PSYCHOBABBLE

Is therapy-speak a real marker of progress in our attitudes towards mental health, or just an easy cop-out?

- NIDA NAEEM

Exactly 20 years ago, the only boy you'd hear being called 'toxic' was the one Britney Spears sang about in her hit song of the same name. Now, toxic has taken on a completely different meaning in popular lexicon, and is often thrown around as a label for people deemed 'pessimistic or 'manipulative. Many more such words are used to label the people in our lives and our experiences with them. Words like narcissist, gaslighting, trauma, and triggers, originated in the safe space of the therapist's office, but thanks to an uptick in people seeking professional mental healthcare during the pandemic and therapists (licensed and otherwise) making psychological concepts digestible on social media, they've been absorbed into our everyday language.

Dubbed 'therapy speak', this mainstreaming of mental health-related terminology has people divided. On one hand, it offers more folks the vocabulary to articulate their feelings and a sense of community that might not be otherwise accessible. On the other hand, it runs the risk of us pathologising our loved ones and trivialising crucial terms used in mental health diagnoses.

ACCESS & EXCESS