I know I rage about the slur 'psycho' more than any other ableist slur, and I'd like to address why. For me, 'psycho' enrages me the most because it usually refers to one or both of these groups: people with psychotic illnesses, or people with ASPD or empathy problems. /1

The reason this bothers me so much is because in my opinion those are two of the most discriminated against and stigmatised groups within the mental illness umbrella /2

So many people are like 'be kind!' and 'support mental health' and then view these people as inherently dangerous or evil /3

Yes, some psychopaths are evil. But in those cases it's their actions that make them evil, not their illness. It's hypocrtical to criticise someone for lacking empathy (when they actually can't help it) , and then show a lack of empathy towards them /4

And when it comes to psychotic illnesses, people who experience psychosis are far more likely to be victims of violence than they are likely to be perpetrators. /5

Both of these groups are discriminated against by 'mental health advocates' and mental health professionals alike. It's disgusting and hypocrtical and immoral /6

In conclusion, please stop using these words as synonymous with evil or soulless or abusive or chaotic or weird or whatever the hell you use it as. Stop. Then grow some compassion. /7

And yes, I know I rant about this approximately once a week. But nobody listens (or the same few people do). Until I stop seeing mutuals and the wider public using 'psycho' or the illnesses it refers to in a derogatory manor, I won't stop defending the sufferers. /8

To clarify, I'm not saying these are the only highly stigmatised mental illnesses. Just the ones I personally see the most stigma and misinformation about both within and outside of the mental health community /9