The misuse of medical terms such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar, and depression can have many consequences that are not known or ignored by those who do misuse them.
“We see it [these diagnoses] and we hear it and so then we just make assumptions on what we do and do not know,” psychology teacher Sarah Lerdal said. “I don’t think that for the most part people use these words in a demeaning way. It’s just that they don’t know.”
Because the misuse of medical terminology is so common, the true meaning of these words can be watered down.
”I think the more we use words, the more we become desensitized to them,” Lerdal said. “And when you’re desensitized to hearing words like bipolar disorder and ADHD, you may think you know more about it than you actually do.”
For example, people commonly stereotype OCD as simply liking things to be clean and organized. This, however, is a misconception of what the disorder can actually entail.
“They think ‘oh yeah I like to alphabetize stuff’ or ‘I like things organized’ and so they think that they have OCD,” science teacher Jordan Jacobs said. “But it’s not the same. Having true anxiety about something, you can really fixate on it to where… you are obsessing about those thoughts.”
The misuse of medical terminology does not only apply to mental conditions. Sophomore Addie Osman said, “I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and POTS, which stands for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.”
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a genetic condition that affects the body’s connective tissue, making it weaker than it should be. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia (POTS) is a condition that affects blood circulation, causing the heart rate to increase abnormally when standing up, often leading to dizziness, fainting, and fatigue.
“With POTS, I think that some people just don’t understand what it is, and how it affects people differently.”
People who don’t fully understand terms such as POTS may not know how much of an impact it can have on those who do struggle with those diagnoses.
“I do competitive cheer, and I’ve had to do less with my sport and start thinking about not being able to do it anymore. I’ve done that for a long time, so it’s changed my athletic life a lot,” Osman said.
Jacobs said, “For me, it’s not just ‘oh, I want something alphabetized,’ it would be as if ‘I think that that table is dirty and I can’t even focus on helping this student or answering this email because all I can think about is how dirty that table is.’ You obsess over the dirty table to the point where you can’t do other things or even just enjoy things in your life.”
Social media can be a way for people to connect through their shared challenges, but it can also lead to misinformation being spread rapidly. For example, on TikTok, some creators with Tourette’s Syndrome have faced accusations of exaggerating or faking their symptoms for attention, which can fuel harmful stereotypes and undermine genuine experiences. Tourette’s Syndrome is a disorder that involves uncontrollable repetitive movements and sounds that are unwanted.
“I think [social media] can be great,” Jacobs said. “But I think a lot of people can use their platforms to spread information that might not be medically accurate.”
“Some people will post a lot about symptoms they have,” Osman said. “Then people will see that they have those same symptoms and think they have it without going to a doctor first.”
When someone diagnoses themselves without seeking the advice of a medical professional, it can lead to complications for their own health.
Cleveland Clinic described some of the dangers of self-diagnosis. One of these dangers is that they could be incorrect. Attributing certain symptoms to one diagnosis and not going to a professional about it may be harmful if that self-diagnosis is incorrect because the actual condition is left untreated or unknown.
In order to spread correct information about medical terminology regarding mental illness or disorders, schools could provide that information in a formal setting for students to learn.
“I think a mental health or psychology course would be so beneficial,” Jacobs said.
A course like this could bring awareness to the genuine meanings of mental health terms and encourage students to be mindful of the words they are using and the weight they hold. It could also help students struggling with mental illness feel more seen and validated.
“I think that would benefit kids who have mental illnesses of any kind, but it also would help people that maybe don’t struggle with that but have friends or family members that do,” Jacobs said. “So I think that would be a great thing to add to our curriculum.”