What are your feelings regarding how psychological functioni

What are your feelings regarding how psychological functioning is classified as either adaptive and healthy or maladaptive and unhealthy? Does the field of psychology create a mandate for conformity by distinguishing certain types of functioning as normal and other types as abnormal, or does it succeed in basing these distinctions on what is actually best for individuals and communities? As the practice of identifying mental disorders continues to develop, how might it be further altered to better accommodate for individual differences and the various idiosyncrasies that makes us all unique individuals?\'

Solution

I sometimes feel that the psychological classification on the basis of adaptive and maladaptive tends to erode one\'s personal space. The adaptive behaviour reflect that the person has social and practical competence to meet the demands of everyday living. But, few things like, a person who avoids many situation, someone who is unusually quiet, etc. can be grouped under unhealthy or maladaptive behaviour. Many a times, a person having extremely low skill in social relationship and behavioural exercise is grouped under maladaptive behaviour. Sometimes, this can be harmful for a child or person, who love to keep himself at a social distance or may be extreme introvent. But, still, this distinction is needed, as it may help majority of people to do away with their fears, make social circle (because a lonely person can\'t sustain for long and may take extreme steps), and increasing their behavioural skills. This distinction helps in maintaining a society which is basic need for existence of human civilization. Without social activeness, humans will cease to exist. Thus, this may sometimes harm few people but is a much needed exercise.

Categorization of certain functions as normal and something as abnormal can sometimes put an adverse impact on a person. We categorize something as normal which is comes under bell curve of a graph. Anything on either extreme ends is considered to be abnormal. Like, if someone is extremely intelligent, then we may categorize himself abnormal in the intelligence field but in something sort of positive way. But, still, a person may develop ego issue and this may hamper his intelligence. Imagine, what if we hadn\'t categorized him as abnormal and he had go on functioning thinking himself as normal ? Nobody, can say what can yield best outcome. But, apart from this good side of extreme end, there are still many negative abormality on another side of the graph. This demotivate the people and can create a large impact in their life. For example, if someone is very joyful and behave in a childish manner in the childhood, and if he or she tries to behave in the same manner after many years, then people will tell him or her to behave according to adult person or adapt to norms of the society. In the process of this adaptation, he/she may loose his/her original nature. Therefore, one should try to keep activities in abnormal behaviour as much less as possible, like those which are detrimental to societies.

We should look in multiple ways that whether the activity which we are going to consider under mental disorder is harmful to society or not, harmul to self individual or not, affecting environment or not, altering thinking ability of person or not etc. We need to look from child\'s eye and not from adult\'s eye which is affected by many preassumptions, perspectives, norms etc. I\'ll give an example, recently, playing excessive games was categorised under mental disorder. I myself was an excessive game in my childhood but as far as I can remember, I didn\'t develop any kind of mental disorder due to that, I didn\'t affect someone negatively which can be linked to excessive gaming, and I was also good in studies. Though, we know that excessive gaming categorization under mental disorder will force some parents to reduce gaming hours of their child and is overall a healthy thing. It will create anegative social effect and a person himself/herself will reduce his/her gaming hours, thus, overall a good approach. But, still, things should be kept under mental disorder when they are harmful to individual or society. A thing which can be treated with some simple steps shouldn\'t be categorized under this. Thus, a approach free from biases and perspective is much needed in such categorization, though can\'t be completely eliminated but can be reduced significantly.