Perpetuating the Stigma: Using Mental Health Terms Incorrectly

It’s very likely that you’ve heard terms like “bipolar,” “OCD,” or “schizophrenic” used colloquially – meaning to refer to something other than the real definition of the mental health term. While it may seem harmless to misuse a word (as it happens all the time), using mental health terms incorrectly or colloquially actually perpetuates the stigmas attached to mental illness. Please see the video below that spotlights a few of the various terms that are often misused in daily life.