Psychology students' disease... with a twist
Anyone ever hear of medical students' disease? Apparently, doctors in the general area of a medicine faculty can tell what is being taught during that period, because medical students start appearing, claiming to have whatever type of disease they are currently learning about. We all have a great many symptoms of anything when we're looking for them, it seems.
Psychology students, and particularly students of clinical psychology (that is, those of us who like to occupy their time with crazies) get that too, but with a twist. More than thinking we have a disorder ourselves, we start seeing them all around us. The socially awkward statistics professor? Clearly autistic. The housemate who can't decide on one boyfriend and changes her opinion of you at the speed of light? Borderline, obviously. Friend having a rough week? Better make sure she doesn't have a depression!
Maybe if we're really honest, we'll admit we see them in ourselves, too. I've recognized traits of autism in myself, and a fellow intern is fairly convinced she has ADHD. But really, mostly, we see them in others.
The thing is, while most people may not have a disorder that could or should be diagnosed, this recognition isn't necessarily wrong. The thing about mental disorders is that they're not a matter of you either have them or you don't - you have them to some extent. Mental disorders aren't some kind of completely alien state that some people are in and the rest of us aren't. Mental disorders are extremes of normal, healthy behavior.
For some disorders, this is easy to understand. We're all sad sometimes, and seeing depression as an extreme of that isn't that hard. And you can probably point out people in your surroundings who are more stable, and others who are less so, so seeing borderline personality disorder as an extreme of that isn't that far-fetched either.
For other problems, this may seem like a bold statement. After all, what's normal and healthy about hallucinations or having multiple personalities? But I think we've all had moments when you are convinced you see something, or hear someone call your name, and then find that you imagined it. And all of us are a bit of a different person when we're working than when we are with our lovers or friends.
So, if disorder are all extremes of normal behavior, where do you put the line? At what point does normal behavior become a disorder?
The answer to that is both simple and complicated: a disorder is when you're on such an extreme of normal behavior that you can't function anymore. What's complicated about that, you say? The part where different people need to be able to do different things to function, and have different definitions of functioning. If you're a surgeon who becomes afraid of open wounds after an accident, for example, that keeps you from performing your profession, and thus hinders your functioning. If you work at a bank, that same fear won't be so much of a problem, since you don't get in touch with open wounds a whole lot. In the first case, it will be considered a disorder. In the second, it won't. Being afraid of snakes is far more likely to be considered a disorder if you live in, say, the Australian Outback, where you are likely to actually encounter them, than if, like me, you live in north-western Europe, where you won't find any snakes until the greenhouse effect takes a better hold on us.
At the end of the day, though, there's really only one conclusion to be drawn: we're all crazy. Some of us are just more crazy than others.
Psychology students, and particularly students of clinical psychology (that is, those of us who like to occupy their time with crazies) get that too, but with a twist. More than thinking we have a disorder ourselves, we start seeing them all around us. The socially awkward statistics professor? Clearly autistic. The housemate who can't decide on one boyfriend and changes her opinion of you at the speed of light? Borderline, obviously. Friend having a rough week? Better make sure she doesn't have a depression!
Maybe if we're really honest, we'll admit we see them in ourselves, too. I've recognized traits of autism in myself, and a fellow intern is fairly convinced she has ADHD. But really, mostly, we see them in others.
The thing is, while most people may not have a disorder that could or should be diagnosed, this recognition isn't necessarily wrong. The thing about mental disorders is that they're not a matter of you either have them or you don't - you have them to some extent. Mental disorders aren't some kind of completely alien state that some people are in and the rest of us aren't. Mental disorders are extremes of normal, healthy behavior.
For some disorders, this is easy to understand. We're all sad sometimes, and seeing depression as an extreme of that isn't that hard. And you can probably point out people in your surroundings who are more stable, and others who are less so, so seeing borderline personality disorder as an extreme of that isn't that far-fetched either.
For other problems, this may seem like a bold statement. After all, what's normal and healthy about hallucinations or having multiple personalities? But I think we've all had moments when you are convinced you see something, or hear someone call your name, and then find that you imagined it. And all of us are a bit of a different person when we're working than when we are with our lovers or friends.
So, if disorder are all extremes of normal behavior, where do you put the line? At what point does normal behavior become a disorder?
The answer to that is both simple and complicated: a disorder is when you're on such an extreme of normal behavior that you can't function anymore. What's complicated about that, you say? The part where different people need to be able to do different things to function, and have different definitions of functioning. If you're a surgeon who becomes afraid of open wounds after an accident, for example, that keeps you from performing your profession, and thus hinders your functioning. If you work at a bank, that same fear won't be so much of a problem, since you don't get in touch with open wounds a whole lot. In the first case, it will be considered a disorder. In the second, it won't. Being afraid of snakes is far more likely to be considered a disorder if you live in, say, the Australian Outback, where you are likely to actually encounter them, than if, like me, you live in north-western Europe, where you won't find any snakes until the greenhouse effect takes a better hold on us.
At the end of the day, though, there's really only one conclusion to be drawn: we're all crazy. Some of us are just more crazy than others.
posted by Geerte at 7:49 PM
7 Comments:
That was an interesting read and well written too.
but but but ... you mean we're ALL crazy? :D
explains a lot .....
Yes, Shadow, we're all crazy - some crazies are just more socially acceptable than others :)
Very nice! I'll be a regular reader.
That's what it comes down to often, isn't it? Whether your brand of crazy is socially acceptable.
I have a friend who is somewhat obsessive about a couple of things. He recognizes it, states it up front, and then lets you decide whether to accept him with it, or not. He doesn't apologize for it, he just says "This is how I am, I deal with it the best I can, I ask you to do the same." And that's how he builds his social circle.
So let's all be crazy together! I think it's more fun that way. :D
What happened to normality - or the definition of it anyway?
Would it not be more intricate to explore life from that angle - who knows the discussion might go broad enough to encompass the creational intent for every living creature as well?
Interesting...
There is always a curve where the compact majority is....p>.05 can tell us also....we are crazy depending with many factors ...some religious practices are crazy to some people , cultural practices are crazy to some....family set ups could look so crazy. Individual believes crazy....but that which impares basic functions for a specified period of time satisfies abnormality
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