We’ve all got one -- a whack job friend or relative. A loved (or just liked a whole lot) one who seems to perennially act badly, chronically offensive, always troubled, incapable of making good choices, eternally struggling in their navigation of the gator infested swamp of our social existences. Hell, often as not, they’re the gators even though they don’t intend this. Necessarily.
What I want to know is WHY.
Why does cousin Fred so often behave like a selfish, insufferably entitled, I’m-the-center-of-the-universe twat?
Why does niece Tina think she can maliciously insult me, her sister and others, often and with impunity?
Why does brother Gerry never, ever offer a kind word when I’m having difficult times despite the fact that I’m there for him?
Why does friend Carl all too often sleep so much that he misses class, work and family responsibilities?
Why can’t Candy be relied on to make a smart choice about anything? Men, work, breakfast cereals, child rearing, drapes -- if there’s a poor choice on the table, she’ll snag it.
I want to know why and how someone becomes so consistently troubled, skunk fartingly inept and /or flat out vile spirited and self involved.
I feel that if I can find a diagnosis, a label, I’ll understand. I may not want to have the person more present in my life but if I can unravel the mystery of their behaviors I can then...what? Fix them? Dunno. Maybe I just want a map so that I can more happily steer through the mucky and occasionally shark filled waters of our relationship.
Naturally I ramped up the Google fu and went hunting.
At the Mayo Clinic site I found:
Meredith Bower, a science writer/researcher at discovery.com wrote an article listing The 10 Most Diagnosed Mental Disorders.
Most of us briefly fall into one or more of these categories. So, what’s normal, indeed.
For my part, I'm with Ms. Fisher:
What I want to know is WHY.
Why does cousin Fred so often behave like a selfish, insufferably entitled, I’m-the-center-of-the-universe twat?
Why does niece Tina think she can maliciously insult me, her sister and others, often and with impunity?
Why does brother Gerry never, ever offer a kind word when I’m having difficult times despite the fact that I’m there for him?
Why does friend Carl all too often sleep so much that he misses class, work and family responsibilities?
Why can’t Candy be relied on to make a smart choice about anything? Men, work, breakfast cereals, child rearing, drapes -- if there’s a poor choice on the table, she’ll snag it.
I want to know why and how someone becomes so consistently troubled, skunk fartingly inept and /or flat out vile spirited and self involved.
I feel that if I can find a diagnosis, a label, I’ll understand. I may not want to have the person more present in my life but if I can unravel the mystery of their behaviors I can then...what? Fix them? Dunno. Maybe I just want a map so that I can more happily steer through the mucky and occasionally shark filled waters of our relationship.
Naturally I ramped up the Google fu and went hunting.
At the Mayo Clinic site I found:
Mental health: What's normal, what's notGreat. Just great.
What's the difference between mental health and mental illness?
Sometimes the answer is clear, but often the distinction between mental
health and mental illness isn't so obvious. For example, if you're
afraid of giving a speech in public, does it mean you have a mental
health condition or a run-of-the-mill case of nerves? Or, when does
shyness become a case of social phobia?
Why is it so tough to tell what's normal?
It's often difficult to distinguish normal mental health from mental illness because there's no easy test to show if something's wrong.
Meredith Bower, a science writer/researcher at discovery.com wrote an article listing The 10 Most Diagnosed Mental Disorders.
1. Mood DisordersTheir are no clear, simple answers. As usual.
In addition to bipolar disorder, mood disorders include major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder.
Major depression, characterized by persistently sad, hopeless and worthless feelings, is a debilitating illness that usually reoccurs throughout a person's lifetime.
2. Personality Disorders
Antisocial personality disorder refers to those people who have little regard for the feelings of others. They often display criminal behavior and show no remorse.Avoidant personality disorder is a diagnosis given to people who are anxious and often over-controlled, resulting in a fear of criticism and hesitation to become involved with others.Borderline personality disorder causes people to be unstable and impulsive, resulting in suicide threats or attempts. They fear abandonment and find it difficult to maintain stable relationships.
3. Eating Disorders
4. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
5. Phobias
6. Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders include an alphabet soup of names: OCD, PTSD and GAD.
7. Panic Disorder
Rapid heart beat. Shortness of breath. Nausea and dizziness. Weakness. Sweatiness. Tingling hands. Chest pains. Smothering sensations. Loss of control. Terror.Panic attacks are a very real, physical manifestation of fear. During a severe panic attack, you might believe that you're having a heart attack, losing your mind or even about to die.
8. Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is one of several mood disorders that leaves people with emotions swinging from abnormally high (manic) to dangerously low (depressive).
“I thought I would inaugurate a Bipolar Pride Day. You know, with floats and parades and stuff! On the floats we would get the depressives, and they wouldn’t even have to leave their beds - we’d just roll their beds out of their houses, and they could continue staring off miserably into space. And then for the manics, we’d have the manic marching band, with manics laughing and talking and shopping and fucking and making bad judgment calls.” -- Carrie Fisher9. Schizophrenia
10. Autism Spectrum Disorders
Asperger’s Syndrome falls under this last heading
Most of us briefly fall into one or more of these categories. So, what’s normal, indeed.
For my part, I'm with Ms. Fisher:
“I feel I'm very sane about how crazy I am.”Manic Depression -- Jimi Hendrix
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