Popular Psychology or Pop Psychology has come to the forefront due to the upcoming fame acquired by consultants, authors, lecturers and entertainers who have provided insights and knowledge to the general public about human behaviour and mental health. Because of this, many psychological and clinical terms that have been utilised by professionals have now become popularised language amongst the masses.
This movement has been great to help people understand aspects of themselves, others and their relationships better. Many of the psychological concepts that have been popularised can hold seeds of truth for some. They are appealing to people because some terms have been oversimplified and sometimes offer quick fixes for complex things. However, in some cases they can be harmful and misleading as the public misinterpret certain concepts and utilise them in a dismissive fashion to describe mental health conditions about themselves and others, or provide unrealistic solutions to complex scenarios. Many psychological ‘buzz words’ and catch phrases are now often used by the public that are not proven and misconstrued.
Common subjects include the power of positive thinking manifestation, trauma, narcissism, gaslighting, toxicity, anxiety, trauma and more.
Some examples of Pop Psychology and Actual Psychology are briefly differentiated below.
Pop Psychology | ACTUAL Psychology |
| You can manifest anything in your life through the power of your thoughts ‘you attract what you think’. | All thoughts are ok. Intrusive and negative thoughts won’t mean bad things will happen. Your thoughts impact your internal reality and not always your external world. Attracting what you want also requires discipline and behavioural action. |
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| The goal in life is to ‘strive to be happy’, this will mean I’m fully healed. | Learning to sit with difficult thoughts and emotions is more realistic and helpful than avoiding discomfort and manifesting ‘happy’. You are not going to heal yourself out of the human experience. |
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| Gaslighting is when someone lies to you and tries to convince you that you’re wrong. | Gaslighting is an elaborate strategy when you are manipulated to question your reality, memory and even sanity- not just a strong disagreement over what happened. |
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| People who are rude, self-centered and mean are narcissists. | Everyone can have some narcissist traits, and many people who appear rude, unpleasant or abusive are not necessarily narcissists. Narcissistic personality disorder is a clinical diagnosis and doesn’t always lead to abusive behaviour. |
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| Being triggered means that something makes you uncomfortable or annoyed. | A trigger is something that causes a sudden onset of symptoms like a flashback in PTSD or compulsions in OCD. |
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| Anything that hurts you is trauma. | Anything that overwhelms your ability to cope and function on a daily basis can be traumatic. Trauma has long lasting impacts and goes beyond ordinary struggles and adversity. |
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| I have anxiety. | I may be overwhelmed by my current set of circumstances and have difficulty managing my emotions. Anxiety disorders are a group of mental health conditions that cause fear, dread and other symptoms that are out of proportion to the situation. |
So, to recap;
Everyone you dislike or disagree with is not a narcissist or toxic.
Every emotionally unpleasant experience is not trauma.
Having needs met is not codependency.
Disagreement is not gaslighting.
Conflict is not always abusive.
Taking offence is not being triggered.
Anxiety is not something you have; it is often unhelpful feelings and thoughts you have towards something or someone which may be appropriate given the circumstances.
The above differentiations are not to be dismissive of the need to seek treatment from a psychologist for overwhelming thoughts/feelings, conflicts within relationships and having to process emotions that are hurtful. In fact, it is indeed beneficial for everyone to do so as your treating professional will guide and help you gain insight into the circumstances that may be troubling you in order to process them in a healthy way.
Most importantly your treating professional will also provide you with perspectives and insights that are unique to you and your situation, that may or may not always require the fixation of clinical labels or psychological buzz words.