Words Matter | CAMH

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Mental Health
Instead of this ...	Say this	Why?
Suffering from/struggling with a mental illness	Living with a mental illness/experiencing a mental illness	The way we talk about mental illness should not paint the person as a victim.
[Name] is mentally ill [Name] is schizophrenic [Name] is a drug addict	[Name] is living with a mental illness / experiencing a mental illness [Name] has schizophrenia / is living with schizophrenia [Name] has substance use disorder / is living with substance use disorder	Defining a person by their mental illness makes the illness become that person’s “master status.” Acknowledge the person first, then the illness.

Instead of this ...
Suffering from/struggling with a mental illness
[Name] is mentally ill [Name] is schizophrenic [Name] is a drug addict

Say this
Living with a mental illness/experiencing a mental illness
[Name] is living with a mental illness / experiencing a mental illness [Name] has schizophrenia / is living with schizophrenia [Name] has substance use disorder / is living with substance use disorder

Why?
The way we talk about mental illness should not paint the person as a victim.
Defining a person by their mental illness makes the illness become that person’s “master status.” Acknowledge the person first, then the illness.


Instead of this ...	Say this ...	Why
commit / committed suicide	Died by suicide / death by suicide / lost their life to suicide	“Commit” implies suicide is a sin or crime, reinforcing the stigma that it’s a selfish act and personal choice. Using neutral phrasing like “died by suicide” helps strip away the shame / blame element.
successful / unsuccessful suicide completed / failed suicide	Died by suicide / survived a suicide attempt / lived through a suicide attempt fatal suicidal behaviour / non-fatal suicidal behaviour fatal suicide attempt / non-fatal suicide attempt	The notion of a “successful” suicide is inappropriate because it frames a very tragic outcome as an achievement or something positive To be matter-of-fact, a suicide attempt is either fatal or not.

Instead of this ...
commit / committed suicide
successful / unsuccessful suicidecompleted / failed suicide

Say this ...
Died by suicide / death by suicide / lost their life to suicide
Died by suicide / survived a suicide attempt / lived through a suicide attempt fatal suicidal behaviour / non-fatal suicidal behaviour fatal suicide attempt / non-fatal suicide attempt

Why
“Commit” implies suicide is a sin or crime, reinforcing the stigma that it’s a selfish act and personal choice. Using neutral phrasing like “died by suicide” helps strip away the shame / blame element.
The notion of a “successful” suicide is inappropriate because it frames a very tragic outcome as an achievement or something positive To be matter-of-fact, a suicide attempt is either fatal or not.

Everyday Expressions
Instead of this ...	Say this	Why?
That's crazy / nuts / insane		This kind of language is not typically intended to hurt but can have a negative impact on people living with mental illness. Being conscious of the words we use in our daily lives can help foster a stigma-free environment and empower people to speak openly about mental health.

Instead of this ...
That's crazy / nuts / insane

Say this

Why?
This kind of language is not typically intended to hurt but can have a negative impact on people living with mental illness. Being conscious of the words we use in our daily lives can help foster a stigma-free environment and empower people to speak openly about mental health.

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