Depression (Photo: ShutterStock)
According to the responses to the previous list, words really do have power. Dozens of messages and emails I received mentioned the importance of words, and the negative impact of misuse of psychological concepts in everyday life. It's not that we all need to censor ourselves now and become the politically correct police, because none of us can prevent language change. But if we pay a little more attention to how we say certain things, and the environmental impact of that, we might use words differently.
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre explained the obvious that every person has responsibility for his actions - part of our actions is our choice of words - but not only towards himself, but also towards society. We never know who is in front of us and what they are dealing with, so the way we use psychological concepts is especially important.
A person's personal experience may be "traumatic," but if they describe it to someone who is actually traumatized, without them knowing, they can be hugely hurtful. Moreover, the misuse can cheapen the experience of others and establish a state of social stigma. "You all slipped down the stairs, brother, what's the trauma?" and if anyone who slipped down the stairs remembers how he had to escape in the tunnels at an outpost in southern Lebanon during the bombing? Think about it. In the meantime, here are five more concepts to use correctly.
anxiety
Anxiety is perhaps the trickiest term on this list, mainly because it's very common. This is a fairly broad group of disorders that affects children, adolescents and adults, including generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder and more.
According to the World Health Organization, it is the most common mental disorder, with more than 260 million people worldwide suffering from it. The fact that it is so common also causes the frequent use of the term anxiety, many of the times justifiably and accurately, but not always, and it is important to pay attention to this. Almost every second person who comes to me for therapy starts with "I have anxiety...", often because anything that scares or makes us uncomfortable is almost automatically labeled as anxiety, as if we should no longer be afraid, excited or just worried.
If you have a super important presentation at the office tomorrow and you can't sleep, it doesn't necessarily mean you're suffering from anxiety. If you feel uncomfortable at mass events, it doesn't necessarily mean you suffer from anxiety. If you're a little nervous because you need answers from your doctor for an important test, it doesn't necessarily mean you're suffering from anxiety. If you tried to cross the street and a scooter rider without a helmet almost ran you over and you got really scared, that's not necessarily anxiety either. One of the basic questions is, what distinguishes our responses to these different situations, and when it is a normative and appropriate response, and when it is not.
Part of what helps to understand this is the difference between fear and anxiety. Fear is a mental and physical response to a concrete threat. Anxiety is a kind of fear response on steroids, which does not stem from an actual threat, but from the anticipation of a threat. This is an important and significant difference because he explains that anxiety, as opposed to fear, is an inappropriate response to the situation.
Anxiety includes four aspects of symptoms: 1. Emotional (e.g. lack of concentration and confusion, experiencing extreme fear, restlessness) 2. Physical (e.g. shortness of breath, increased pulse and blood pressure, muscle contraction, tremor, sweating) 3. Cognitive (e.g. feeling that "we're going crazy", thinking we're going to die, catastrophic thoughts like "this will never end") 4. Behavioral (e.g., avoiding places where anxiety has been experienced in the past, stagnation). Anxiety is a comprehensive experience that profoundly affects and harms daily life. If your reaction is to an actual event and it passes at the end of the event, it is a perfectly normal reaction and not an anxious reaction. On the other hand, if it appears without an existing threat but from anticipation of it, and it persists and does not go away, there is a chance that it is anxiety.
Illustration of a man with a cloud above him (Photo: ShutterStock)
depression
"What a depression, a real tragedy, suddenly in broad daylight I ran out of bag", there has probably never been such a disparaging advertisement. There is hardly a person who has not said "I am depressed" and actually meant to describe a daily situation in which he feels bad, moody, upset or sad. Without underestimating anyone's emotional experience, not having something you tried, having your omelet burned or missing the bus isn't fun, but it's really not depression.
Depression is a disease that has mental and physical effects, with varying degrees of severity from moderate to life-threatening. Characteristics of depression include (but not limited to) feelings of sadness or low mood, loss of interest and enjoyment of activities that were pleasurable, changes in appetite (in both directions), sleep disturbances (lack or excessive sleep), lack of energy or exhaustion, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, disorders of thinking and thoughts of death. Not all characteristics must appear, but must appear for at least two weeks. This is not a one-time thing that appeared one day and disappeared the next.
The death of a loved one or the breakup of a relationship are difficult experiences, accompanied by sadness, and feelings of grief and sadness are perfectly normal reactions. At the same time, even in such situations it will not always be correct to use the word depression for ourselves, because although some characteristics can be similar, being sad is not the same as being depressed (although grieving situations can, potentially, also develop into depression). Depression is a phenomenon that colors the entire world, is not necessarily related to a specific event and lasts for a long time. If you have an annoying meeting at work today and don't feel like getting out of bed, it's not depression. It's also not dichy. Depression must not be turned into a cute thing.
