Personality Quirks, Psychological Disorders, and the Importance of Understanding

It is a rare day when a blog post riles me up enough to consume my thoughts all day. However, today is one of those days. I am a big fan of the Brazen Careerist Network and enjoy reading the perspectives of other 20-somethings. I enjoy well explained argument and opposing viewpoint. I also enjoy healthy banter about politics, social and workplace issues.

Today, though, one Brazen Careerist writer's post was appalling. Katie Monaghan wrote a post entitled "How My Psych Major Tells Me Just How Crazy Everyone Else Is At Work."

You really need to read the post in order to understand why I am so bothered by her statements.



I have an undergraduate and Master's degree in Psychology (focused on Industrial/Organizational Psychology) and would NEVER use the word "crazy" about someone I felt had a genuine psychological disorder. It's not funny. It's not just insensitive- it's downright offensive.

As an undergrad, I had a phenomenal Abnormal Psychology professor (Dr. David Holmes) who regularly asked his patients to come in and explain what it is like to have their particular disease. The entire 2,000 person auditorium would be silent and respectful as the individual shared their challenges and how difficult/hurtful it is to interact with insensitive others. That experience honestly changed me as a person.

Thanks to Dr. Holmes, I met a schizophrenic who smelled rotting flesh all of the time, and believed blood was running down the faces of every student in the auditorium. As she spoke, she kept her hand on her forehead because she believed that there was a ticker tape running across her forehead sharing all of her innermost thoughts. She even had difficulty concentrating because the monks that constantly follow her were chanting in the background. She was fully aware that none of these things were "real" to others, but they were VERY real to her. Dr. Holmes introduced us to people with bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, etc.

On a personal level, I struggle with both depression and anxiety, as does my father. I have close family and friends that experience Bipolar disorder, ADHD, and OCD. These are real diseases that affect real people. To use the word "crazy" in reference to real psychological disorders is absolutely sickening.

Additionally, Katie berates all of her colleagues calling them crazy and implies that they need straight jackets. Amazingly, she has diagnosed all of her colleagues with only a bachelor's degree. I wonder if Katie's coworkers and boss know about her blog. I wonder if her psychology professors are proud that they taught her so much in her undergrad, that she feels qualified to clinically diagnose others. I also wonder how Katie's coworkers/boss perceive her personality quirks (because we all have them).

Moving away from the issues of real mental disorders, something I noticed in the post is how Katie believes everyone else is "crazy" except for her. What would Carl Jung say about that?

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

or....

If one does not understand a person, one tends to regard him as a fool.

or...

I have never encountered a difficulty that was not truly the difficulty of myself.

or...

If people can be educated to see the lowly side of their own natures, it may be hoped that they will also learn to understand and to love their fellow men better. A little less hypocrisy and a little more tolerance towards oneself can only have good results in respect for our neighbor; for we are all too prone to transfer to our fellows the injustice and violence we inflict upon our own natures.

From what I see in this post is a clear lack of respect and understanding of others. I would suggest to Katie that a better use of her psychology degree would be to use her "people skills" to build bridges of understanding- not create walls of prejudice.

I would ask her to think about whether the things that bother her about others can tell her something about herself. Are the "personality quirks" she perceived in others just different ways of approaching things? Would the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator help lend insight into the motivations and preferences of herself and others? It is always better to look inward first, then outward second.

Katie, on a personal level, I am more than willing to help if you are open to learning more about yourself and others through the MBTI.

Finally, this Carl Jung quote exemplifies how I feel about what I learned from Dr. Holmes:
One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.