Let's diagnose you!

Today I stayed home sick. Yes, I was legitimately sick. During the whole of the day, I went outside once for about 10 minutes (to eat my lunch in the sun), checked my email several times, but mainly laid in my bed and slept. It is 7:15pm right now and the only social contact I have had has been with my roommate Maggie ever since she got home around 6:30. And, I have to say; having no social contact with anyone all day has been great! No polite smiles to strangers, no pleasantries to coworkers on the sidewalks, no double checks on my sweater to see if someone saw that I spilled food on it again, and no driving anxiety which often necessitates the giving of the bird to some reckless jack-ass. No, I was forced to do none of these things today because of my simple hermitage. Does this make me prone to agoraphobia? Or maybe true misanthropy? I mean, I always been deeply disturbed by the actions of many people and felt a general apathy towards lots of people. And if I am a misanthrope does that I mean I am a sociopath? Can I actually truly relate to people or is it just a pretend game to accomplish a means to an end? Sociopaths are usually serial killers, too..... uh oh. Am I going to be the next Bay Harbor Butcher? Whoa guys, this is a serious thought. I mean seriously, do I need medication? Should I see a therapist?

Hell no.

Not that I shouldn't see a therapist for other reasons. Actually I think everyone could benefit from going to talk to someone and gaining insight on themselves. But, back to the main idea here; diagnosing others.

Which brings me to my next monologue.....

Although I was a psychology major and work in mental health, I can't stand it when people in my field (mental health and/or social work) try to diagnose EVERYTHING. It's so obnoxious. First of all, in order to diagnose someone you have to gather lots of information and truly understand that person's motivations, emotions, and actions. That is an extremely tall order. Even with the schooling and education on diagnosing, different psychologists notoriously have different diagnoses for the SAME person because you know what? They are human and every individual has their own interpretations of reality. I find that a lot of therapists and mental health workers spend endless amounts of time trying to figure out the diagnosis of a person while simultaneously limiting their efforts in thinking about what they can do to help this person move forward, be more functional. I find it really repulsive that they are constantly feeding their "knowledge ego" (you know.... "I know more than you" ego) while forgetting what it is they are actually supposed to be doing professionally: helping someone.

Also, diagnosing someone is a label. A label that might enable or disable that person later on in life depending how the cookie crumbles. It is serious business. A lot of mental health providers that are so used to slapping labels and explanations on everything that they become desensitized to this process.

Anyhow, I am going to get off my soapbox now and leave you with a picture from one of my favorite movies regarding "mental health."

You know, maybe I really am a misanthrope but chances are that all my friends are too at one moment or another. Everyone has varying emotions, motivations and actions depending on the day. The only constant in life is change.