Letter: Avoid stigmatizing mental illness

EDITOR,
I agreed with every word of Claudio Sebastian Nobile’s letter to the editor (“Reading stunt sets bad example,” Letters, May 4) until the last sentence, in which he stated “…be more like an adult, not like a crazy person.” I take issue with the word “crazy,” as it perpetuates the stigma of mental illness. A better way to express himself might have been “not like a person with poor judgment.” As the mother of two young girls myself, I am teaching them that it is not OK to use the word “crazy,” as it is derogatory. I hope Mr. Nobile, as a parent himself, will act as a good role model to his girls when it comes to using appropriate language and helping our world break the stigma of mood disorders.
Dyane Leshin-Harwood, Ben Lomond