What’s “Crazy”?

I s there a single definition of what it means to be “crazy”? Is using the word “crazy” offensive to those struggling with mental illness and something to be avoided? What does it mean for people when labels like “crazy” are attached to their everyday experiences?

One of the best ways to understand mental health is, of course, to start talking about it. The more we talk, the more it becomes clear that there’s no single definition of “crazy,” that there’s no single experience of “crazy,” and that the word “crazy” itself means different things to different people. Some avoid labels, while others embrace them. There is power in language, and there’s power in what a word or a label can mean to each person.

“Crazy” is not a singular—or definitive—experience.