Critical Shifts
Stigma and Language
What is Stigma and Language?
Language has a deep impact on people. It can be used intentionally or inadvertently to incite feelings of shame, hopelessness and isolation.
Stigma can be reduced by changing the words used in service settings and interpersonal relationships.
Key
Critical Shift: Critical Shifts focus on ‘what’ rather than ‘how’ and take us from the current state to an ideal future state. It identifies specific problems and priority spaces to focus on to design solutions.
Idea: This is one key idea identified through a series of interconnected design workshops with people involved in the Life Promotion and Suicide Prevention Collaborative.
Opportunity: A series of concepts and solutions to inspire and drive change.
Context: Statements that give context and create an understanding of the current state.
Action: A prompt to consider where to place the emphasis of action and who else might be interested in a move to the ideal ‘future state’.
