"That just gave me PTSD:" Why do we all use trauma-talk?

Cathy Huang
Mar 5
5 min read

After coming across a recent short video by Adam Aleksic (@etymologynerd) on Instagram about the increasing use of mental health language in everyday conversation, I quickly realized that I have participated and/or contributed to this growing phenomenon. I can think back to moments in fifth or sixth grade when I would toss out my newly-acquired vocabulary of what I then thought of as “sophisticated” and “adult” terms such as “depression” and “anxiety” to express my pre-pubescent emotions histrionically in front of my classmates. I interpreted such language as innocuous and just humorous-with-a-tinge-of-self-deprecation until relatively recently; I was mildly surprised to be reminded that this language I use(d) melodramatically retains its medical significance, as described by Aleksic: The way someone would sigh, “Oh my gosh, that gave me trauma,” after a poorly-done and tough school exam actually has a name - it’s called “concept creep.”

“Concept creep” is the process by which mental health-related concepts go through semantic expansion to encompass a much broader range of phenomena than initially envisaged. Usually, concept creep occurs to harm-related concepts such as mental disability, debilitating conditions, and scarring experiences. For example, think of how one would casually say, “The rainy weather makes me so depressed,” or “This is child abuse!” perhaps without diagnosed seasonal affective disorder (seasonal depression) or when, really, the parent was just neglectful. Nicholas Haslam first identified this phenomenon in his 2016 research paper “Concept Creep: Psychology's Expanding Concepts of Harm and Pathology.”

Haslam explains that there are two main variations of concept creep. First is vertical expansion, which occurs when the behavior qualifying for a phenomenon becomes less extreme. The threshold for identifying the abuse is lowered, and its semantic relationship extends to milder variants of what it originally referred to. For example, trauma can now be referred to as any deeply uncomfortable experience instead of a life-threatening event. Second is horizontal expansion, when a concept extends to a “qualitatively new class of phenomena” or is applied in a new context. For example, neglect, traditionally a separate category, came to be seen as a type of abuse, too.

Why does concept creep happen?

Even before learning about concept creep, I simply understood its effects as a reality that we live in, a fact of life, not thinking too deeply about how my new vocabulary came to be. Haslam endorses two main theories about how concept creep came to be.

One concerns an ideological explanation. “Psychology has played a role in the liberal agenda of sensitivity to harm and responsiveness to the harmed,” Haslam writes, “and its increased focus on negative phenomena—harms such as abuse, addiction, bullying, mental disorder, prejudice, and trauma—has been symptomatic of the success of that social agenda.” In our increasingly left-leaning Gen Z online community, certain liberal agendas may have influenced a shift toward harm and mental health-conscious discussion. But this theory is particular to the idea of “harm” related concepts creeping - Haslam’s other theory provides a more conceptual and systematic overview that concerns the academic field of psychology, its incentives, and its implications in a sociological context. “It could be argued that just as successful species increase their territory, invading and adapting to new habitats, successful concepts and disciplines also expand their range into new semantic niches,” he theorizes. “Concepts that successfully attract the attention of researchers and practitioners are more likely to be applied in new ways and new contexts than those that do not.”

I would also like to present my own, more exhaustive theory by combining aspects of Haslam’s two theories. The expansionary logic is simple. As more research is dedicated to mental health, coupled with the left-leaning, mental health-focused political trend, mainstream understanding (and hence usage) of these terms must also rise.

There is a critical intermediate step we might overlook in rising concept creep, just why people use these harm-related terms so much; just because we have this knowledge doesn’t mean we always utilize it. In other words, in what context do people feel inclined to use these harm-related terms when other, equally adequate, and generally benign substitutes exist?

Concept creep in the age of social media

A theory that first came to me was very simple: we can explain concept creep using the framework of social media trends. Identifying new mental health terms will increase discussion around mental health while using those exact terms. Parts of the general public will also understand and apply such terms in daily contexts. The internet’s affinity for novelty is like crows’ attraction to shiny objects; we must collect them because they are just so cool. Then, using these terms becomes another trend, and our neophilia fuels the perpetuation of another, maybe-not-so-good idea. This theory will lead to the discussion of another highly contentious issue in social media: is mental disorder just a trend? No matter one’s opinion, it is important to understand that whatever netizens come across on social media will inevitably spark a bubbling discussion.

However, the extended and continued use of these harm-related terms sometimes puzzles me; just because we know it doesn’t mean we will always talk about it, like, in a good chunk of our daily conversations. Then, another theory came to me from my introspection. It accounts for the individual instances of concept creep: maybe we’re just trying to be funny. When I use these terms, it is nothing more than a hyperbole with which I can make my friends laugh. Maybe it is that simple: humans have always found exaggerations and hyperbole funny. For example, telling a friend, “Mr. So-and-So’s class was traumatizing,” is just funnier than saying, “Mr. So-and-So’s class was really bad.” Whereas the latter statement might inspire genuine inquiry and concern for one’s education, the former will induce a chuckle from both parties.

I don’t think we need to delve into why we find exaggeration of harm-related experiences funny because, throughout literature, hyperbole has always been used to add humor. While it may be meaningful to trace concept creep into the exacerbation of mental disorder discussion on social media, it is also equally valid that humans have a slightly odd sense of humor. The words “nervous,” “sad,” and “bad,” don’t show up as often as we would expect them to now, and maybe it’s just because we’ve gotten funnier.

Conclusion

It would be remiss to complete this article without discussing the social implications of concept creep. For one, concept creep can be entirely benign. Haslam writes that concept creep “defines previously tolerated forms of abusive, domineering, and discriminatory behavior as problematic and extends professional care to people who experience adversity.” So, in one way, concept creep can be a great way to increase awareness of abuse, trauma, and harm in the general public. At the same time, oversensitivity can have significant adverse effects. For example, “by applying concepts of abuse, bullying, and trauma to less severe and clearly defined actions and events, and by increasingly including subjective elements into them, concept creep may release a flood of unjustified accusations and litigation, as well as excessive and disproportionate enforcement regimes.” Furthermore, concept creep can produce a kind of semantic dilution. Haslam writes, “If trauma, for example, ceases to refer exclusively to terrifying events that are outside normal human experience and is applied to less severe and more prevalent stresses, it will come to be seen in a more benign light.” This may cause those needing help to feel helpless and unable to receive the support they need from family and friends – which has serious impacts.

In conclusion, content creep is a curious phenomenon that we know so little about despite it being so prominent in our lives. It is even more fascinating how such a subtle detail in our language can be analyzed using social, psychological, and linguistic factors. Research into content creep reflects the unique qualities of our social systems as technology and mental health awareness reach a height never seen before.