The people who candle your head for a living have the 5th
Version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders –commonly referred
to as the DSM – to ponder over during the holiday season. This freshly issued
update, several years in the making, is used to as a reference manual to categorize
patients and not everyone is happy. Psychiatrists still cannot agree on what is
normal. Like the rest of us some shrinks see the glass as half full and the
others half empty. In the political science world it would come out as “one man’s
terrorism is another man's patriotism.”
You could be swimming along in the canal of life and
thinking good thoughts but you may have a problem you didn’t know existed. Do
you hang onto received Christmas cards for decades? Do you make three right
turns so you don’t have to make a left turn? Do you neglect recording checks in
your check register believing that if you don’t write them down your bank balance
won’t decrease? Of course, if all three of these interesting habits define you,
stop reading now and grab the Yellow Pages.
Talking about your problems with a knowledgeable
psychologist or psychiatrist can be beneficial; there is probably something in
the DSM 5 to define your problem. Not cure it, but at least name it. Don’t be
alarmed if after being on some kind of pill for six months the problem is still
around. Some things never go away – you might simply be nuts.
Have a nice Christmas and a Happy New Year! (And throw out
the cards on January 3rd.)
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