Replacements for (Potentially) Ableist Language - Binge Watching

The inclusion of this phrase in this series has been very controversial. As such, I’m not going to use the specific formatting I will be using in the rest of this series.

The phrase “binge watching” is not considered to be offensive by many, but it is considered offensive by some. I have received a number of asks and reblogs arguing both for and against it being considered ableist.

I have read all of your responses and concerns, and I agree with many of you on certain points. For instance, I don’t think that “depressed” or “anxious” should be restricted to referring to their respective disorders.

But one of the anon asks I received really stuck in my mind.

“You can't just make a word ableist because you want it to be."

You’re right. I can’t. But you can’t make this phrase not be ableist because you want it to be, either. I have received messages from multiple people with eating disorders saying they believe “binge watching” is ableist and invalidating. That is enough to justify its inclusion in this series.

As always, it is up to you to decide whether or not to use this phrase. I am just providing an alternative if you decide not to use it.

This is probably the easiest substitution I’m going to cover in this entire series, because there’s a word that has the exact the same meaning when applied to watching something for a long stretch of time:

Marathon / Marathoning

Note - It is ScriptShrink’s official opinion that anyone who has been the target of the ableist language used here is fully and 100% able to reclaim it if they so choose.

#scriptshrink #text #replacements #replacements for ableist language #ableism #ableist language #eating disorders #binge #binge eating #binge watching #this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice #:(#best of scriptshrink

scriptshrink

Anonymous asked:

I'm writing a story and the main character goes through a traumatic event and has ptsd once home, and among other things can barely sleep due to nightmares. So there's a scene where her close friend/future love interest offers to share his bed and she sleeps better due to being able to sense the presence of someone she trusts when she wakes from a nightmare. Any tips for how I can write this so it's not coming off like he's curing her?

This is really difficult under these circumstances. However, there might be a few different things you can do to keep from falling into this trope:

Make it clear that her nightmares were going away on their own, regardless of the presence of the other character.
Have the relief from nightmares be intermittent - sometimes sleeping next to the other character will help; other times it has no effect or even makes it worse.
Have sleeping with someone nearby as a pre-established thing that makes the character more comfortable, dating back before the trauma occurred.
Since the other character’s a future love interest, have the main character ask them to sleep next to them because of a desire for intimacy and an expression of support, not necessarily because it relieves the nightmares.

The Shrink would like to note that while sleeping next to someone may help some people with PTSD in real life, I’m specifically discussing avoiding the media trope of “true love cures mental illness,” which is what anon asked about.

#Anonymous #asks #ptsd #post traumatic stress disorder #nightmare #nightmare disorder #sleep #love will heal you #love #character critique #characterization #this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice #:(#cosleep ptsd anon

scriptshrink

A Quick Comment

The goal of this blog is to help people write about mental illness accurately. I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect. I will get things wrong sometimes.

I don’t know everything there is to know about mental illness. In fact, no one person can ever know what it’s like to have every mental illness.

But if you’ve got 1,834 people together, you can get a much, much better picture of what mental illness is like.

I rely on you, Shrinky-dinks. If I’m out of line, if I’ve said something offensive, if I’ve not gotten something right, please let me know.

#scriptshrink #text #announcements #scriptshrink admin #:(#this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice

scriptshrink reblogged

scriptshrink

Anonymous asked:

OCD is an anxiety disorder

scriptshrink answered:

It used to be classified as one, yes. When DSM-5 came into effect in 2013, OCD was put it in its own category, together with Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Hoarding, Trichotillomania, and Excoriation disorder. This category is called “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.”

That is not to say that OCD is completely unrelated to anxiety. It just means that the disorders listed above have much more in common with one another than they do with the other anxiety disorders.

couragetobe

I mean, just cause the DSM says it doesn’t make it an unquestionable fact. Anyone with OCD can tell you that it is without a doubt an anxiety disorder. Not just “not completely unrelated to anxiety”. It’s entirely related to anxiety. It’s an anxiety disorder. But no, the DSM changed it and the DSM is the ultimate arbitrator on all ideas about mental health, so we must tout it around like it’s an undeniable truth and say you’re an ignorant ‘fuckwad’ - I believe you called people in the cracked article - for stating it as such. Don’t get be wrong, the cracked article is absurd and ableist, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this blog act as though “you can’t say something is true if the DSM contradicts it” and treating the DSM with that much authority is counterproductive to disability and mental health respect, justice, and good representation.

scriptshrink

One of the major goals of this blog is, and always has been, informing people about the process of diagnosing mental illness. My “Demystifying the DSM” series is about…wait for it… the DSM. I fully admit, the DSM has its flaws. But I don’t have any other options as a clinical psychology blog.

As for the rest of your statements, I welcome submissions from people with mental illness; I regularly consult with friends of the blog who have offered their expertise & experiences, and open questions up to my followers.

I’m not sure what else you want from me.

#I'm just so tired at this point #:(#reblog #DSM #ocd #couragetobe