Normality vs Abnormality

     I always have hard time with these two terms. Now I even felt more confused when the DSM 5 does involve the cultural aspect in the assessment and diagnosis. The line between normality and abnormality is too vague, too ambiguous and too subjective to understand. I don't know what will change when the culture really play into it. While I was assessing my client, I knew what was deviant from the social norm, but did it have to be pathologized?

     I heard a few clients telling me how upset they were because the way the society was operating. They did not understand why people do not have empathy to each other, why the society was cruel and indifferent, and why the institution was not fair at all. Do these things sound abnormal? Or they just pointed out what everybody else had in their minds as well? They need help because they were unable to resolve these conflicts in their lives. They could not just ignore them or pretended they did not exist.

     Weirdly, I felt entirely resonated with their voices. I understood them because I had the similar thoughts and reflections. However, my life was not a disaster because I had capabilities of resolving the disharmony between the social norm and myself. I could just be on top of the game and call those people fool. I did not have to feel constrained by the society. I feel my freedom to do whatever I like.

     Sometimes I even felt I was much closer to those abnormal people than normal people, which I mean those people just comply with everything that other people tell them to do. If you do not think or you do not make a judgment, you have no difference from machines. The system is not always right, even the justice system. If you just follow whatever they say to you, one day you might just become one cruel killer even though you are not literally killing anyone. You might indirectly kill people because you help some people do something immoral.

     The three important parts of diagnosis are emotional distress, social unacceptability and impairments on occupational and social functioning. Somehow, the unfriendly attitudes towards those people who need help can really exacerbate their situations. They feel isolated and misunderstood because no one is willing to listen to them. They are afraid of tell people their issues because people would label them with stigma, like they must be insane, crazy and so on. What if it is not the truth? No, it is not the truth.

     The fact is that they are way more sane and stable than normal people as long as they have resources to stabilize themselves, including counseling services, medication and social support system. The disorders do not equal their whole lives. What I was afraid of was if it was out society that drove those people crazy. Researches have showed that many disorders do not have descriptions or the contents of symptoms in common except for Schizophrenia cross cultures.

     At times I felt my voice was deprived while I was listening to people or seeing people making comments about people with mental disorders. I felt angry towards myself because I should have do something to justify for them. But I did nothing at that time. That was why I wrote this for myself to remind myself what I want to change.