There are many forms of working words in the mental
health system. Some of these include:
functional
episode
mania
depression
symptoms
There are a lot more in my article:
Vocabulary ABC's in Mental Health Circles
I have been thinking of better descriptions of words
and terms used in Mental Health. These would be:
Not Medication- But
I take my "medicine".
(because taking medicine is not a vacation.)
Not in an episode- But
I am "having a symptom flare-up".
(I am not trying to be a soap opera)
Not medically corrected and "functional"-
But
My illness is "in remission"
(my bowels are functional)
It is time to move into a more universal way of
explaining things; explaining them to the patient, the doctor,
the family, the friends, the media. I consider these explainations
above to be more universal such as certain words have been
revised in the past, such as:
Fireman, Police Man, Mail Man..... etc.
Now it is firefighter, police officer, mail carrier...
With the above vocabulary changes, it feels less
derogatory and more humane. I am sure there might be
more out there, but the three above are just a start.
I am curious if you agree. Try the switch and see the response.
health system. Some of these include:
functional
episode
mania
depression
symptoms
There are a lot more in my article:
Vocabulary ABC's in Mental Health Circles
I have been thinking of better descriptions of words
and terms used in Mental Health. These would be:
Not Medication- But
I take my "medicine".
(because taking medicine is not a vacation.)
Not in an episode- But
I am "having a symptom flare-up".
(I am not trying to be a soap opera)
Not medically corrected and "functional"-
But
My illness is "in remission"
(my bowels are functional)
It is time to move into a more universal way of
explaining things; explaining them to the patient, the doctor,
the family, the friends, the media. I consider these explainations
above to be more universal such as certain words have been
revised in the past, such as:
Fireman, Police Man, Mail Man..... etc.
Now it is firefighter, police officer, mail carrier...
With the above vocabulary changes, it feels less
derogatory and more humane. I am sure there might be
more out there, but the three above are just a start.
I am curious if you agree. Try the switch and see the response.