words to use instead of crazy

Hello, reader.  How are you doing?  I want to share with you some words to use instead of crazy.

My chosen family member friend I talk to every day was polo-ing me.  Marco Polo is our favorite app to communicate with.  Sure we txt like regular modern human beings.  But Marco Polo is an app to make video messages.  We enjoy the asynchronous for years.

My friend said something was crazy.  Then she remembered that it hurts my feelings sometimes, when people say “crazy” to mean something bad especially.  I am crazy and have been called crazy in a derogatory way.  Kind of like it’s not ok to call something distasteful “lame,” since some people really do have leg / walking issues, or to call something “retarded” to mean it’s bad.  It can hurt people’s feelings.

Then my friend had trouble thinking of a different word, so I thought I’d make this post for her.

words to use instead of crazy

I almost always say “wild.”  That’s my go to.  “Wow, yeah–that’s wild!” I’ll say, marveling.

My good friend in Canada says “bananas” consistently, and I enjoy thinking about a bunch of yellow bananas hanging there in the air like a food for Ms Pacman.  This friend in Canada is a Peer, and an amazingly good one, so I think how she uses the word “bananas” is legit!

I have another good friend who says, “cuckoo bananas.”  I like “cuckoo bananas” because it’s two words like my name.  Terms that take a minute and give me a chance to ponder them are my favorite.

But also I enjoy red lights.  I love waiting–yes, I am a fiend for waiting.  When I’m driving, red lights give me a rest and a chance to think about things differently.  Kind of like we need to sleep as well as to do stuff; red lights are like a dream.

The “cuckoo bananas” friend is a therapist, so again, I extra trust em and eir word choice in this area.

meanings

Crazy can mean surprising, in a good way or a bad way or a neutral way.

• surprising
• shocking
• unexpected
• strange
• weird
• wild
• outrageous
• confusing
• coincidental
• unpredicted
• unplanned

It can also just mean bad, like maybe a twisted kind of bad.

• bad
• fucked up
• disgusting
• horrible
• twisted
• diabolical
• devious
• problematic
• unwanted
• scary
• fraught

It can also mean wacky, right?

• wacky
• ridiculous
• inappropriate
• silly
• playful
• whimsical
• absurd
• nonsense

actually mad

When we refer to someone who’s experiencing an altered state or extreme state, or someone who’s not in shared reality but is extra out there, what words should we use?  Is it ok to say that person is crazy?

Yeah, I might refer to that person as crazy, especially with someone I feel close to.  Especially if the crazed one we’re referring to is me.  The year that my mom died, I had several episodes where I was not on the same page with the rest of the world.

Ming kept me safe, alive, out of jail, and out of the hospital.  That was a terrible time.  When I look back on that time, I might say, “I was extra crazy.”

When a friend asks me how I’m doing and I’m feeling less stable than usual, I might say that I’m feeling crazier than usual.

sacred

Referring to someone who’s actually mad, I prefer “crazy” to “mentally ill.”  “Mentally ill” sounds clinical and lends false legitimacy to psychiatry.  I don’t want to give it more power.  Psychiatry doesn’t deserve much legitimacy for all sorts of reasons.  It’s important to me that my differences and gifts are seen directly as what they are, not veiled behind pathologizing terms.  The diagnoses that have been given to me are simplistic and mostly hurt.

Differences are inevitable; pathologizing is optional.  That applies to all of disability and is partly what I mean when I say that all bodies are valid bodies.

Describing what I’ve been through to a new friend, I might mention my diagnoses as a glimpse of the professional perspective, or to give someone a quick sense of what I survived.  But I am so much more than my diagnoses.  Psychiatry doesn’t get to claim my experiences as symptoms.  Many of these experiences were sacred.  They made me the authentic being I am today.  My differences and gifts aren’t problems to medicate away.  I love myself, and nothing can change that.

Recently someone messaged me on instagram to say that the interview I did on Madness Radio changed their life.  The ideas I spoke two years ago while Ming and I were homeless are still real.

I’m so happy that my words help people.  The bravery I mustered to speak my truth that day still matters.

thank you

Thank you for caring about words to use instead of crazy.  I appreciate you.

Thank you to all my friends and loved ones who help me feel strong so I can risk being vulnerable, telling the truth to everyone I meet.  Love is real.  I will stand by you when you’re crazy, when you say the wrong words, and when you say the right words.  You matter to me.