Personality Disorders

A friend of mine that I grew up with since kindergarten used to say I changed whenever other people were around. I never really thought about it, it just came natural. Always felt as if I was doing other people a favour by adapting my personality to theirs, or at least thinking I knew what kind of person the social gathering needed. I was proud to be a chameleon, and felt a sort of self-gratifying martyrism in it.

How can we all get so worked up about our personality? I'm sure many many people, including Robin Williams himself, thought he had a disorder, and needed to be medicated. How many lives has he cheered up, how many people has he made a difference for? Yes, I'm sure he can be more than a bit overwhelming and intense and crazy at times, but for god sakes, we're all different. Diagnosis of Asperger's disease, or borderline personality disorder, or Bipolarism are all great, but where does this stop? How many people's lives improved after being diagnosed and given a label like this? Ok, now let's put them on some drugs so they act the way they're supposed to. Who is deciding out there how we're supposed to act? Who out there is deciding that this, yes this, is the proper way human beings should act? How does saying the appropriate thing, being cordial, polite and fake solve anything?

I'm not advocating anarchic social interactions, I'm certain we require some sort of ground rules. I simply find it unfortunate that so many of us are embarrassed, or hurt, or feel there's something wrong with us because we don't feel, or act 'normal'. The problem of being human is not one that will go away. I also do not contend to have the answer, if only to say be very very cautious of what labels you put on yourself, and others. No matter what, or how it appears, we are all very human. That is a big, diverse, rainbow the size of Texas statement that has room for murderers, junkies, liars, goody two shoes, and me.

Hmmmm...... I kinda like this writing from the hip must be the Texas theme.