I cringe every time I hear it, which is way more often then it should be.
Most of don’t actually overlook depression or addiction- but we most definitely talk like we do. I hear more people mutter about being depressed in a public bathroom at school than I have in counseling, so no wonder it won’t ever be taken seriously.
This is not to say that what you feel is irrelevant or untrue, but it comes off rather triggering to people who are suffering in silence. A statement that refers to being “depressed” or “bipolar” is said often enough that one may believe that our entire society is depressed and bipolar. Often enough, people use these terms in no relation what-so-ever to the actual illnesses. Your uneducated statement about any mental illness is never funny. Using any term in a way that is uneducated and replicated is only worsening to the cause and effect of mental illnesses.
If you really want to talk about addiction or depression, maybe you should show a little compassion first. Mocking the entire illness by wearing a shirt that says “cute but psycho” is relatively offensive. It’s bad enough that young people learn to pick-up on these terms through TV shows and whatever else is out there. Society has been saying these powerful words enough that they have turned into a common part of our vocabulary and it is extremely debilitating.
Freedom of speech is one thing, but that doesn’t permit people to take hold of a terminology for their own personal use. What you permit, you promote. Saying that you are “bipolar” or “depressed” also makes both terms seems rather casual and simple. When it comes to being educated, most of us don’t care to really know the outskirts of these illnesses. This is the problem in itself, because we only seem to care about mental illnesses when we can use it for our own advantage. A point can be made strongly without using a mental illness as another adjective.
Try harder to be more aware of the words you use. Your careless vocabulary won’t make you feel any better, and it will defiantly make others feel worse. Show you care about the illness society seems to constantly shove to the side, or don’t say anything at all. It seems our society always has a need to pitch their opinion and to call the shots, when it is really not needed and down right incorrect. Take time to respect those with mental illnesses by NOT debilitating the words themselves. Think twice before you use a word in such vague terms, because for those who are educated, the term is extremely clear.
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