfortable with it. I really use "mentally ill" more as a broad term for the community as a whole, since everyone has different experiences and disorders/conditions. It makes me think, tho, if something like "psychiatric/psychological condition" would be better than "mental illness" for those who find the term unsettling...

This does bring up the concept of preference and how some people are okay with some words while others aren't. Even in this thread, there are some that are okay with "crazy" in some situations or conversations. Then there are the words that are being taken back by those they were used to stigmatize, like some of the derogatory words for women.

I agree with the intent of this thread, and thank you for starting this discussion.

As in so many cases, the words that get bandied about (the ones you've all highlighted) have been for so long, twisted around, and utilized too often to cause pain. Speaking only for myself, it really depends on who is saying them, and under what circumstances they are being used, which determines whether or not they are triggers for me or whether or not I find them upsetting.

There will always be less enlightened people who will shame whoever they like for whatever purposes it serves for them. Although, re-claiming a lot of words does help maintain dignity, and remove some weapons from their arsenal.

We're really just at the beginning, historically speaking, of any kind of open discussion about these things. I would love to see US be the ones who decide which language to use to describe ourselves...and also to clarify, for the unknowing, the importance of accuracy and correctness, out of respect for the individual, that should attend any discussion of these topics. (But, then again, I have always been hopelessly optimistic.)

In any event, with social media at our disposal, it's much more likely to happen.

Get ready for a protracted and exhausting battle on this front! It's going to take a long time for people's ideas to change.

I was voted the craziest person in my high school class-someone who is humorous and funny. Looking back after really dealing with schitzophrenia i don't even know now what they really meant. Maybe they saw something i didn't. maybe since i was head injured since then i became schitzophrenic, or i was really funny in high school. i thought it was my sence of humor but now i am wondering?

I feel ya! I'm currently on a one person mission to reclaim the word Mad and it is tiresome lol

I think it depends on the situation as to whether it upsets me or not. I don't like the word 'psycho' but it's often bandied about to describe people with mental health problems, I've actually experienced this first hand, a supervisor at my old job was overheard saying she hoped I didn't go back to work because she didn't want to work with a 'psycho' as though I was to be feared for being unwell. It's an awful term and had very negative connotations.

I think people don't really think about the words they use sometimes. People say I'm depressed after having a bad day, or even saying I'm so bipolar today if they've been a bit up and down, usually this is just ignorant people not thinking but it is really annoying. And then there's the other words crazy, mad etc that are used to describe all sorts of things. It's been a crazy day, that guy is mad etc etc. Personally I'd prefer not to be referred to as crazy but I don't necessarily take offence to it when it has been said jokingly.

If someone was talking about me and wanted to say I had mental health problems I'd rather they used the term mental health problems or my actual diagnosis. My pdoc has referred to me as having a serious mental illness in a letter he wrote for me and I wasn't really keen on that.