~thread of alternatives to using illnesses as an insult~

Did you mean: self-centred, egocentric, self-involved, vain, self-serving, intractable, stubborn, self-aggrandising, pretentious, self-involved, grandiose, overblown, conceited, smug, narrow-minded, inflexible, adamant, intransigent?

Then say that instead of narcissistic.

Did you mean: cold, uncaring, callous, heartless, cruel, indifferent, sadistic, ruthless, merciless, evil, remorseless?

Then say that instead of sociopath/psychopath.

Did you mean: erratic, unpredictable, temperamental, volatile, capricious, fickle, mercurial, impulsive, reckless, thoughtless?

Then say that, instead of borderline, manic, or bipolar.

Did you mean: irrational, illogical, fallacious, incoherent, conceited, intransigent, obdurate, unreasonable, implacable, cussed, ridiculous, implausible, absurd, unjustified, preposterous?

Then say that instead of delusional, schizo, insane, crazy, demented, etc.

(Not an illness, but on a related note)
Did you mean: uncompromising, obdurate, obstinate, ignorant, intransigent, adamant, heedless, inconsiderate, stubborn, indifferent, narrowminded, indifferent?

Then say that instead of deaf to criticism, falling on deaf ears, etc.

(also not necessarily an illness)
Did you mean: ignorant, imperceptive, blinkered, narrow-minded, inconsiderate, oblivious, rigid, obstinate, wilful, intransigent, unobservant, obdurate, unyielding, pertinacious, prejudicial, unamenable?

Then say that instead of "blind"

Did you mean: anal-retentive, finicky, fussy, pedantic, nit-picky, pernickety, meticulous, fastidious, hair-splitting, puritanical, snobbish, exacting, controlling, obsessive, high-strung, uptight, queasy, prissy?

Then say that instead of OCD or neurotic.

Did you mean: melodramatic, oversensitive, delicate, uptight, clingy, theatrical, artificial, insincere, boastful, ostentatious, pretension, attention-seeking, insecure, dependent, needy?

Then say that instead of histrionic or borderline.

Sort of related but not necessarily an insult - social anxiety is a real and debilitating condition.

If you mean you are/someone else is shy, quiet, introverted, timid, reserved, a loner, a wallflower, then say that.

Again sort of related, while hysterical is no longer a medical term, it does have a long history of being used as an ableist/misogynistic term to invalidate women and/or ppl with mental illnesses.

Consider instead: theatrical, agitated, frantic, distraught, absurd, dramatic, +

Incoherent, irrational, impassioned, high-strung, absurd, ridiculous, disjointed, incoherent, unreasonable, hyperbolic, melodramatic, artificial, far-fetched, caricatural, unrealistic, hypersensitive, delicate, reactionary

(also consider whether someone is being legitimately irrational or whether you're minimising an understandable emotional response, often to bigotry, or dismissing someone who's experiencing symptoms they have no control over)

IMPORTANT FURTHER READING - why we can't just straight swap overtly ableist terms for descriptions that still basically mean the same thing https://twitter.com/queerfoxx/status/1258533034887753728?s=19

Did you mean: boring, flimsy/feeble (when referring to something like an excuse), dull, unpleasant, tedious, uncool, weak?

Then say that instead of lame, which refers to someone who can't walk without difficulty (thanks for the suggestion!)

Did you mean: erratic, unpredictable, volatile, temperamental, two-faced, phony, inconsistent, hot and cold, fickle?

Then say that, instead of multiple personality (which is an outdated term anyway - the preferred terminology is usually plural or system, and the medical +

Or diagnostic terminology now refers to a dissociative disorder like DID) thanks again for the suggestion!

Muting this thread now because "How dare you ask me to be considerate of the harm that social stigmatisation does to disabled/mentally ill people!" twitter has logged on