Why do People Use Psychological Terms without Understanding their Meaning?
Understanding Psychological Terms: What They Really Mean and Why They Matter
My mother is a narcissist.
I’m so OCD about my desk.
That gave me trauma.
You read these three sentences. You saw three words. Narcissist, OCD, trauma. All these words have real life implications that can make a person question their own reality. But when these words show up in common conversations, just like the ones we read above, they lose their meaning, and the clinical weight that they carry.
Social media today completely has changed mental health in many ways. It compresses ideas for us and bite-size, relatable content that loses its plot somewhere on the other.
Psychology terms give people a language for feelings that they never had words for, and that is actually valuable for many of us. But it also has one big implication – it has brought upon a self diagnosis culture that makes people sit with uncertainty without consulting with an expert. If you live in a big city like Gurgaon, consulting with a psychologist in Gurgaon can help you gain perspective on this.
The Cost of Misusing these Words
Although people have gained a lot of understanding around mental health with the advent of normalisation of these terms, it’s somewhere on the other trivialise when somebody is diagnosed with a real condition. Imagine somebody saying that I am a little OCD about this – and somebody on the other hand actually going through obsessive compulsive disorder that has totally disrupted their daily life.
If you get in a conversation with any therapist in Gurgaon, he will get to know that it makes it very difficult for people with real conditions to be taken seriously, when terms like these are normalised and used without context. Sometimes people are also thrown into a thought process where they think that their normal behaviour is also a pathology to be discussed with an expert.
Sometimes, it becomes a task for a therapist also when people approach them with these questions. They have to make the clients learn the implications that generalisation carries for it.
Commonly Misused Terms
During our conversation with some of the best psychologist in Gurgaon, we identified some terms that people commonly misuse.
- – Gaslighting versus simple disagreement
- – Narcissist versus somebody who is just self centred
- – Trauma versus a bad day
- – Triggers versus mild annoyance
- – Anxiety as a personality trait rather than a clinical condition
Why Getting it Right is Important
With the right meaning behind a word, people actually see the right kind of help and do not downplay their concerns. This actually reduces stigma by keeping real conditions distinct and their effect respectable on a person’s life. Taking care of such concerns encourages people to consult a professional like a psychologist near me properly instead of self labelling themselves.
When should You actually See Someone?
If you feel that you are consistently low, having disrupted sleep, appetite and inability to function on a daily basis – it is your sign to go towards professional evaluation rather than looking into an internet diagnosis. Consulting with a professional like a therapist near me today can help you sort your thoughts in a simple and guided way.
It’s great to be aware about mental health concerns that live in and around you – but self diagnosing through social media is something that we should be warding off to preserve the dignity of people actually suffering from these concerns.
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