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[Snowybreak]

As someone who suffers from multiple mental issues, including both MDD and ADD, I really don't mind if people say they're depressed or that they're having an ADD day. Hell, I don't even mind when people throw around suicide or suicidal.

As someone who has been really, really, really close to that edge many times, I've just learned to make light of it. I've even had friends who have committed suicide, but I still make light because it helps me cope.

 

[lvl99 Pixel]

but I still make light because it helps me cope.

I agree, but don't you think it furthers the stigma of something like autism when its constantly used as an insult?

 

[Snowybreak]

I agree, but don't you think it furthers the stigma of something like autism when its constantly used as an insult?

Oh I'm just talking about ADD, MDD and Suicide. I've always felt that jokes about autistic people were always really mean-hearted

 

[Gordon Shumway]

I feel so oppressed by this!

Why can't I say whatever I want to say! Stop judging me! Your OP was so aggressive.

Maybe you should all move back to Crazystan if you don't like it!

That's it, I'm joining a white supremacist group!

 

[Masamune]

You know, from a medical perspective, it may be more accurate to say you have OCPD (obsessive-compulsive personality disorder) because, as an inherent difference to OCD, it doesn't cause disability.

So yeah.

 

[Phu]

This is something I personally feel very strongly about and it's changed my vocabulary quite a bit over the last few years. (Not just mental illness, but casual ableism in general.) Responses are predictably pretty hostile when I try to explain it to other people because "crazy" and "stupid" have become very ingrained in the way a lot of us speak, but I do my best to stick to my convictions and compensate by getting more creative, precise, and descriptive in the words I do choose to use.

I can't fault anyone for using terms like 'crazy' or 'stupid' because the context and meaning behind their use of the word is so far removed from actually referencing a mental condition that it may have well emerged completely separately. In that way I'd put it in a different category than terms like 'retarded'. I don't give much weight to the etymology when the function and intent of its current form leaves it more as a homonym/graph.

 

[chaostrophy]

It annoys me to no end having studied psych at school and worked with people who live with mental illness how the general population uses terms like this without issues and incorrectly.
"omg I don't want to go to the bar today, I'm so antisocial", like fuck off already people.

Yeah, misuse of "antisocial" is something that's bugged me for years. Being introverted, or needing time to yourself to recharge, is NORMAL.

 

[OCD Guy]

I've actually been diagnosed with ocd. It can be annoying at times, especially when people in real life sometimes make comments about it insinuating that I just stop. It used to really annoy my ex girlfriend. But it's not something you can just snap your fingers and stop.

It is one thing I've noticed people use off the cuff though. "I'm a bit ocd" while laughing, when it's nothing of the sort. Although I've never been too bothered about it.

Just sometimes think you wouldn't find it so funny if you actually had to deal with it. It's not nice when something takes over certain parts of your life.

 

[TheSchwab_7]

people who claim depression because a girl doesn't like them back is annoying me a lot lately

i know that feeling sucks but people have real depression over things like employment and housing

Yeah I see this a lot in r/depression and in general. Finding a girl isn't going to solve your problems...

 

[routerbad]

What you described in OP isn't hate speech. Better question, can we stop policing each other's speech for political correctness? It's silly. Also can we stop calling everything hate speech?

 

[Tinfoilhatsron]

It's more irritating than harmful to me. Like people are just ignorant or scared because they personally haven't met anyone who suffers from stuff like that.

What's more harmful is stuff like
"That's retarded"
"Fucking autistic"
"Social cripple"
On this forum.

But the way people act with race/LGBT issues and wording in this day and age I'll keep expecting people to use stuff like this. Ah well. Like I said, in the next 50+ years we might see some change in this sector when people acknowledge how toxic this stuff is to people who have handicaps and disabilities, both physical and mental. (That's not to say I'm perfect either, I used stuff like this before, but I tried to phase it out of my vocabulary.)

I mean it wasn't that long ago when people threw bricks at the short bus because 'cripples' were going to the same school as normal kids, and mental disabilities were handled with lobotomies.

 

[Amory]

Idk. On its own that doesn't bother me, I recognize that people are just exaggerating and not trying to be insensitive.

But I don't hang around too many people who talk like that. Mostly because phrases like "omg I'm soooo OCD" are a small part of a larger, annoying way of speaking and sense of humor

 

[jerry1594]

Me: I have ADD.

Them: oh me too! I'm always on my phone while I'm watching tv and trying to cook at the same time lol.

Me: No, I mean I can't graduate school because I can spend 6 hours straight trying to read over a single chapter in a book and not retain any of it.

