Language is how we come to understand others, ourselves, and the world. It is a powerful tool that provokes thought, understanding, emotions, creativity, connection, and much more. However, it can often be used as a device to promote stigma and negative stereotypes. More specifically, when we discuss social concerns in our local community like mental health, addiction, and homelessness, there are many ways in which language stigmatizes individuals experiencing problems related to these concerns.
Our tone, terminology, slang, and discourse around these experiences typically tend to cast a negative shadow, placing blame on the individual, rather than considering complex socio-economic factorsthat contribute to a person’s positionality. Discussions like these around mental health, addiction, and experiences of homelessness perpetuate stigma and highly damaging stereotypes. It’s important to be considerate of the language we use and remind ourselves of the power it holds.
I challenge you to try and be more aware of how you discuss these social concerns. Below are some suggestions for more inclusive and destigmatizing language that aims to treat everyone with respect and integrity.
| Instead of saying… | Try saying… |
| “It drives me crazy” or “That’s crazy” | “It bothers/annoys/frustrates me” or “That’s interesting” |
| Ah individual “suffers or struggles with mental illness” | An individual “lives with a mental health challenge or experiences mental health problems” |
| Substance “abuse” | Substance “use” |
| “They committed suicide” | “They died by suicide” |
| “Crackhead”, “tweaker” or “junkie” | “Someone who may be experiencing addiction or mental health problems” or “someone who may be in active use” |
| “They used to be an addict” | “They are in recovery” |
When you hear people use stigmatizing language, speak up! Do not be afraid to educate and teach others that their words are more powerful than they realize.
This WARDS LAWYERS PC publication is for general information only. It is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be. Specific or more information may be necessary before advice could be provided for your particular circumstances.