Trauma talk is overused. At least in the media (TikTok, Instagram, etc.). When the topic of behavior is spoken about there are words like: gaslighting, toxic, Manipulation, etc.
These words have real meaning and are used to describe behavior, but when used so frequently and carelessly, it takes away their meaning.
Because of this a lot of people call normal situations ¨Trauma¨ and there are average occurrences where a person can share their story and people see it as a joke or ¨playing victim¨.
An example is the term ¨love-bombing¨. Love bombing, simply, is the act of affection to influence or manipulate another person. But in the language of TikTok, influencers use this term to describe someone who is simply affectionate but to some ¨over-affectionate¨ is a reach. TikTok also uses these terms as ¨red flags¨ or #Traumatok.
“If it’s used in the wrong way, it can really minimize and demean people who really have either had these diagnoses or have really suffered at the hands of someone who either had them or displayed behaviors and things like that.” -Kaytee Gillis, Licensed
Clinical Social Worker and Psychotherapist,
Intrusive thoughts are another term that has lost meaning, intrusive thoughts are related to mental disorders that cause anxiety, and distress. However, people online will say “the intrusive thoughts won” but refer to cutting their hair at 3 AM or overspending. Also, ¨gaslighting¨ being used as ¨gaslight, girlboss¨ or ¨gaslight, gatekeep¨
Therapy is a better alternative. Licensed professionals have referred to a related issue of ¨self-diagnosing¨ using the same terms. It’s more common for people to talk about their diagnosis without using a valid reason for it. Professionals also notice a pattern of people using their ‘behavioral disorders’ as an excuse for bad behavior. (https://www.scrippsnews.com/health/mental-health/why-the-overuse-of-therapy-speak-is-proving-to-be-problematic)
“I have to tell you, I have never seen so much self-diagnosis in my life, all from TikTok, not even Instagram.¨ – Dr. Isabelle Morley, Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Massachusetts
It should be acceptable for people to share or bond about their trauma without being blamed. However, TikTok is famous for using these phrases to describe normal behavior and har
mless everyday actions. Comparing the actual meaning of these terms and what media associates them with, they have very different meanings.
Social media is where people should be able to share their stories, thoughts, jokes, etc. but there should be a limit to what can be shared because people tend to overshare even if it’s concerning jokes (which people call ¨ragebait¨). Like every platform that’s ever existed, the more it grows, the more people reach it, the more people misunderstand it and it becomes watered down.
When talking about these terms I also notice, in the media, that it is used so casually it makes real victims feel they can’t come forward.
Traum
a is not exclusive, anyone can experience traumatic events. It should be more normalized to speak openly about but it should also be normal to learn what these words mean because misused words are harmful.