Them: oh, I don't have that...

I have that but I probably don't have ADD. Who diagnosed you.

 

[Spectone]

What you described in OP isn't hate speech. Better question, can we stop policing each other's speech for political correctness? It's silly. Also can we stop calling everything hate speech?

Why? How is it affecting you? Don't you like being called out for saying mean things?

 

[Abilidebob]

people who claim depression because a girl doesn't like them back is annoying me a lot lately

i know that feeling sucks but people have real depression over things like employment and housing

Depression can hit people for any kind of reason, even no reason at all. A simple bad event for someone susceptible to it can easily lead to depression. It's quite disheartening to listen to people saying that "you shouldn't be depressed over THAT, there are way worse things happening to other people right now!". Try to consider what someone else is going through. Maybe that friend that seems to be "faking it" is actually depressed.

 

[many places]

People are going to use what they use. It's super amusing seeing someone get blown up for using conditions like that. Most don't bother me, and some do, but it's not worth it: You say you're being bipolar when you clearly aren't Okay, you're being moody. ADD? Okay, you can't focus. But the one that always pisses me off?

OCD. You are not obsessively compulsed to do it, you just feel better. You function better. People with OCD never feel better. That obssession and compulsion never goes away. You're scratching an itch at best.

Yep. OCD sufferers (myself included) can attest to this. This is actually why tackling compulsions is recommended when trying to recover from OCD. Cutting out compulsions robs the OCD of its strength therefore giving it less power over the sufferer.

Things is though, OCD is brutal as hell and it feels like we have to do certain compulsions (wash hands, think certain thoughts, checking things, etc) in order to alleviate our anxiety and feel the certainty we desperately crave. OCD is all about certainty, or at least the feeling of certainty. We crave that feeling of being certain. Even though that is not what life is in reality. We live in an uncertain world. It's just that OCD clouds us on that.

I want to tell anyone reading this comment who might have OCD the following message: certainty is unattainable. And that is 100% okay!
We do not need certainty to live happy and healthy lives. Once we can live with uncertainty, we can begin to recover.

 

[thoseAREmySHOES]

Misuse of OCD and ADD especially set me off. I've grown more used to the way people use depression/depressed, as you can feel situational depression, but there is still a clear misunderstanding and major social stigma around it :/

 

[AEREC]

Yup... people also love to throw around "I feel so ADD." *eye roll*

For this one can you really put ADD on the same level as severe OCD and Bipolar?

I was told I had ADD as a kid and was fed Ritalin...it sucked (still does at 36) but I wouldn't put it on the same level as bipolar or other mental illnesses.

 

[Dai Kaiju]

I have that but I probably don't have ADD. Who diagnosed you.

An ADD specialist/psychiatrist. Why? What do you have?

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

For this one can you really put ADD on the same level as severe OCD and Bipolar?

I was told I had ADD as a kid and was fed Ritalin...it sucked (still does at 36) but I wouldn't put it on the same level as bipolar or other mental illnesses.

It can be, but this depends on spectrum.

 

[sirap]

Used to drive me nuts but as I've grown older and more accepting of my own problems I've learned to let it slide.

 

[Dead Man]

It annoys me to no end having studied psych at school and worked with people who live with mental illness how the general population uses terms like this without issues and incorrectly.
"omg I don't want to go to the bar today, I'm so antisocial", like fuck off already people.

Having studied psych at school and worked with people who live with mental illness people who don't get that words can have multiple meanings annoy me no end. Anti social is not a diagnosis. It's a description of a mental state. It needs more words to be a diagnosis. It's completely reasonable for someone to say the are anti social at the minute so they don't want to go to the bar.

 

[Dylan]

Having studied psych at school and worked with people who live with mental illness people who don't get that words can have multiple meanings annoy me no end. Anti social is not a diagnosis. It's a description of a mental state. It needs more words to be a diagnosis. It's completely reasonable for someone to say the are anti social at the minute so they don't want to go to the bar.

Yeah, neuro researcher here who works in mental health as well. I honestly don't have a problem with people who use psychiatric terms as long as they do it with tact and it's clear what they are expressing.

I think it's just a case of the general population become more (not less) aware of psychiatry and thus they have adapted to use that language to describe feelings that they were previously unable to sum up concisely.

It's still not "proper" but a lot of what we say is never meant to be taken literally.

 

[thetrin]

Logically, I agree with you. Practically, once something had taken up a new meaning in language it's nearly impossible to stop. Language is a relentless force.

Disagree. We've found a way to lessen the use of gay as a pejorative. It's still unfortunately high, but there are tons of cases of people saying "I used to use that without knowing what I was doing. It was hurtful so I stopped".

