How do you feel about this use of the word schizophrenic?

In my opinion, it just doesn’t make much sense. I suppose if you look at what schizophrenia is and put it in the context, it could work, but there are so many words that work better. Why use something that nobody else will understand? haha

It maddens me.
It is too often that journalists use this word lightly to make for a catchy head.
I am sure there must be synonyms or other descriptions present if you want to write a piece in which you want to describe that a situation is schizophrenic?
The same madding feeling I get from that new producer totally raped that song.

Obviously used by someone who hasn’t even read a pamphlet on what schizophrenia is. Tactless as I find it, bipolar would have been more accurate. It’s not only tactless, but such an uninformed use that it actually confuses the crap out of the reader, when they were going for the opposite of instantly and perfectly portraying an idea in a witty and funny manner.

Tactless is putting it mildly.

I think in the context the man used is an OK characterization of the crazy, contradictory attitude(s) of the current stock market conditions and the people who are involved in the market.

”“The market is schizophrenic the way investors are getting overly panicked and overly excited,” said Tyler Vernon, CIO of Biltmore Capital. ”

Perhaps you need to be an investor to better appreciate the symbolism of employing this word in that statement.

Not a good word to use for that.

Like just about every other formal diagnosis, people will misuse it. I have complained about that here, with such things as narcissistic and passive-aggressive. They hear a word and have a vague idea what it refers to, and use it with reckless abandon.

@YARNLADY Narcissistic and passive-aggressive aren’t diagnoses.

@Aethelflaed what? Yes, they are

@YARNLADY No. They both have personality disorders named after them (though, passive-aggressive personality disorder is only for countries that use the ICD, whereas the States use the DSM; we used to have it but removed it in 1994), but alone are simply personality traits that all humans have to varying degrees. Unless someone specifies personality disorder, they aren’t talking diagnosis, just personality trait/behavior.

In my opinion, a better word than “schizophrenic” to describe Wall Street would be the word “fickle”.

When I use it I always think of a friend who used that name in a game. Has no other meaning for me whatsoever [the disease and all].

As a person who has schizophrenia, it maddens me greatly.

It bothers me a lot because it’s simply inaccurate and not what the word means. It’s a medical diagnosis that is reasonably specific. My brother has schizophrenia and the continued use of the word as a term or metaphor for spit personality or being of two minds makes it only more difficult to hope that the public will ever be educated about and understand the true nature of the disease.

@Aethelflaed is right. Bipolar is a better word for it. Or Manic Depressive.

@lillycoyote It’s a huge pet peeve of mine when people use schizophrenic to mean dissociative identity disorder.

It’s the wrong usage, first of all, when the writer means something more akin to a violent mood swing, so even with the idea of a dissociative identity disorder, it’s wrong.

And to use such words regarding the stock market is indicative of lazy writing.