Comments | threejane: happy new year

threejane

happy new year

Jan 26, 2009 10:06

Today is my abnormal psychology class. I told everyone in the house that the textbook was dangerous and probably should be avoided. Scary pictures. Worse: descriptions of psychiatric illnesses so vague that everything seems to apply to the reader.

Comments 9

achadachad January 26 2009, 16:16:46 UTC

: )

my lecturer in the subject told us all that if we *didn't* think we had at least five of the conditions described therein, then we weren't reading it closely enough

threejane January 27 2009, 19:00:20 UTC

Heh. =)

bkwyrm January 26 2009, 17:30:01 UTC

My babysitter is a grad student in psychology. She says one of the hazards of this course of study is mentally diagnosing everyone she meets with a psychiatric disorder.

threejane January 27 2009, 19:07:50 UTC

Yeah. I can see how that could happen. My interest is less in how a person has maladaptive behaviors or cognitions and more in how the person copes. What are his adaptive behaviors and thoughts? How has he managed life so far? That kind of thing ....

xi_o_teaz January 26 2009, 19:03:55 UTC

I remember that from my Abnormal Psych class. It's similar to the way med students think they have all of these medical conditions once they start learning all the terms and symptoms.

I'm a firm believer that everyone has many of the aspects of many of these mental illnesses. The litmus test is to ask yourself, "Are these things creating maladaptive barriers to my life?"

Generally, they aren't, so I treat them as "eccentricities," and reminders that none of us is insane-proof ;-)

threejane January 27 2009, 19:01:53 UTC

Yeah. I think that there is a pretty broad spectrum of health.

helios137 January 26 2009, 23:04:41 UTC

You are braver than I. I'd spend the entire semester self diagnosing myself.

threejane January 27 2009, 19:03:46 UTC

Well. It is a required course. The title itself bothers me. I don't think the word 'abnormal' is respectful. It maybe could be called something like Diagnostic Criteria.

helios137 January 27 2009, 20:10:57 UTC

Yes, I agree. Maybe deviation something or other. In NJ we changed our anti-discrimination laws to get rid of the word "handicapped" and replaced it with "disabled".

Now, to balance this post out, here's a totally irreverent take on the term "abnormal."

From "Young Frankenstein":
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: [to Igor] Now that brain that you gave me. Was it Hans Delbruck's?
Igor: [pause, then] No.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Ah! Very good. Would you mind telling me whose brain I DID put in?
Igor: Then you won't be angry?
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: I will NOT be angry.
Igor: Abby Someone.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: [pause, then] Abby Someone. Abby who?
Igor: Abby Normal.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: [pause, then] Abby Normal?
Igor: I'm almost sure that was the name.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: [chuckles, then] Are you saying that I put an abnormal brain into a seven and a half foot long, fifty-four inch wide GORILLA?
[grabs Igor and starts throttling him]
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Is that what you're telling me?