Don’t dramatise

We all sometimes have a tendency to exaggerate a little. This is especially noticeable in the way the media use emotional phrases or hyperboles in order to create a story that will attract the largest number of readers or viewers. That’s why they tend to use dramatic phrases such as “a wheelchair-bound person” instead of the neutral “wheelchair user”. These words seem similar, but the subtext is completely different, isn’t it? After all, a wheelchair user isn’t bound to anything, they’re not a prisoner. A wheelchair is simply an instrument that helps them get around. Or take for example the commonly used phrase “deadly diagnosis”. What does that actually mean? People with an incurable disease can sometimes live for decades, and not even doctors can give an accurate prognosis. That’s why we should be mindful of our words and try not to stray from the facts.