Population Psychological Problems Reciprocally Related To Cultural Decline

Population Psychological Problems Reciprocally Related To Cultural Decline

It is not a simple relationship, but one that swirls back upon itself. Psychological disorders cause cultural decline and they are produced by cultural decline. This synergistic causal whirlwind is taking America down.

Personality disorders are deeply ingrained inflexible and maladaptive “traits” or ways of behaving. My use of the word “behaving” includes ways of thinking (“I can’t take care of myself” or “I am such a looser”); and having emotions (often becoming frantically upset or unable to feel emotions); perceiving (“they are laughing at me” or “they are out to get me”). A few examples of the behaviors that may be shown by those who have personality disorders are habitual lying, breaking the law, acting superior to everyone else, being abusive to others. As you will soon see, there are many other examples of damaging and distressing ways in which people think, perceive, emote, and act.
Personality disorders usually start to show themselves in adolescence or young adulthood and they are highly resistant to change. Personality disorders normally persist a life-time.

When someone has a personality disorder these characteristic damaging personality patterns will show themselves across a wide variety of settings and social situations and they generally hurt the individuals ability to work, play, and have close relations with others. More importantly they hurt other people with whom the personality disordered individual interacts.

Naturally the examples of problem behavior patterns that I have provided (there are many more) are hurtful and crippling to the individual who shows them. But, everyone fails to appreciate the trauma experienced by others who’s lives are damaged and sometimes ruined by the actions of those with personality disorders. This tunnel vision which focuses only upon the self-defeating nature of the one with the personality disorder blinds us to costs to the socioculture of such individuals. The damage of personality disorders spreads from the troubled individual to others who come in contact with them (employers, friends, spouses, children, and other family members). In cases of criminal behavior, those damaged may be unsuspecting strangers who have not elected to associate with the disordered individual.

Do not forget that the damaging effects of a personality disorder are damaging to the many people who interact with the individual who has this psychological problem. The negative effects of these behaviors can be very contagious to others.

Dr. Tom 3/15/10