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Asked by 599menb22 to Neel - Psychiatrist, Home Treatment Team, Early Intervention Team, Ed - Mental Health Nurse, Arts Therapy Team on 30 Jan 2019.
Question: do most people that you work with acknowledge there is something different about them in comparison to everybody else in society
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Arts Therapy Team answered on 30 Jan 2019: last edited 30 Jan 2019 5:19 pm
Richard: I think this is true for all of us, I think it is confusing, because the world tells us to be like everyone else, but actually we cant be, we can only be ourselves, it is this very tension between needing to be like everyone else (to fit in) and needing to be a true to our own temperament that can make people feel anxious and depressed. Difference and diversity makes life and people interesting!
Introverts like their own company but learn over time to fit in (and even to show off) Extroverts might need to learn to step back and not be at the centre of things. We are all learning to be ourselves and should not be shamed or humiliated into acting or behaving in a way that is not true to who we are.
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Home Treatment Team answered on 4 Feb 2019:
Steven here, we are all different from other people anyway but I think because we work with people in crisis most would think they were not as happy or settled as other people or in some cases think they are happier than others and so different in that way.
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Ed Freshwater answered on 5 Feb 2019:
In my work, most people think that there’s something really wrong and unusual about them. Part of my job is letting them know that what they experience is quite common.
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Psychiatry Ward Team commented on :
Interesting question!
Sometimes people come to us because they feel like they aren’t “right” – for example they might notice they feel lower in mood or suicidal, and they don’t like feeling that way.
Some conditions can cause people to lose what we call insight (being able to tell that you are unwell) – psychosis can be defined as “losing contact with reality”, so they believe things that aren’t true (delusions, such as believing that they are being tested on by MI5) or see/hear things that others can’t (hallucinations, such as hearing voices). In these situations people might not have insight and might not think there is anything wrong with them at all.
I think Richard is spot on – there is no such things as a “normal” person as we all have our own quirks, values and beliefs. I think there is a lot of pressure (with social media) to be something we might not be.