To think people shouldn’t say ‘I have PTSD from X’ as an exaggeration?

[NameChanged25]

Even if it is obvious they don’t mean they had a genuine diagnosis and it is said quite lightly about something silly?
e.g. ‘my child used to love glitter and playdough as a toddler. Trying to clean it up was an absolute nightmare - I still have PTSD from it’
There are lots of other examples I’ve heard in conversation recently.

@MotionofTime They apologise and say that they didn't think about it but will be more mindful in the future of their language which can be seen to dismiss very serious health issues as trivial concerns. Not in so many words obviously but along those lines because most people are actually quite reasonable and do not want to cause offence.

I have it. Doesn't bother me in the least. Having a label gatekept for my circumstances wouldn't make me feel any better at all so I've no interest in policing other people's use of the term.

But we live with hyperbole all the time.

I'm starving
It was an absolute nightmare
I'm ready to kill him

Are these comments disrespectful towards the actual starving, those in war zones and people who have been victims of violence?

I wonder if they're saying the right things to appease you but inwardly rolling their eyes.

I know we're all different but it's like there's some people that take any chance to be offended?

But maybe it's me being old and grumpy at the 'wokeness' of policing language and expression.

Of course they are, they're rolling their eyes right out of their head.

He's so bipolar

I'm mega depressed

Sorry I'm just a little OCD

I have PTSD from talking in a group

The list goes on. All trivialises major mental health conditions that rule the lives who unfortunately suffer with those conditions.

Like most of these things, it's a scale. It's not a binary I am or I am not. People who are overly tidy probably are OCD to a certain extent.

Same with autism etc. not everyone with autism is like The guy from Rain Main.

No, that’s not the same. PTSD is a mental health condition. Nightmare is just a word.

Do you really think that most people who say they have PTSD from sitting in a meeting or 'nearly had a heart attack' when they saw the bill really think that their experience is the same as those with the condition, therefore the condition is trivial? Because I'd be very surprised. People use these expressions to make a point through exaggeration. It's very common throughout our language. The steak is 'as tough as old boots', 'it's as dry as a desert' etc. It's not meant or taken literally.

@5128gap The problem is when people use them in every day conversation they aren't taken as seriously when people say they are suffering. People wouldn't dream of saying 'my cancers playing up today' so why do it about mental health? 🤷‍♀️just my views.

People wouldn't dream of saying 'my cancers playing up today' so why do it about mental health?
But as someone posted above, people do say things like "You gave me a heart attack" all the time. I also hear "I thought I was having a stroke" quite often and "This doughnut will give me diabetes". People absolutely do make very similar comments about physical illnesses.

I might roll my eyes but can't say it bothers me because it's obviously an exaggeration.

I have PTSD and GAD (diagnosed by a consultant Psychiatrist working for the NHS).

It can be term used flippantly. I have suffered from PTSD after being seriously ill and nearly dying. You'd be surprised by the amount of people who believe that 'only the military suffer PTSD'. When in fact PTSD is something that anyone can suffer from, as a direct result from severe trauma, it's not 'exclusive' to the military.

Same, I have PTSD and OCD. Don't care at all

I live with actual PTSD (diagnosed by a Conusltant Psychiatrist, not Dr Google) and I find it really uncomfortable hearing people make flippant comments like "omg I have PTSD from watching Saltburn". My disability isn't a joke to me. I don't joke about other people's disabilities either. If that makes me "woke" then fine. I don't tell many people IRL about my condition, even in situations where it would probably be easier for me to disclose it and one of the reasons for that is because it is a very misunderstood and often trivialised illness that a lot of people think they understand but don't. Already on this thread we've had someone describe it as the "diagnosis du jour"...basically implying that it's a fad and not a debilitating medical condition. I do call it out when I hear it but it's probably futile because I imagine that if you're the sort of person who thinks it's funny to make flippant comments about being mentally ill then you're probably not going to care who you upset.

I thought PTSD was something that resulted from serious trauma, such as witnessing comrades being killed in the war.

Now it seems to relate to people being unhappy they were asked not to be late for work 3 times a week

The biggest problem I have is that it can make me feel like I'm an imposter. I suffer badly from that as it is but I have diagnosed, by a consultant psychiatrist, complex PTSD. So when people use it flippantly and it becomes part of our language for 'something we didn't like very much' it makes it hard for me to advocate for myself in situations where I might need to.

Read the OP!

I fully understand your viewpoint, I have a similar reaction when people say 'I just want to kill my self', often in the context of being bored or frustrated, 'I'm so bored I could just kill my self.'

My mum did kill herself so it hits a completely different note for me then it would if heard by other people, our life experiences colour how we perceive things. Unfortunately some people are unable to appreciate how their words may affect other people,or incapable of thinking through those considerations before speaking,other people have just been so incredibly lucky in life that they really can't understand and see that what they say could be upsetting because they have been blessed not to have dealt with loss, mental health problems or trauma themselves.

OCD has to be a contender for one of the most misunderstood mental disorders ever. It isn't a scale, you either have it or you don't. If someone's OCD involves tidiness, it would be driven by something like 'If I don't tidy away this cup my family will die' or 'If crumbs are left on a plate for more than 5 minutes the plate will be contaminated with bacteria and I'll have to throw it away in an outside bin wearing double gloves then bleach anything the plate has touched'.

It's not about the tidying, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be tidy or even 'overly tidy'. It's healthy and encouraged to wash your hands. The disordered part is the obsession and/or compulsion that drives someone to perform a 'ritual', whether that be cleaning, repetitive behaviours or having to count to sixteen in their head every time they experience an intrusive image or 'bad' thought. It's distressing and exhausting for the individual and takes up a lot of time.

For what it's worth, I've met lots of people with OCD and none of the compulsions has revolved around tidiness or cleaning.

I have had severely life limiting OCD since childhood and this actually upsets me so much. My in laws say it religiously and I actually get really stressed before they arrive thinking (obsessing!?) over them saying it. They always do. My partner used to say it (got it from them ofc) and thankfully he has learned, mostly because I’m not trying to be as polite with him and give him both barrels!!

If I were to say “I can’t decide what sandwich to have, that’ll be my bipolar out of control haha” people likely wouldn’t wave it off as so normalised.

Words losing meaning is confusing though

if someone says "I have PTSD from school" at this point I have no idea if they mean it. They shouldnt use those terms casually. I know language evolves but there's good reason to be careful with it.

I have ptsd and it really pisses me off. It affects aspects of my life it creeps up when I'm not expecting it. And every night before I go to sleep I have and it caused by it

I agree, it's a term that is branded about but the real meaning and suffering is huge. Yes also like OCD, total exaggeration and there should be different vocabulary used. It does show a lack of understanding of both terms and annoys me personally.