Skip to main content

Diagnosis

I was talking about disorders with some people the other day.  Somebody mentioned that there was a disorder for everything... I have to agree.

I don't think that it is wrong at all to give a name to a set of problems.  It isn't even wrong to use a nice psychological name, and tack the word, "disorder" onto the end of the title.  Isn't that what we are all about anyway?  Aren't we all a little marred from the original order? (...therefore, we are in a state of "dis"order...)  To hear another description of our messed up psychological state, try reading Romans 3:10-18.

Well, I wanted to share the name of a disorder with you, and its description.  The name of this disorder is Paranoid Personality Disorder.  Here is the description:

Paranoid personality disorder is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as 301.00 Paranoid Personality Disorder.
According to the DSM-IV-TR, this disorder is characterized by a pervasive distrust and suspicion of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
  • Suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her
  • Is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates
  • Is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her
  • Reads benign remarks or events as threatening or demeaning.
  • Persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights
  • Perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack

Many disorders are described (and diagnosed) by the behaviors.  Jesus tells us that all behaviors come from the heart, so I believe that it is important to attempt to tack-on a Biblical description for the disorder that drills down to the root of the problem.  In the case of Paranoid Personality Disorder, I would diagnose Pride, complicated with fear and the desire for control.

What say you?

Comments

  1. I can imagine all the "pros" shrieking at your bullseye.

    I'm sick of all the disorders; lets just call it what it is. For example, ADD should 95% of the time actually be described as "ain't done disciplining"

    I had a psychologist remove the comment above from his blog. If you need to, go ahead! ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah. I typed that post knowing that it might bother some. But I believe that they are bothered most because they are attributing motives to my words.

    Can someone say hard things and be compassionate at the same time?

    Yes.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Leave a thought of your own.

Popular posts from this blog

The Seed and The Soil of Education (New Learning Project Part 1)

(This is my entry for the first part of my project for my New Learning course that I am taking.) Introduction Corn Fields in Illinois I have lived the majority of my life in the Midwest: mid-state Illinois to be specific. Where I live, farming is everywhere. My grandparents and great-grandparents on both sides of my family were farmers. My dad grew up on a farm and owned farmland, well into my own adulthood. But, even if it wasn’t in the family, I still would have been surrounded by farming. You can’t go more than a mile outside of my city’s limits without encountering miles and miles of fields. Most of our highways, and even interstates, are located between acres of farmland.

This too shall pass...

Gam zeh ya'avor (Hebrew) "This Too Shall Pass" Welcome!  According to Google Analytics, this is by far the most visited post that I have ever written.  If someone comes here from a search engine, most of the time they are looking for " this too shall pass quote " or simply " this too shall pass " on Google or one of the other search engines. I am sure that most of the time visitors are looking for the originations of this quote, but I have to wonder, why is this quote on people's minds? Why are they pondering the passing of events?   Here is my thought: It is probably because most of us have realized that the adult life is much harder than we ever imagined it to be. There is more pain and more sorrow than we had ever imagined as children, but we have learned that time keeps ticking. And as time continues to flow things pass. In fact, even the really big things and the really hard things will still pass. If you are here because you are thinking ...

The Minnesota Crime Commission wrote:

Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it: his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmate's toys, his uncle's watch, or whatever. Deny him these and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness which would be murderous were he not so helpless. He's dirty, he has no morals, no knowledge, no developed skills. This means that all children, not just certain children but all children, are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in their self-centered world of infancy, given free reign to their impulsive actions to satisfy each want, every child would grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, a rapist.