Watch your language!

Every day we use Homonyms. Hmmm! What are Homonyms? For those who don’t know, Homonyms are words which sound alike or are spelled alike but have different meanings such as “proceed” and “precede,” “piece of mind” and “peace of mind,” “principle” and “principal.” More often than not, these words are used incorrectly due to a lack of understanding of their meanings. Similar to when we use words like crazy, bipolar, schizophrenia, nuts, loony, disturb, psycho, and spastic -just to name a few. These words each have a meaning. Unfortunately, many of us use these words frequently in our daily conversations to describe situations however unaware that they are used to stigmatize people with mental illnesses. Although this may not necessarily be our intention but it happens and it’s insensitive. As a society and a community we must educate ourselves on mental health and mental illnesses. We must become allies for the mental health community. We must be willing to talk openly about mental health. As previously mentioned, people using these words often don’t understand the negative connotations that these words hold in the mental health community. For this reason, its is critical that we educate ourselves so that we can be mindful of what we are saying and enlighten others. Knowledge is power. Watch our language! Being sensitive and understanding the negative connotations that these words have to those that are living with a mental health condition can help reduce misconceptions and stigma and encourage those who are suffering to seek help. May is mental health awareness month (May 1st- May 31st). Let’s positively change the perception, increase our awareness of mental health and support those living with a mental health condition. There is strength in numbers!

#breakthestigma #weareone #Iamnotmyillness #findingans