 

[zulux21]

I've actually been diagnosed with ocd. It can be annoying at times, especially when people in real life sometimes make comments about it insinuating that I just stop. It used to really annoy my ex girlfriend. But it's not something you can just snap your fingers and stop.

It is one thing I've noticed people use off the cuff though. "I'm a bit ocd" while laughing, when it's nothing of the sort. Although I've never been too bothered about it.

Just sometimes think you wouldn't find it so funny if you actually had to deal with it. It's not nice when something takes over certain parts of your life.

see I have used the phrase "I'm a bit OCD" myself (I don't think I have ever laughed while saying it though), but I also tend to have to check the locks multiple times before leaving, and often have to return back to my house after walking a block to double check a door I know is locked because otherwise I will feel quite panicked/nervous for a while. I also tend to have to check the sliding door is locked multiple times after I go to bed. I know it's not really OCD but it's the easiest way to explain my actions to others *Shrugs*

as for ADD, that one I actually have. been dealing with that one most of my life.

I don't think I have ever once been annoyed at someone using ADD as an adjective. Though in general I don't let anything anyone says really bother me.

 

[wildfire]

It all started with Idiot. I believe that word has been decommissioned from the medial vocabulary precisely because it was so frequently used out of context.

It didn't start with that. It started with the way we use language. When we don't internalize a definition we half ass it and that's partly why language is fluid and definitions can change meanings over decades.

 

[the1npc]

An ADD specialist/psychiatrist. Why? What do you have?

You sound the same as me and I was diagnosed with ADD too by a specialist.

I really studied too, ended up dropping out after failing some classes 3-4 times.

I really hope my work dosent get automated and I have to think about applying to schools :/

 

[Fades]

see I have used the phrase "I'm a bit OCD" myself (I don't think I have ever laughed while saying it though), but I also tend to have to check the locks multiple times before leaving, and often have to return back to my house after walking a block to double check a door I know is locked because otherwise I will feel quite panicked/nervous for a while. I also tend to have to check the sliding door is locked multiple times after I go to bed. I know it's not really OCD but it's the easiest way to explain my actions to others *Shrugs*

as for ADD, that one I actually have. been dealing with that one most of my life.

I don't think I have ever once been annoyed at someone using ADD as an adjective. Though in general I don't let anything anyone says really bother me.

My husband and I are similar, though his has been specifically diagnosed as anxiety, so maybe that would give you a starting point? Not sure, as there are a lot of overlap.

 

[zulux21]

My husband and I are similar, though his has been specifically diagnosed as anxiety, so maybe that would give you a starting point? Not sure, as there are a lot of overlap.

I'm not to worried about it as long as it doesn't get much worse (though it seems to slowly be getting worse but my wife takes it in stride)

a couple of the things I have to do before I can go to sleep are great things to do anyways such as checking my bank account for suspicious activity lol (sure multiple times a night likely looks odd to wellsfargo but w/e). I can totally believe it's a form of anxiety, I have sleeping issues because of the simple fact that I can't turn off my brain. I always just smile and nod when people say i should just lay in bed without something like the TV on to help me sleep better, even though I know from testing it a countless times that doing such a thing will keep me up for hours as I think about things I have to do (and then have to get up and do them), while at least with the TV I can eventually get in a place where I can zone out of everything.

 

[chronic_archaic]

I learned to deal with it. People are always gonna say "I'm OCD about..." for the rest of my life. I just try not to be offended by it despite having severe real OCD.

 

[kyser73]

I never understood why people who, like me who catalogue media, run to the rule 'everything has a place everything in its place' suddenly went from saying we're anally retentive to claiming OCD.

Probably the same reasons being 'slightly sad' became 'oh, I'm feeling really depressed today', this medicalisation of moods!

 

[Ascenion]

I let most of it go especially since as of the DSM 5 the bigger phrases are out of date anyway. For starters ADD isn't what it's called anymore officially in the same sense that mental retardation is now intellectual disability disorder. It's called ADHD and there are 3 types: Predominately inattentive, Hyperactive impulsive and a combination of the two. Saying ADD to me isn't saying anything because it doesn't accurately describe a mental disorder in my eyes I don't find it offensive at all. Most of the people that say these things don't mean any harm as it is. I mean psych majors, people that should know better, say this stuff all the time (at least at my alma mater) . If the future mental health professionals use that vernacular in passing conversation, it's just a sign of the times and likely impossible to change. On occasion though it does piss me off. Specifically when people generally assume a physical disorder automatically is comorbid with a metal disorder. That simply isn't true. It's likely that it is the case but it isn't right to assume since it is not 100%.

