Demi Lovato Is So Tired of People Misusing ‘Bipolar’ in Conversation
If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all; if you can't properly use "bipolar" in conversation, best to leave it unsaid, Demi Lovato urges in a new interview with Marie Claire.
Lovato, who opened up about living with bipolar disorder six years ago, says she's tired of people marginalizing the plight of people living with the condition when they flippantly toss it out in conversation — usually, when they actually mean something like "indecisive."
"I get frustrated when people use the term 'bipolar' loosely," she explains. "Like, they say 'Oh, I can't decide what movie to watch, I'm so bipolar.' You don't say, 'I can't decide what movie to watch, I'm so cancer.'"
Lovato added she's sick of people assuming that those who suffer from bipolar disorder are violent. In truth, they're more frequently the victims of violence, she says.
"Anytime you aren't creating conversation about what mental health really is, you're opening it up to a bunch of negativity," she explains. "It's important to remember that the vast majority of people living with mental health conditions aren't violent. They're ten times more likely to be the victims of a violent crime."
How to remedy these things? Lovato says she's learned to be as relentlessly outspoken as she can be as to eliminate the taboo surrounding bipolar disorder.
"It's so important to be vocal about the things you're dealing with—you never know the life you could live if you're sharing your experiences with others," she said.
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