More and more I see patients coming in using therapy terminology with no understanding of what these words actually mean in psychology.

I am incredibly happy that more people are

invested in learning more about mental health and being open about it. But I am

not happy with terms being diluted to the point where they become meaningless.

That's why on this episode of Savvy Psychologist I'm going to break down terms that I hear misused all the time and tell you what they actually mean.

Welcome back to Savvy Psychologist. I'm your host Dr. Monica Johnson.

Every week on this show I'll help you face life challenges with evidence-based approaches,

a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

The first term we will discuss is toxic.

Full disclosure, I was listening to Toxic by Brittany Spears while discussing this one.

This term is more generic, but since I hear it all the time, I am including it in the list.

When we discuss a toxic environment or relationship from a therapeutic sense, it's usually in the context of a truly abusive situation where the injurious

person in the environment may have the intention of causing harm. However, when folks use

the term with me much of the time, they are using it to describe anything that they don't like.

And that is a definite misuse of the word.

For instance, you may dislike the way your boss is communicating with you,

but is that because they are truly engaging

in a problematic conversational style?

Or did you just not like what they said?

Secondarily, in some of these so-called toxic situations,

you, the universal you, may be the one instigating the unhealthy nature of their relationship dynamic.

Going back to Toxic by Brittany Spears, the lyrics go,

...