Big Ideas Mental ill-health and the power of words
May 6, 2025
Sandy Jeffs, an author and mental health advocate living with schizophrenia, joins Fay Jackson, General Manager at Flourish Australia, and Michelle Blanchard, CEO of VANISH. They discuss the powerful impact of language on mental health stigma. Sandy shares personal narratives about the evolving terms that can either heal or harm. Fay highlights the importance of culturally sensitive language, while Michelle explores the significance of reclaiming labels. Together, they advocate for compassionate communication to foster understanding and reduce discrimination.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Reclaiming Stigmatized Language
- Sandy Jeffs reclaims words like "crazy" and "mad" as her own, embracing her experience without shame.
- She emphasizes that when others use such language, it becomes discriminatory and stigmatizing rather than empowering.
Evolution of Mental Health Language
- The language around mental health has shifted from terms like "mental disease" to "mental illness," with medicalized terms becoming dominant.
- Efforts to adopt less medicalizing terms have mostly failed to penetrate wider culture.
Diagnostic Labels’ Double-Edged Effect
- Diagnostic labels can evoke empathy and encourage support but may also increase perceptions of chronicity and reduced control.
- Labels imply a fixed identity, possibly leading to pessimism about recovery.
