10 Ways American Horror Story Cult Explores Mental Illness In America Through Ally

Ivy used the C-word on her partner. She did…She referred to her behavior as crazy. Crazy does not come with glowing praise. Crazy is defined in dictionaries as mentally unsound, mentally unstable, dangerously unstable, or mentally deranged. However, the word’s thrown around like slang now, and Chris Voss, a former kidnapping negotiator for the FBI, described its current use in politics as a way to ignore, dismiss, or run away from uncomfortable issues and opinions. This use applies outside of politics as well.

Now, nothing is wrong with using crazy in other ways, such as talking about that crazy roller coaster ride, but crazy is often used in arguments. Crazy describes a person acting in ways someone can’t understand (or doesn’t want to). Crazy suppresses an opinion and labels that person as mentally unstable, discrediting them.

Ivy disarmed Ally, but it didn’t help Ivy understand Ally’s problems any better. Using labels like crazy, psycho, or insane shuts down the conversation. That’s how mental illness is treated in America. The crazy label creates an environment of don’t ask, don’t tell. A commentator in the American Journal of Psychiatry best explains this environment, describing the stigma as being so pervasive that those who deny it do so because shame is brought by admitting to mental illness.

The result: families with histories of mental illness don’t seek help and make it taboo to talk about, because they’re afraid of being shamed. That's how it's always been, and that's still how it is despite efforts to reduce stigma.