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Do you think the word "trauma" is overused? (lemm.ee)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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For instance, when someone describes going to school as "traumatic," they often simply refer to it as a negative experience. This is not to say that everyone who went to school never had a traumatic experience; however, some individuals appear to overuse the term. Another example could be considering being lightly pushed into a locker as "traumatic."

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Trauma, to describe a negative experience
Depression, to describe healthy, intermittent sadness
Trigger, to describe a pet peeve
Dysphoria, to describe concern
On the Spectrum/neurodivergent, to describe something a strawman normie wouldn't do

The spike of interest in mental health over the past couple decades (in the West) has certainly been a net positive, but an unfortunate side effect - one that is true every time science becomes trendy - is that technical terms get grossly misused/overused. Sometimes it's malicious, like someone exaggerating a self-diagnosed condition to get out of work; other times it's benign, like someone using a term which they genuinely think they understand but the reality is only half so. If you recognize someone as being the latter, just try to ignore it or gently guide them to better terminology; else, if they're being the former... well that's more complicated, but just don't be a dick about it because that's never changed anyone's mind