Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Pigeonhole diagnosis

Some people wonder why I want to be out at all -- if I am successfully passing and living a fulfilling life, why not just keep doing that? Part of me likes the fun and intrigue involved in my attempts to pass and the ability to hide in plain sight. Part of me is also resentful of the mental energy required for that task. I wonder what my life and brain would look like if I didn't feel compelled to mask certain things and constantly be putting on a show. If I've managed a certain level of success from without the system, what might I be able to accomplish within?

I was reading this Wired article by David Dobbs, author of the well-known article in the Atlantic comparing children to either Orchids or Dandelions (which are sociopath children? the answer may surprise you). In this article he discusses how our society treats those with mental illnesses, specifically schizophrenia:


A large  World Health Organization study, for instance, found that “Whereas 40 percent of schizophrenics in industrialized nations were judged over time to be ‘severely impaired,’ only 24 percent of patients in the poorer countries ended up similarly disabled.’ Their symptoms also differed, in the texture, intensity, and subject matter to their hallucinations or paranoia, for instance. And most crucially, in many cases their mental states did not disrupt their connections to family and society.

Watters, curious about all this, went to Zanzibar to see how all this worked. He learned that there, schizophrenia was seen partly as an especially intense inhabitation of spirits — bad mojo of the sort everyone had, as it were. This led people to see psychotic episodes  less as complete breaks from reality than a passing phenomena, somewhat as we might view, say, a friend or coworker’s intermittent memory lapses.

For instance, in one household Watters came to know well, a woman with schizophrenia, Kimwana,


was allowed to drift back and forth from illness to relative health without much monitoring or comment by the rest of the family. Periods of troubled behavior were not greeted with expressions of concern or alarm, and neither were times of wellness celebrated. As such, Kimwana felt little pressure to self-identify as someone with a permanent mental illness.

This was rooted partly in the idea of spirit possession already mentioned, and partly to an accepting fatalism in the brand of Sunni that the family practiced. Allah, they believed, would not burden any one person with more than she could carry. So they carried on, in acceptance rather than panic. As a result, this delusional, hallucinating, sometimes disoriented young woman passed into and out of her more disoriented mental states while still keeping her basic place in family, village, and work life, rather than being cast aside. Almost certainly as a result, she did not feel alienated, and her hallucinations did not include the sort of out-to-get-me kind that mark paranoid schizophrenics in the West.

This, writes Watters in enormous understatement, “stood in contrast with the diagnosis of schizophrenia as [used] in the West. There the diagnosis carries the assumption of a chronic condition, one that often comes to define a person.”


Of course I'm not stupid about wanting to out myself completely and without proper care. Dobbs goes on to describe the complete ostracizing of a Western schizophrenic from her friends and academic community upon her diagnosis. But I do wonder what effects struggling to conform to a particular societal standard of superficial normality has had on me. Perhaps I wonder so much because my family actually is really supportive, like the family of the woman Kimwana. I often credit their support for how I turned out, particularly their religious beliefs that I would not be burdened with more than I could carry. And so my sociopathy does not define me. I wonder if society were equally supportive, what a difference that might make?

72 comments:

  1. guten morgen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf2dGbRjc-M

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    1. Aah, nothing like a little Rammstein to start off the day. Good morning Rembrant.

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  2. :) Good Morning Sociopathworld!!!!

    I found out what is wrong with my tooth, it is an abscess. It says online that it can happen from tooth decay or if your tooth is cracked or broken, and the exact spot where the abscess is, is where my tooth that broke in half is. I broke that tooth like two years ago though and I have never had a problem with it til now.

    But I have some ULTRA strong Antibiotics (Augmentin and Amoxicillin for when I run out if the Augmentin), so Iam hoping it will get better.

    But enough about me, how are you all today?

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    1. i have a yeast infection. Should I put an onion in my underwears?

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    2. LOL I dont know about that, maybe you should do some research..... LOL

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    3. no you need to put me in your underwear

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    4. But I have many pairS in all different colours..

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    5. lets play dressup

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  3. When I read ME's article, I think of the first edition of The Primal Scream by Janov. He changed it, due to political correctness, in later versions.

    I don't know why I remembered this so well, as it was before I got to SW.

    A man who was undergoing Primal Therapy was a sociopath. He had the most intense pain of anyone in the book.

    He had so much pain that he could not stand up and fell to the floor, writhing like a snake. However, afterwards, he was not a "sociopath".

    I am only reporting what the book said, not giving my own opinion.

    I can say that I have tried to make my own primal therapy program for my PD. It has worked to take me to a new level of emotional health.

    I got another book which tells you how to do your "at home" Primal Therapy~

    I have been doing it for 3 years. I am starting to feel as if my PD is almost gone.