Bipolar disorder
Jimi Hendrix's 1967 song "Manic Depression" depicts romantic uncertainty and the emotional rollercoaster that can come with it. It's unpleasant, but it's not a mental disorder and not something that necessarily requires treatment of some kind. Bipolar disorder (which in popular culture was commonly referred to as manic depression) is seen as mood swings or a sharp transition between good days and bad days, which is also completely normal and will not lead anyone to treatment. The reality, again, is quite different.
Bipolar disorder is actually a group of disorders characterized by episodes of depression and manic episodes, rather than those that last two to three days. Manic episodes include (necessarily) persistently elevated or irritable mood, and increased or goal-directed energy activity or diversion that persist for at least a consecutive week; This is accompanied by excessive self-esteem, lack of sleep, excessive talkativeness, involvement in behavior with the potential for harm, and more.
Depressive episodes are often mirror images, but not necessarily and not always, and they can also be characterized by irritability. Bipolar disorder may include episodes of mania or hypomania and episodes of depression in a repetitive manner, but not in all cases a depressive episode will appear. Bipolar disorder is about as similar to the mood waves we all have as an airplane is to a yacht.
Illustration of a woman in her home (Photo: ShutterStock)
Psychotic
Has anyone you know done something unusual and unusual? What a psychotic. The video of the guy jumping off Azrieli's roof? Psychotic. The term psychotic, in everyday life, seems to be used simply as an extreme version of "crazy" (which is generally unsuccessful to describe human beings) and to describe any person whose behavior seems irrational.
The correct term to use is psychosis, and it is not a disorder in itself and does not refer to just irrational behavior. The term psychosis actually describes a mental state characterized by one or more delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and thinking, abnormal or disorganized motor behavior, and negative symptoms (negative symptoms mean withdrawal and "less" - less emotion, less speech, less doing, etc.). Among the disorders and conditions that cause psychosis are physical illnesses or mental disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder or the use of certain drugs or medications.
Paranoia
"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you," wrote Joseph Heller (Catch-22), quoted in the early 90s by Kurt Cobain (Nirvana, Territorial Pissings). Since then, everyone seems to have become paranoid, even if no one is chasing them.
This term is used to describe situations that provoke discomfort, worry, anxiety or even embarrassment, or just a person with a personal and environmental awareness that is slightly above average. Has someone let you look after their baby and you're afraid something will happen? "Don't be paranoid." Think you have parsley stuck in your teeth on a date? "Don't be paranoid." And of course, the feeling of fear that grips you at every border crossing is also not paranoia.
Originally, the concept of paranoia also comes from Greek and means "next to the mind", and has been used as a general description for any state of mental disorder. In short, you're out of your mind. Today paranoia is a personality disorder and is defined as "acute distrust and suspicion of others so that their motives are interpreted as evil." There is no worry here that something bad will happen. It refers to the interpretation of events, statements and behaviors of others as having at their bases always a sinister interest motivating them. For example, behind compliments that are always hidden is criticism or innocent mistakes are never like that and hide behind them malicious intent. Paranoid personality disorder is not just worrying that someone is chasing you, it is total confidence not only in being chased, but also in being loathed and trying to harm you in every way possible.
Choose your words right
Language, as we have said, is a living and changing thing. Naturally, part of the change is the penetration of professional concepts from different fields into our daily language, and consequently sometimes also a change in their meaning. It's okay, it's a natural process that even if we wanted to, none of us could stop. At the same time, we should still pay attention to how we use certain words that have professional meaning, for several reasons.
The firstis that if we use terms that have meaning incorrectly, that meaning will erode and they will eventually become empty. If all experiences provoke anxiety for example, then all experiences are equal, and this somewhat drains the concept. The second reasonis that the words we choose to use often shape our experience. Sure, you could say it's semantics, but you'd be surprised how much that semantics and the story you tell yourself can have on how you feel. If you tell yourself all the time that you're depressed, you'll end up depressed. But if you tell yourself that today you woke up sad because yesterday you experienced rejection or separation or just heard a sad story, you can remember that it's also okay to be sad and that it passes. The third reasonis socio-cultural – if we use professional concepts to describe everyday experiences incorrectly, not only will they erode, they will also diminish and diminish the experience of those who experience the true meaning of those concepts.
If you're depressed by a bag of Bisley, what exactly do you think a person with major depression feels? If your friend doesn't like crowded and noisy places and doesn't want to come with you to a party, how exactly do you think a person with antisocial personality disorder would behave?
The words we choose not only affect our experience, they also have a real impact on the world and our environment. We can't control the world, but we do, so let's try to use them wisely and correctly. And if you experience a significant difficulty and can't cope with it alone, you don't have to be alone and you should seek treatment.
- health
Tags
- depression
- anxiety