When I was studying different mental disorders as a bilingual psychology student, I couldn’t help but compare the names of each condition across the languages I speak. Despite having revelations about most names after learning their symptoms and causes, a few stood out to me as names that are “inaccurate” to what their conditions entail. Autism in Mandarin, for instance, is translated as ‘self-isolation disorder’ (‘自闭症’). Although self-isolation can be a symptom present in many autistic individuals, it does not encompass the entirety of the condition. As a result, this could concern sensitive aspects of mental health awareness, including social stigmatisation, improper normalisation and many more. Therefore, I was intrigued to explore whether translations of mental conditions play a part in how people perceive them, as well as the effect names have on portraying certain conditions to laypeople.
There are roughly three broad categories of the way mental health conditions are named: (1) descriptive of their corresponding causes or symptoms, (2) named after someone or something, and (3) derived from ancient languages, typically ancient Greek (Gaebel & Kerst, 2018). The first category is usually straightforward and easy to understand, examples include generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As can be seen, the names provide a descriptive summary of the condition, allowing even laypeople to obtain a decent grasp of the conditions’ causes and symptoms. This is beneficial, for it can facilitate communication between healthcare professionals, individuals with the conditions, and the general public. However, the directness of these names may oversimplify the complex nature of certain mental disorders, potentially resulting in individuals being reduced to their symptoms, leading to a narrow, and sometimes, negative perception of their conditions. This oversimplification can reinforce negative stereotypes and misconceptions about mental health, which can act as a gateway to discrimination and unfair treatment between individuals.
In comparison, the “named-after” mental disorders require more intricate understanding, possibly due to their highly specific nature where background knowledge of the name is required. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD; DSM-5), for instance, is named after ‘Narcissus’, a hunter in Greek mythology. According to the best-known version of the story, by Ovid (Brenkman, 1976), Narcissus was noticed by all for his immaculate beauty, and rarely could anyone resist falling in love with him. One day, Narcissus found himself thirsty, so he searched for a pond of water to satisfy his yearning. As he leaned down to drink, he saw a reflection that was “as beautiful as a marble statue” and instantly fell in love, without realising that the figure in front of him was, in fact, his own reflection. Unable to leave the allure of this image, Narcissus stared at his enchanting self-reflection – which could not reciprocate his love – forgot to eat, drink, or sleep, and eventually died beside the pond, leaving behind a gold and white flower.
Mirroring the tragic tale of Narcissus, narcissism is now used to describe the mental disorder where one displays an excessive interest in or admiration of oneself. However, although these names might seem obvious after learning their origin,the elaborate narratives behind them may not be immediately apparent, requiring additional effort for individuals to grasp the connection between the name and the associated symptoms. This complexity might contribute to a lack of general awareness, potentially hindering education and public discourse on these mental health conditions. Not to mention many conditions are named after scientists for their significant contribution rather than an ancient mythology. Alzheimer’s disease, for example, is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who discovered the cause of this type of dementia that is commonly found in elderly individuals (NIA, 2023). Although the name honours the contributions of Dr. Alzheimer, it does not entail much information about the condition itself. Therefore, balancing historical significance with clear communication becomes crucial to ensuring that these names contribute positively to understanding and empathy, rather than provoking confusion or perpetuating stereotypes.
The third category mostly consists of names that are derived from the Greek language, which might automatically make sense to individuals who speak Greek. To people who do not understand Greek, however, they more often than not look like a random combination of letters that had been agreed upon since the dawn of time. Autism – the example mentioned previously – is rooted in the Greek word ‘eautos’ (‘εαυτός’), which means ‘the self’. Considering this information, it is safe to assume that the Mandarin translation of autism being ‘self-isolation disorder’ could have derived from its Greek origin. Schizophrenia is a similar case, where ‘schizo’ (‘σχίζω’) came from the verb ‘split’, and ‘phrenia’ has its root in ‘phrenas’ (‘φρένας’), meaning ‘the mind’. It might not seem very obvious in English, but schizophrenia in many Asian languages are direct translations of ‘split-mind disorder’, such as in Chinese (‘精神分裂症’), Japanese (‘精神分裂病’), and Korean (‘정신 분열증’).
Since these names are descriptive of the condition, it is easy for anyone who speaks the language to infer that schizophrenia is a brain disorder entailing ‘mind-splitting’. This, however, stirred up heated debate among the medical and psychological fields about the negative connotations carried within this name. Neuropsychiatric Associations (Lee et al., 2013) believed that referring to schizophrenic patients as having split minds could inflict discrimination amongst the general public, leading to unnecessarily triggering interactions that might impact the efficiency of relevant treatments. Eventually, multiple nations decided to dispel the stigmatisation of this name by replacing it with ‘attunement disorder’, including Japan (‘統合失調症’), South Korea (‘조현병’), and some other regions. ‘Attunement’ is a metaphor for tuning the strings of the mind, which is both descriptive and neutral in its nature. As a result, associated prejudice preventing patients from seeking help early (Gaebel & Kerst, 2018), as well as discriminatory social stigmatisation can be reduced.
Reflecting on mental health condition names across languages revealed the profound impact of language on the perception and understanding of different disorders. Meanings tend to get lost in translation, especially when discussing matters as sensitive as mental health. Therefore, we should not rely on literal translation as the sole method to communicate mental health across nations. Although it is highly challenging to invoke change, balanced, clear, and culturally sensitive language should be promoted to foster understanding and empathy in mental health discourse.
See also: Chang & Bassman, 2019; Hoffman, 2015; Moffic, 2016.
References
Brenkman, J. (1976). Narcissus in the Text. The Georgia Review, 30(2), 293–327. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41399656?casa_token=ljfQwM4NsZoAAAAA%3AhD_pRxA9IeCLTrxIGRhs9iUDl5edwWqiZHPunGweS_5v34T4j3p-vuEN8BMJJHa3ClDh3jq4zRL_tch8sPvFlUo7MHv_5OacrXGoZW5BzT85xeyHmpo&seq=7
Chang, C. R., & Bassman, R. (2019). Psychiatric Diagnosis and the Power of Names. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 002216781985278. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167819852786
Gaebel, W., & Kerst, A. (2018). The debate about renaming schizophrenia: a new name would not resolve the stigma. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2045796018000513
Hoffman, C. (2015, July 14). The power of a name: Controversies and changes in defining mental illness. The Neuroethics Blog. https://www.theneuroethicsblog.com/2015/07/the-power-of-name-controversies-and
Lee, Y. S., Kim, J.-J., & Kwon, J. S. (2013). Renaming schizophrenia in South Korea. The Lancet, 382(9893), 683–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(13)61776-6
Moffic, S. (2016, February 8). What’s With These Names in Mental Health Care? Psychiatric Times. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/whats-these-names-mental-health-care
NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA). (2023, April 5). Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet. National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-and-dementia/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet#:~:text=Alzheimer
