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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Therapy speak | 3/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_speak | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:13:18.707219+00:00 | kb-cron |
Trauma Many psychotherapists consider the term "trauma" to be overused to describe "anything bad". According to George Bonanno, psychological trauma is often defined to begin with a horrific "violent or life-threatening event that is outside the range of normal experience", such as rape, a natural disaster, or a mass shooting. Early symptoms may include shock and denial; later symptoms, for those who develop post-traumatic stress disorder, may include unpredictable labile mood (e.g., a normal comment provokes an obviously abnormal feeling), intense nightmares or flashbacks (feeling like the traumatic event is happening again), and other debilitating symptoms. However, other clinicians argue that another form of trauma isn't yet included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), caused by experiences that may not be explicitly violent, but still mirror the effects of more "severe" trauma and affects people deeply. Trigger The term "trigger" is often used to say that the person is upset, or that a behavior caused the person to feel bad. However, a trauma trigger in clinical terms describes something that may be harmless (e.g., the sound of a motorcycle) that is mentally tied for that individual to a previous terrible event (e.g., witnessing gun violence). Gaslighting Declared to be the 2022 word of the year by Merriam-Webster, gaslighting is often used to describe ordinary disagreement or lying and the behavior of people who refuse to believe that they have caused any harm. In its original meaning, gaslighting, which is also called coercive control, is used to describe a form of long-term psychological manipulation and emotional abuse by a close, trusted person (such as a romantic partner, family member, or close friend), that increases the abuser's power and control by making the other person doubt their perception of reality. Narcissism The word "narcissism", increasingly used in common speech to imply narcissistic personality disorder, may be used casually to imply that people with ordinary or individual acts of self-centeredness, selfishness, rudeness, or self-importance have a serious disorder. However, narcissistic personality disorder is actually a pattern of long-term behavior that takes self-involvement to an unhealthy extreme, involving an unrealistic sense of superiority (grandiosity), the need for others to admire them, and a lack of empathy. Depressed This word is often used to describe many unpleasant experiences, including temporary sadness, experiencing disappointment, and feeling discouraged. However, clinical depression is an extreme level of sadness and hopelessness that lasts for weeks (or longer) and that interferes with activities of daily life (such as eating, sleeping, and maintaining basic hygiene standards). Boundaries "Setting a boundary" is often misused to mean creating a family estrangement if the speaker's wishes are not fulfilled by others, but in psychotherapy, a boundary is carefully considered choice that is meant to preserve relationships. A boundary describes the actions taken by the person who set the boundary. For example, a person might decide that if someone asks about a painful situation, they will say "I don't feel like talking about that right now", and then repeat that statement as many times as necessary. Rather than hiding from other people or trying to control what others do, a healthy boundary supports interaction and takes the other person's needs into account. Codependency "Codependency" may be sometimes used to say that the speaker believes that a person is too invested in a relationship; however, codependency is instead an unhealthy relationship that enables destructive behavior. Self-care Meant to refer to ordinary care for the body, such as by getting enough sleep, it is often used to mean pampering, such as through an expensive day at a spa.
== See also == Curse of knowledge – using technical jargon correctly, but not being understood because the audience does not know the same jargon
== References ==
== External links ==
What Happens When Therapy-Speak Creeps Into a Relationship at Psychology Today