 

[Fulminator]

I have OCD,and it doesn't particularly bother me when people use it like that.

I don't want to speak for anyone else with the condition,but in my case I don't feel disparaged or insulted, it's not like it affects my quality of life when someone does it

Of course that's not to say that the OP is wrong, that's not for me to decide really

 

[Mohonky]

I dont really care to be honest, I know what someone is saying when they use the terms. I have some trace amount of OCD in some of the things I do, but my main one is Anxiety / Panic Disorder ( Anxiety / OCD / Depression are usually linked, you either have at least 2 of the afforementioned if not all) that brought on agoraphobia.

I just dont think words mean that much without context and intent.

 

[Brohan]

Me: I have ADD.

Them: oh me too! I'm always on my phone while I'm watching tv and trying to cook at the same time lol.

Me: No, I mean I can't graduate school because I can spend 6 hours straight trying to read over a single chapter in a book and not retain any of it.

Them: oh, I don't have that...

This.

It's almost impossible for me to read a book without using medication. I also hate how sometimes people describe people (in this case gamers) with a low attention span as ADD gamers because they hate playing through games with alot of story. I mean that's pretty damn insulting.. I didnt choose to have this much trouble focusing on stuff.

 

[Andrew Korenchkin]

This.

It's almost impossible for me to read a book without using medication. I also hate how sometimes people describe people (in this case gamers) with a low attention span as ADD gamers because they hate playing through games with alot of story. I mean that's pretty damn insulting.. I didnt choose to have this much trouble focusing on stuff.

Preach.

 

[StarPlatinumTheWorld]

Do you wash your hands compulsively until they bleed?

I do indeed wash my hands until they are so dry and cracked they start bleeding, I have had this problem for a few years now and it literally ruins my day to day life.

So yeah, stop with the "I use a case on my phone, I'm soososososo OCD lol" bullshit people.

 

[Zekes!]

It annoys me to no end having studied psych at school and worked with people who live with mental illness how the general population uses terms like this without issues and incorrectly.
"omg I don't want to go to the bar today, I'm so antisocial", like fuck off already people.

People using Antisocial wrong is like one of my only pet peeves

Antisocial doesn't mean you don't like to socialize

 

[Lkr]

So I just wanna expand on my feelings. Normalization of this shit is GOOD. As someone with severe OCD it was hard as fuck to explain as a kid to other kids what I was going through. Now people have a general idea and it's nowhere near as stigmatized. When someone says they have OCD because they clean their room a lot or some shit, it's not to belittle people with severe OCD. In fact it makes it easier to talk to them because they at least have a tiny idea of what OCD is. It's much easier to explain to them I have to leave their house because they don't have the proper hand soap due to OCD since they have heard of it.

Normalization of this shit isn't bad. Get rid of the stigma. It's OCD ffs not terminal cancer.

It's also a spectrum. Not everyone has the same severity of OCD. You can have OCD and live a long and fulfilling life without any psychiatric assistance. I have a long family history of OCD just like many other diseases such as diabetes. No one is embarrassed about diabetes anymore because it is normalized. Normalizing OCD is good because I used to be legit embarrassed about having severe OCD. Other people are trying to relate to you, don't take it as an insult.

 

[Dead Man]

People using Antisocial wrong is like one of my only pet peeves

Antisocial doesn't mean you don't like to socialize

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/antisocial

2. Not sociable or wanting the company of others.

Yeah, neuro researcher here who works in mental health as well. I honestly don't have a problem with people who use psychiatric terms as long as they do it with tact and it's clear what they are expressing.

I think it's just a case of the general population become more (not less) aware of psychiatry and thus they have adapted to use that language to describe feelings that they were previously unable to sum up concisely.

It's still not "proper" but a lot of what we say is never meant to be taken literally.

Pretty much. I rather people be talking about these things, even if they do it badly.

 

[Goose_Se7en]

I will not stop using mental illnesses as adjectives when I'm around my friends or folks close to me. Folks are just so sensitive you can't speak your mind anymore. I remember when I was younger I use to say "oh that shit is mad gay" or would say stuff like "that man is handsome, can't front, no homo tho no homo" and I remember it being genuine and not malicious or in any way meant to insult or hurt LGBT folks.

Then when I got to undergrad I remember self policing between friends who grew up using the same language. Now I'm all for expanding your vocabulary and being able to articulate in a respectful manner in a professional setting but when I'm with "my people" I speak how I wanna. If it offends anyone I'm sorry and I truly am but I'm just tired of all this politically correctness. As someone who grew up in the "ravaged hell of the inner cities" as a particular someone likes to say someone us do speak in a brash, imposing, tone with slang and "inappropriate" words and terms.

