The Havering Crowd
haver – verb
gerund or present participle: havering
[Scottish] talk foolishly; babble.
“Tom havered on.”
[British] act in a vacillating or indecisive manner.
“Most people giggle at their havering and indecision.”
Psychiatry and psychology employ havering as a method of professional communication. Otherwise known as “psychobabble,” this speech mechanism can put those unaware of its nature in a confused state.
psychobabble – noun
a form of speech or writing that uses psychological jargon, buzzwords, and esoteric language to create an impression of truth or plausibility
Googling the word “psychobabble” returns 456,000 results. It’s a popular pastime.
The word “psychobabble” came into popular use after the 1977 publication of Psychobabble: Fast Talk and Quick Cure in the Era of Feeling by R. D. Rosen, leading to another interesting definition: jargon speech that is heavily based on experience and emotion instead of well-known science.
Here is an example: bipolar. Yes, the word “bipolar” is a classic example of psychobabble, because when people claim they are bipolar they’re really saying that they are just moody. Saying you’re bipolar abdicates all responsibility for the control of your emotions.
Scanning the brains of children and adolescents labeled with ADHD is one of the latest psychobabble ideas being used in an attempt to bring some credibility to this fraudulent diagnosis, demonstrating that psychiatrists are still looking for an answer to justify the widespread drugging of children and adolescents.
Of course, the biggest psychobabble scam is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). And if you chewed on a page from the DSM while reciting one of its fraudulent diagnoses, you could be accused of havering your babble and eating it, too.