Freaking Out About France #3
I take a French class called “Keeping Up With French” where you bring an article to class each week to present to your classmates. It’s pretty cool because everyone brings very different articles based on what they’re interested in. For example, we’ve had articles on maple syrup-making in Quebec, the effects of climate change on Peruvian alpacas, the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks, and the differences between French and Belgian French. This week I found an article on OCD and I had to learn how to say it in French, which I can’t believe I didn’t know!
Anyway, this led me to translate the rest of my mental illnesses into French, which I present to you now:
⭐ Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Le trouble obsessionel-compulsif
⭐ Anxiety: L’anxiété (f)
⭐ Depression: La dépression
⭐ Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder: Le trouble déficitaire de l’attention avec hyperactivité
⭐ phobia: la phobie
⭐ panic attack: la crise d’angoisse/de panique
I couldn’t find a translation for BFRB (body-focused repetitive behavior). Maybe this disorder doesn’t exist in French. Obviously French people have BFRBs, but maybe it isn’t recognized as a disorder yet. So I’ve done my best to translate it, first as a more general term and then “BFRB” specifically:
⭐ skin picking/hair pulling disorder: le trouble d’enlever le peau/de tirer les cheveux
⭐ body-focused repetitive behavior: le comportement répétitif concentré sur le corps
This was a fun exercise in vocabulary. It should be useful if I end up having a panic attack and need to explain what’s happening to any concerned passerby (which has happened before).
You gotta laugh at yourself or you won’t have any fun.