School of Population Health.
Department of Psychology, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
J Nerv Ment Dis. 2022 Sep 1;210(9):645-649. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001524.
Language is a powerful form of communication that not only conveys ideas and knowledge but also can assign meaning and value to the world around us. As such, language has the power to shape our attitudes toward individuals, behaviors, and ideas, by labeling them (indirectly or not) as "good" or "bad." In this way, language can be used to propagate stigma and other unhelpful attitudes toward individuals who already experience stigma. One behavior that may be particularly prone to the impact of unhelpful language is nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). In this article, we draw on Staniland's NSSI stigma framework to demonstrate how an individual with lived experience of NSSI may be exposed to stigmatizing messaging through 30 different channels, and propose that the accumulation of these messages may be particularly damaging. We conclude by offering practical tips for clinicians and researchers wishing to empathically work with individuals who self-injure.
语言是一种强大的交流方式，不仅可以传达思想和知识，还可以为我们周围的世界赋予意义和价值。因此，语言具有通过将个体、行为和思想贴上（间接或直接）“好”或“坏”的标签来塑造我们对它们的态度的力量。这样，语言就可以用来传播污名和对已经遭受污名的个体的其他无益态度。一种可能特别容易受到无益语言影响的行为是非自杀性自伤（NSSI）。在本文中，我们借鉴 Staniland 的 NSSI 污名框架，展示了一个有 NSSI 经历的个体可能通过 30 种不同的渠道接触到污名化信息，并提出这些信息的积累可能特别具有破坏性。最后，我们为希望同情地与自伤者合作的临床医生和研究人员提供了一些实用建议。