But it's part of our culture. Some might call it "ghetto" or but whatevs, I'm not letting you talk away my slang, my way of talking with my folks because you feel offended. Naw I'm good. When i'm at in Bushwick Brooklyn, folks have already taken my neighborhood, my rent has shot up through the roof and they've taken some of our culture introducing new business. Barbers who charge $30 for a haircut when our corner barber always charged $15 like wtf? A bagel spot that charges $8 for a bagel with cream cheese, huh?

On Irving Ave, we have liquor store right next to a sushi spot. I know this thread isn't about gentrification. And I don't mean to derail, but what I'm getting at is that I feel encroached upon. I can't speak how I like to, think how I like to, I always have to be aware of the things I say. It's fucking oppressing. In a professional setting like at work, totally acceptable. I can't say those type of things, but out and about I'll say "I'm OCD bro" when it comes to stuff all I want.

 

[Trickster]

Sorry, but I don't see the big deal about this sort of thing.

I don't have OCD, but myself and friends have used the term when talking about feeling compelled to collecting everything in a game. Does this mean that I'm actively trying to dimininish what it means to be suffering from actual OCD that can strongly interfere with a persons life? Of course not. I'm able to seperate what OCD means when I use it when talking about playing videogames, and what it means when someone is suffering from the actual mental illness.

Words have meaning, and as language evolve, sometimes words grow and can gain additional meaning. This is especially true for words that have a "strong" meaning.

 

[Dehnus]

Good lord, you all know the ones who do this all the time. Even here you read posts of people saying "I have OCD lol I want my CD's to be scratchless!" or "I'm bipolar! I can't make up my mind lmao". No, you don't. Do you wash your hands compulsively until they bleed? Do you have major depressive episodes that make you have suicidal thoughts?

Recently you read about the dangers of normalizing hate speech, but this is also an issue that few seem to be aware of. To be honest, I was probably doing the same at some point until teachers showed me the frequency and dangers of this phenomenon.

In cases like this, be the killjoy of the party and educate these people.

Thoughts on this, GAF?

Actually OCD is not that uncommon. Many people have it over small things we can accept and deal with. Like my father developed a need to always check the door for some reason.. ALWAYS! If he can't do it, he'll get more and more agitated and eventually will get angry that he is not allowed to do it.

So people can say "I"m quite OCD about that" or "I'm OCD like that.", as it very well might ring true for more people than we realize in our day to day life. However things like the Autistic spectrum, Retardation and Tourette Syndrome..but also being a stroke victim? Those are not things to use to describe behaviour.

LIke "I like cursing so much, I could have Tourette!" or "OMG I"m such a spazzy stroke victim" and the classic "That's retarded....."

All of those I classify different from "I need my CD"s to be in this order because.. we'll I"m a little OCD like that."

As someone on the spectrum, that sometimes has to order things due to reasons that others don't quite get... it is far easier for me to say "Heh, I"m just a little OCD like that.." then to go through LONG LENGTHS of how my brain works and why it does what it does. As basically.... I AM a little OCD Like that . That does not mean any discredit to those that suffer from really extreme cases of OCD, as that is horrible. Don't get me wrong, I will go into long lengths on and on and on about the why... but that is considered really bad behaviour, so I learned to seek quick escapes that are considered more normal in behaviour.

In short: No it shouldn't be used for joking or making fun of people. But something like OCD can be used to describe your own behaviour without disrespect.

 

[IndoAssassin]

No I have a right to say what I want until it breaks the law. Currently there is no law against me using metaphors.

Double standards for trying to correct people on proper grammar and being called a grammar nazi.

 

[grap3fruitman]

Sorry, but I don't see the big deal about this sort of thing.

You see nothing wrong with belittling a serious illness?

 

[Piano]

I agree, it's frustrating.

 

[Trickster]

You see nothing wrong with belittling a serious illness?

Except that's not I'm doing.

 

[Funyarinpa]

For some words, like "retarded" or "bipolar" or "OCD", I agree. I just want to say that I've seen this concept extended to include words that don't always connote with a mental illness, such as "crazy" and "stupid". I think that's taking it too far.

 

[grap3fruitman]

Except that's not I'm doing.

No, that's exactly what you're doing.

 

[Winterblink]

No, that's exactly what you're doing.

Not to speak for him of course, but I think he meant that it's not the intention behind his use of the words. I'm pretty sure you knew that though.