Enough!

Mental health diagnoses are not buzzwords. They are not trends. They are not there to make your story sound more dramatic.

When you casually say you are “so OCD” because you like your house clean, you are not being cute. You are trivializing a disorder that can trap someone in hours of compulsions they desperately wish they did not have.

When you call someone a narcissist because they were selfish or hurt your feelings, you are not being insightful. You are flattening a complex personality disorder into a convenient insult.

When you say you are “depressed” because you had a bad day, you are not increasing awareness. You are minimizing an illness that has taken lives.

When you joke about killing yourself over an inconvenience, you are not being funny. You are mocking people who fight intrusive thoughts about death every single day.

Stop!

Do You Understand What You Are Dismissing?

Anxiety disorders can mean your body never leaves survival mode. Your heart races, , your chest tightens, your brain scans for danger that is not there. Sleep is fractured and peace is foreign.

Major depression can mean your body feels weighted. Your mind slows, joy disappears, hygiene feels overwhelming and living feels optional.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can mean checking the stove fifty times because your brain refuses to let you rest until you do.

Bipolar disorder can mean episodes that dismantle relationships, finances, reputations.

ADHD can mean knowing you are intelligent and capable while repeatedly failing to execute because your brain processes the world differently.

Suicidal ideation can mean negotiating with your own thoughts just to stay alive.

This is not trendy language. This is suffering!

Words Either Honor Reality or Distort It

When you turn diagnoses into slang, you dilute their meaning. When everything is “anxiety” or “trauma” or “narcissism,” the words lose their clinical weight.

And when those words lose weight, the people carrying those diagnoses lose validation.

You do not get to borrow the intensity of a disorder for emphasis while ignoring the reality of people who live with it.

Mental health awareness was meant to reduce stigma, not create a culture where serious diagnoses are tossed around like hashtags.

If you care about mental health, act like it.

Use language responsibly, learn the difference between discomfort and disorder and stop glamorizing what destroys people.

Mental health is not a trend, it is not entertainment, it is not a brand, it is someone’s lived experience and struggle.

If you are genuinely concerned about your own symptoms, seek proper evaluation from a licensed professional. Let’s take a look at the actual definitions of these mental health diagnoses below.

Brief Clinical Definitions

Generalized Anxiety Disorder
A condition marked by persistent, excessive worry occurring more days than not for at least six months, accompanied by physical symptoms such as restlessness, muscle tension, irritability, and sleep disturbance.

Major Depressive Disorder
A mood disorder involving at least two weeks of persistent low mood or loss of interest, along with cognitive, emotional, and physical symptoms that impair daily functioning.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
A disorder characterized by intrusive, unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors or mental rituals performed to reduce anxiety or prevent feared outcomes.

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
A personality pattern defined by rigid perfectionism, control, and preoccupation with order at the expense of flexibility and relationships.

Bipolar Disorder
A mood disorder involving cyclical episodes of depression and periods of mania or hypomania marked by elevated mood, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, and impulsivity.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy that significantly impairs relationships and functioning.

Antisocial Personality Disorder
A chronic pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, often including deceitfulness, impulsivity, and lack of remorse.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
A neurodevelopmental disorder affecting executive functioning, attention regulation, impulse control, and organization across multiple settings.

Suicidal Ideation
Recurrent thoughts about wanting to die or harm oneself, ranging from passive wishes not to exist to active planning.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
A trauma related disorder involving intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in mood or thinking, and heightened arousal following exposure to a traumatic event.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please contact us at lifewise@lifewisetx.com