verb
- treating or describing a non-medical condition or behavior as if it were a medical problem requiring medical intervention
Usage: present participle of medicalize; often used critically to describe the tendency to pathologize normal human experiences
Examples
- Critics argue that medicalizing childhood shyness has led to overdiagnosis of social anxiety disorder.
- The practice of medicalizing natural aging processes has become increasingly controversial.
- Some experts worry about medicalizing normal grief as depression.
- Medicalizing poverty as a health issue shifts focus away from systemic economic problems.
- The pharmaceutical industry has been accused of medicalizing everyday stress and sadness.
- Medicalizing ADHD in children remains a topic of ongoing debate among educators and physicians.