what other words are you referring to that mean the same thing but aren't as-much-or-more associated with actual mental illnesses?

Well, I mean the words that are generally more accurate than "Crazy". Crazy gets used to mean ridiculous, illogical, energetic, stupid, ill-founded, etc, none of which are associated with mental illness. In this case, "Crazy" is used to mean misaligned, askew, etc, again, not associated with mental illness. It's, in fact, the association with mental illness that gives crazy its meaning, when used that way.