The following quotes, from writers whom I admire, encapsulate some of the issues regarding our personal choice of language:
Our choice in our use of language matters and this is why professional organisations generally set out guidance for standards of behaviour particularly in relation to use of social media. Their intention is not to silence but to ensure constructive and respectful communication in line with the values of the organisation.
It is disappointing to find the following examples of language still used in public forums by senior UK psychiatrists:
- “blinded by your preoccupation”
- “implausible individual claims”
- “the portrayal of such an jarringly false narrative of the condition”
- “trotting out dull destructive themes”
- “[we need] fewer campaigns dressed-up as research”
- “antipsychiatrists really know how to hate, it drips from them”