    I know that sounds weird and it is weird, I suppose. However, I believe there is a way to heal everything, if one can only find the key

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    1. Have you looked at the pronoun density in your posts, one of the major signs of narcissism, which is, by the way, a clinical measure. It's used in testing narcissism. Pronoun density means how many times you say "me," "my," "I," and "myself," in a single sentence, unnecessarily. In places where you could have substituted other, more appropriate pronouns.

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    2. Yes, Genius. There would be pronoun density when ONE is talking about ONESELF ~

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    3. she just SAID it is P E R S O N a L . A narcissist would have insisted her way is the best, should work for everyone, if it doesn't then they are doing it wrong or not as good as it as she, or zomthg equally as annoying. -Like saying one should study the bible to learn morals ...

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  4. Good Morning Rich and SW!!!

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    1. Hey Monica Good afternoon, I couldnt sleep at night last night from the pain so I slept today, I think it is getting better :)

      How are you?

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  5. Is this seriously newsworthy?

    Fucking stupid Westerners. These loonies have been around since humanity has been around. There weren't always psyche wards and prozac. How do you think they incorporated such people into their societies, I mean, really?

    This is some fucking revolutionary research~

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    1. Meh. It's not nearly as bad as some research done these days. Try looking up the Ig Nobel awards some time. Now there is seriously revolutionary research~

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/6223831/Pointless-research-top-10-Ig-Nobel-award-winners-for-silly-science.html

      At least ME made it sound interesting. True, there were not always psyche wards and prozac. There was trephining, exorcism, bleeding and purging to balance humors, vaginal fumigation for hysterical women, etc.

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    2. Strawman. Strawman strawman strawman.

      A few societal ills do not reflect upon the entire human experience from one culture to the next.

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    3. Ok, seriously answer, now.

      Each individual cultural microcosm approaches scenarios differently. It depends on geographic location, cultural tendencies, age, station, et cetera - a vast plethora of variables goes into how people view the world around them and the people within.

      Now, some small island nation in the equator won't regard someone with say, down syndrome, the same way that perhaps a very spartan and hearty culture that lives in extremely inhospitable and savage colder areas, where simply existing is a struggle.

      I'm not saying one will be living easy while the other will get smothered out of the womb, but I hope I'm at least illustrating the point of human nature and "problem solving".

      You need context, Green Eyes, and in the context of the so-called civilized West, we often segregate and shun that which does not fit in neatly with the rest of our well oiled machine.

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    4. Well, I do agree with you there.
      Each culture has their way of dealing with the mentally ill. Not all of them resort to barbaric 'treatments'. But some are not quite as tolerant as the people mentioned in the study. You can't deny that there have been and still are a lot of atrocities committed against the mentally ill.

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    5. When I was pregnant with my youngest, due to certain health issues I have, they had to test my baby, in utero, to make sure everything was alright.

      The test came back with an aberrant situation they'd not seen previously. My OBGYN said if it's dwarfism or the baby has downs we can 'take care of it'. I fired that OBGYN that moment.

      My baby is fine, healthy and vibrant. It was a genome heriditary issue from her father. Nothing that would impact her from being a perfectly functioning brilliant girl... that said if it would have turned out Dwarfism or Downs I would still have had her.

      What we as a society view as 'normal' isn't acceptible by myself. I think different isn't something to term a pregnancy for... or if your brain functions in a wild arch pattern or your have idiosynccasies that 'most people' don't, doesn't mean you be ostracized. Well at least unless you might carry bodily harm in your mindset to others. Not a fan of that.

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  6. If you have a PD, you can't help it. This may seem to go without saying, but that is not the case. People blame themselves. People blame others for not being able to change and become "normal"

    The PD is like a wetsuit. The wetsuit is a very tight fit for the surfer. The PD is a tighter fit for the person. There is no gap where reality can get in.

    Hence, the healing of it is tantamount to chopping off one's arm.

    How do you heal it, you ask? You must employ means which allow your emotions to blossom, as they are shut down. This is at the core of a PD.

    Measures to open up the closed emotions are the only way to heal a PD ime

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    1. And the wetsuit is for what?

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    2. Lack of emotions isn't a cause of pd it's a consequence. Developing emotions is a way to manage your pd, not to heal it.

      It's like learning to play piano. But you will always have a unique play style so don't pay too much attention if others seem to be more emotional you have a pd after all.

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    3. I disagree, Mee.
      The blocked emotions caused the PD. Unblock the emotions( for real,not a fake intellectual thing) and you can get rid of the PD.

      This is said, in a simple way. The doing of it will be one of the most painful things a human being can do imo

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    4. What abt head injuries? Your theory won't work when emotions are damaged, not repressed. And I'm not even talking about people born that way...

      You say it will be hard... then why bother?

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    5. Mee
      If you want something bad enough, you will do what you have to do. If you don't, you won't.

      Is the reward worth the pain? To me, it is. The more severe the PD, the worse the pain, but look at handicapped people who run marathons.

