Misusing clinical terms doesn’t just dilute their meaning; it can also endanger others. For example, accusing someone of being manipulative or gaslighting without fully understanding the context can escalate conflicts and create unnecessary hostility. This can result in serious social consequences, from strained relationships to workplace discrimination.
In recent years, therapeutic terms like “manipulation,” “gaslighting,” and various diagnostic labels have become part of everyday conversation. While raising awareness about mental health is important, the casual misuse of these terms can dilute their meaning and, more worryingly, endanger others.
The Problem with Mislabeling
When terms like “narcissist” or “gaslighting” are used loosely, they can lose their clinical significance. For example, calling someone a narcissist because they exhibit selfish behavior ignores the complex criteria required for a diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Similarly, labeling disagreements or misunderstandings as “gaslighting” can trivialize the serious psychological abuse the term originally described.
This overuse can harm relationships, stigmatize individuals, and prevent people from getting the professional help they need. When diagnostic terms are thrown around carelessly, those truly suffering from mental health issues may feel invalidated or misunderstood. It can also lead to false accusations, damaging trust and communication between people.
How It Endangers Others
Misusing these terms doesn’t just dilute their meaning; it can also endanger others. For example, accusing someone of being manipulative or gaslighting without fully understanding the context can escalate conflicts and create unnecessary hostility. This can result in serious social consequences, from strained relationships to workplace discrimination.
Additionally, the use of terms based in incorrect information can lead to mismanagement of mental health concerns. It is important that the meaning behind words continue to carry their weight and effectively communicate the severity of an experience or situation. This dilution or twisting of terms can prevent someone from accessing the appropriate treatment or support they need.
A Call for Caution and Compassion
As therapists, we advocate for increased awareness and understanding of mental health. Instead of jumping to conclusions or labeling behaviors with clinical terms, let’s promote open, honest communication and encourage people to seek professional guidance when they’re struggling.
By being mindful of our language, we can help preserve the integrity of these important concepts and protect the mental health and well-being of ourselves and others.
_____________
For readers seeking more information or guidance on mental health topics, consider scheduling an appointment with one of our therapists who can provide professional insight tailored to your individual needs. You can book an appointment by calling (352) 363- 1998.
What Does Child Abuse Have To Do With Me?
It’s Child Abuse Awareness Month. No one likes to think about child abuse. So we’re largely silent about it. Which creates a perfect condition for child abuse to thrive and proliferate. Because abuse of all kinds thrives in silence and darkness. And the cost...
Understanding Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Healing Trauma through the Mind-Body Connection
We store our experiences not only in our minds, but also within our bodies. Traumatic events can imprint themselves on our physical sensations, leading to lingering effects that impact our physical and mental well-being. Addressing these deep-seated traumas requires a...
Should I see a Pre-Licensed Therapist? Or a Licensed Therapist?
In Florida, mental health counselors can be Graduate Interns, Registered Interns (RMHCI or RCSWI), or fully Licensed (LMHC, LMFT or LCSW). Are you confused by all these letters and titles? How do you know what to look for in a...
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Utilizing Exposure and Response Prevention
What is OCD? Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by experiencing cycles of unwanted intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that can cause a significant amount of distress for an individual (International OCD Foundation,...
What We’re Really Talking About (Coercive Control)
October is "Domestic Violence" Awareness Month. I put "domestic violence" in quotation marks because that's an outdated term that emphasizes the physical violence, and misleads us to think it's only happening in domesticity -- such as in a marriage. There's a better...
How to Spot — and Handle — a Sociopath
This post was originally published on March 2, 2014. Thousands of comments later, I'm still getting emails and calls about it weekly. Given the interest in sociopathy in the news today, I decided to re-publish it here.Ted Bundy. Jeffrey Dahlmer. Danny Rolling. Jim...
Black Lives Matter. Period.
Some thoughts on the last few weeks. I’ll make the writing short and the recommendations long for further learning, because my thoughts aren't needed here; we need to listen to the voices of people of color. Trauma needs a witness, and I witness with my feelings...
Ithaka…and a turn in the journey.
“Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to get through this thing called Life.” — Prince I’m shifting gears from the 3-a-week blogs on poems/pods/books. I’ll keep sharing what I’m leaning into going forward….just not in this same 3x/week form. ...
Book Rec Friday 5/8/20
I think I should rename this regular Friday post: Memoir Recommendation Friday. Here’s another one: More Myself: A Journey, by Alicia Keys. Singer and songwriter Alicia Keys takes us through her life from childhood...
Hi Everyone and Happy Wednesday!
This is installment #2 — Podcast Wednesday — as promised last week in the blog and newsletter*. Every Wednesday I’m sharing a podcast with a great conversation/message/perspective for this pandemic time we’re in. (Monday is poetry and Friday is a book recommendation.)
On Being with Krista Tippet. Episode 817, Falling Together with Rebecca Solnit.
On Being is an organization that pursues “deep thinking and moral imagination, social courage and joy, to renew inner life, outer life, and life together.” Check out their website. www.onbeing.org.
In this episode, host Tippet has a conversation with the great Rebecca Solnit. Solnit is a writer, historian, activist and (IMO) maverick thinker about our culture and our world. This interview took place in May 2016 but she could be talking about today and COVID-19.
Talking about disasters such as the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and Hurricane Katrina, Solnit says that when the world as we know it falls apart, people step up. Unlike the mythology promoted in popular culture — that in disasters, people’s worst, selfish, murderous selves emerge — what history tells us is that we actually find purpose, connection, and even joy in the middle of chaos, loss and fear. We tap into a collective life. And we find there, deeply in the present moment: hope. Hope as a spiritual concept, the unknown, the present moment, where something new can — and often does — emerge. Unexpected things will happen. Hope as life’s surprises.
Favorite quote from the interview:
“What if everything we’ve been told about human nature is wrong, and we’re actually very generous communitarian altruistic beings who are distorted by the system we’re in — but not made happy by it? What if we can actually BE better people in a better world?”
I hope you enjoy it, and find it as grounding and hopeful as I did.
Be well. Wash your hands. Stay connected.
Lisa