Misunderstood Concept
I teach a course on mental health literacy and one important thing that I want my students to do is use proper mental health vocabulary. For example: Instead of saying “John suffers from a post traumatic stress disorder”, I want them to say “John has been diagnosed with PTSD or John lives with PTSD”. Using proper mental health vocabulary is very important for this course because the words that we use contribute or help reduce mental health stigma. As someone who is taking a mental health literacy course, my student(s) should be using the right language/vocabulary.
Factors that contribute to my students misunderstanding of this concept: Its mostly media, TV shows, news, etc. They have heard this incorrect language in the past since some words become socially constructed to have a negative connotation in the society. Therefore they come with their own preconceptions which are often misconceptions.
Re-stating the misunderstood concept: I think one way would be to tell students about the incorrect usage of mental health language in media, TV shows, etc. and tell them how they can or they should change this.
So as an example, provide them with an example of what they should avoid and what they should say instead.
Avoid saying: John suffers from PTSD.
Instead say: John has been diagnosed with PTSD.
And then explain how these words imply negativity and can affect the individual in a bad way.
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