Mr. Joyce Takes on the World

Disorder Vs. Reaction             As my time in abnormal psych class ends, I’m reflecting on the most important thing I’ve learned from that class.             The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) has a very long, contradictory history. The title itself sounds like a guide book for fixing your car. Instead, it’s a list of mental maladies, and their symptoms. It doesn’t list how to treat the disorders, or why the disorders occur. All it does is give a description of each form of mental illness. Depression, Bipolar Disorder, and Anxiety Disorder are all there. There’s even been a few disorders that were removed, and some that have recently been added. It’s a fluid document that is capable of being changed. These changes occur due to politics, culture, and the persistence of pharmaceutical companies. That doesn’t mean that psychology is quackery, or that...

Fairness Sometimes I'm not fair. For as selfless and giving as I am, I can also be selfish at times. For example, I know a young woman that I care for deeply. She's currently in a phase in her life where demands on her time are many, and free time is scarce. So scarce in fact, that she's living a semi-cloistered life as she takes up her studies. At first, I felt snubbed. I thought, “What's taking her so long? Why doesn't she have five minutes to write to me? Did I do something wrong? Is it me?” I then realized that I wasn't being fair. I wasn't being sensitive to her needs, or her time frame. I also wasn't being fair to her struggles. Where she is now, I once was. Sometimes, I'm still there. Sometimes I forget what hurdles I've had to overcome just to function in daily life. Maybe that's a defense mechanism. If so, it's one that can distorted reality. I need to replace it with a mechanism of compassion, in...

Psyche opens the golden box...and finds chocolatey truffles!  I often mark the passage of time with anniversaries of some sort. It can be the date a favorite book was published, or a favorite film was released. Tomorrow marks a different kind of anniversary. I had a session today with my therapist, as I do every week. Every session I have with her is important to me, and is time well spent.  Tomorrow marks three years that I've been working with my therapist. Over that time I've learned a lot, and grown a lot. And so has my therapist. We've learned a tremendous amount from each other, and will continue to do so for a very long time. The lessons I learn from my work with her enable me to live a fuller, healthier life. They also help me to have relationships with others, and myself.  And so to mark the occasion, I did what I always do... I wore the same clothes that I wore to our first session. The same blue-striped polo shirt, and tan trousers. I no longer have...