      The healing of a PD is akin to this.

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    6. i can unblock my emotions when i feel the triggers only if i have the luxury to do it in private. the shame of the pain is on top of the pain and that pile is something to separate out. I must force myself not to feel shamed of the pain. When i am with someone it is almost impossible. I am so ashamed of being in pain because it feels like i am a baby and a victim and i judge myself too harshly. it is important to be very kind to myself during this.no one is allowed to hurt me. (it is impossible anyway.) It feels like i am a baby. the next day i may feel so strong.

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    7. That is what I mean, Anon. The pain of being hurt, abused and betrayed when you are a vulnerable child gets shut off. Having this buried pain come out hurts in a way that is almost indescribable.

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    8. why do you sound a little retarded anon?

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    9. the faucet had been starting for a few years and i did not know if i was mixing up healing with rapid cycling. now i know it is separate.

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    10. retards are childlike and i feel like a baby. but i will kill you like a grown up so do not worry.

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    11. you want to kill people who you think will make fun of you. nobody did that.

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    12. theses are friendly sociopaths anon. come all ye vulnerable abuse victims!

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  7. The wet suit is just a reference for something stuck on tightly lol

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    1. I know... I liked the comparision. The wet suit is for protection. We have spoken of defenses before and how to keep oneself intact. I thought the analogy with the wetsuit interesting.

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    2. Interesting, Virus! How perceptive of you to pick that up. It was my subconscious that picked that reference lol

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    3. I'm finding the 'wetsuit' analogy just a bit soggy.

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  8. Good morning SW. I quite like that analogy, but how would one's emotions blossom, when the lack of them is what characterizes the PD to begin with? That would be like attacking the source, when in fact, the source is the only thing that remains unchangable.

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    1. step one:

      you have to hit the person in the face with a frying pan over and over while giving bad news about their mother . They will become magically emotional about their mother's plight. You will see this because they will crouch with fear in their eyes.

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    2. i'm sorry but i am a narcissist with no sense of humor. Please forgive me.

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  9. For your emotions to bloom, you must force yourself to cry, as this is God's way of healing. People can laugh, but Right Brain Trauma Theory is this, in a nutshell.

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    1. Will it count if I'd cry after hurting myself?~

      I was in situations where crying was acceptable but I can't cry if I don't feel like crying, for me it doesn't work. But I cried when my first pet died... maybe I should kill my cat...~

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  10. Forcing myself to cry is a very simple task for me, and many other sociopaths as well. Honestly, how would that do anything? I don't think it's possible to change a sociopath's core. And isn't that what you said before, that a PD is a wetsuit that cannot be removed?

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    1. Sammy, the wetsuit does not come off... you do learn to have a much more free range of motion when you learn more about the capabilities and limiltaions of your suit, though.

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    2. Virus
      The wet suit can come off. That is the point!

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    3. Take it off and you are at the mercy to exposure... it can come off, it doesn't come off. Unless you want to freeze to death.

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    4. It can come off if you have a Higher Source who has your back.

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  11. I wish the Book "Cure By Crying" by Stone was in print. It is super expensive because it is out of print.

    Google Right Brain Trauma Theory. It explains what I am talking about.

    For the sociopath who got there by abuse, RBTT will heal him, as ASPD is a PD the same as any other PD, which can be cured by this.

    For the ones who are born with it( which are very few) they would need other means, but this category is very small imo

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    1. And what about the minority? Can they be healed, how and when it is important to do it?

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    2. I am not going to discuss the minority, now, as it will get us off the subject.

      Mee, if you want to do this, you will have to do do something like watch videos of pets dying, or something that will make you cry.

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    3. I'll try, lol. When minority will get some attention or you consider it to be untreatable? =\

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  12. LOL I just saw a co0mmercial for tommorow episode pof "Dr.Phil" and it said "Do you know a Narcissist"? and than he brings out a bunch of narcissists and questions them! It sounds entertaining, I think Iam gonna watch that one!

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    1. What time does that come on Rich? I'd like to see that one as well...

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    2. Dr Phil is a tool.

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    3. So is the television… I try to find something "good" amongst the shit.

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  13. Rich the Uber EmpathOctober 26, 2012 7:36 AM
    .... He is definatly a sociopathic headcase.

    Since he is so lonely and cannot connect to humanity

    he takes out his frustrations on people that he ENVIES, like me.

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  14. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121030161416.htm analytical thought represses empathy

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    1. http://scienceblog.com/57407/empathy-represses-analytic-thought-and-vice-versa/

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  15. {Big Smiles}

    Speechless...

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  16. There is a huge perception difference in society between a sociopath and a schizophrenic. One is considered truly ill and unable to do much about it except to be helped by professionals, family and take medications and the other is considered truly evil, dangerous and to be very avoided!!

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  17. I bought a Barbie doll and rubbed my dick across the contours of its body.

    ReplyDelete

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