Backgrounder
The NAMI Lexicon
Since its founding as “The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill,” NAMI has come to regard references to “the mentally ill” as overly-focused on the illness at the expense of the person. They prefer references to “persons with mental illnesses” or “persons with brain disorders.”
Similarly, NAMI avoids identifying people by diagnosis. Instead of referring to “a schizophrenic” or “an obsessive-compulsive,” they prefer “a person with schizophrenia” or “someone suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
The organization uses the word “consumer” to refer to people with brain disorders who are consumers of mental health care services. Although most NAMI members are family members of people with brain disorders, a growing number of consumers are now joining the organization.
NAMI prefers the term “brain disorder” to “mental illness” because it emphasizes the biological or physiological origins of the diseases.
“Bipolar disorder” is the currently accepted name for “manic depression.”
NAMI refers to state and local organizations as “affiliates.”
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