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These words related to psychiatry are officially being banned.
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PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS
“Our markets will have a nervous breakdown from uncertainty, our entrepreneurs will have a nervous breakdown, our manufacturers will have a nervous breakdown, our investors—foreign and domestic—will have a nervous breakdown, our allies will have a nervous breakdown and we’re going to give the rest of the world a nervous breakdown.” -Thomas Friedman1
Friedman, the author of the quote above, is not a mental health professional, but is a well-regarded columnist, at least by many. The quote is from his column on March 11 in the New York Times and titled “A Great Unraveling Is Underway.”1
Some will think that this quote has some hyperbole or satire. However, even if only some of this turns out to be true over the next 4 years, psychiatry will be more needed than ever, but probably at levels well beyond our capacity and abilities. If so, that means we must do something preventive or mitigating to head off this vision from becoming reality.
In prior columns, I have been discussing some of the harms to mental health: sudden layoffs and firings, trans discrimination, DEI dismantling, controlling women’s bodies, political review of psychiatric medications, defunding of research, and more. Just recently, massive cuts to the Substance abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are predicted. This is not to say that there is not good reason to eliminate some waste and push new policies, but how this is being done seems very harmful to those affected.
Moreover, one governmental administrative change seems to have almost slipped through without notice, but it hits the essence of psychiatry. One of the pillars of psychiatry is the words we use. Saying the right words at the right time in the right way is crucial for successful treatment. Now, hundreds of words connected to mental health are being purged, according to the New York Times article, “These Words Are Disappearing in the New Trump Administration.”2
Whoops! “Mental health” is one of the terms flagged to limit or avoid in government documents, so perhaps I should start to eliminate it from my vocabulary. Or maybe even use it more?
Another is “sex.” Sex shows up again in the context of “commercial sex worker.” If sex is a concern, no wonder “women” and “female” are too. Not “men,” but “men who have sex with men” is on the list.
“Trauma” and “traumatic” are listed. Does that mean the disorder posttraumatic stress disorder is to be avoided?
“Black” is there, but not “White” or “White supremacy.” Forget using “confirmation bias” to explain cultish thinking, and expect no “social justice.” “Native Americans” is a no-no, so it must be the Native part of the preferred identity term by many. I guess there will not be any slogan to Make Native Americans Great Again! I probably should no longer describe my career as serving the underserved, because “underserved” is on the list.
“Political” is out, so none of what I am writing is political. You get the picture. Sounds somewhat like Newspeak in the novel 1984 by George Orwell, doesn’t it?
What to do if so concerned? The rapidity and scope of these administrative changes casts doubt on the usefulness of the tried and true pushbacks, such as contacting politicians and forming new coalitions.
Psychiatrists have tended to stay out of political fights or preferences. Probably 1 exception was the early 1970s when Alfred M. Freedman, MD, became leader of a group known as the Committee of Concerned Psychiatrists, leading to him becoming President of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1972.3 That was right when I began my psychiatric training. He then helped to remove homosexuality (not on the new list) as a psychiatric disorder. He and his colleagues condemned the abuse of declaring political dissidents mentally ill and hospitalizing them in the Soviet Union.
I do not know if Freedman and his group ever conducted live protests, but maybe that should be an option now. Certainly, we have protests against us by anti-psychiatrists at the annual APA meetings and have long been a target of Scientology. Words can be used, including in press releases. Can you picture psychiatrists marching with placards stating Psychiatrists for “Mental Health,” or even a word cloud of our current social psychiatric concerns?!
Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.
References
1. Friedman TL. A great unraveling is underway. New York Times. March 11, 2025. Accessed March 13, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/11/opinion/trump-economy-tariffs.html
2. Yourish K, Daniel A, Datar S, et al. These words are disappearing in the new Trump Administration. New York Times. March 7, 2025. Accessed March 13, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/07/us/trump-federal-agencies-websites-words-dei.html
3. Hausman K. Trailblazing psychiatrist leaves legacy of social caring. Psychiatric News. 2011;45(11).
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