Essay On Abnormality

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Yanela Castillo Per Merriam Webster’s dictionary, abnormality is defined as “something that is not usual, expected or normal”. However, in respect to psychology, it is very difficult to define abnormal behavior or abnormality. Barlow and Durand, define abnormality as “a psychological dysfunction within an individual that is associated with distress or impairment in functioning and a response that is not typical or culturally expected”. One can deem that most imperative and valid criteria’s for abnormality are distress and atypical response. Distress is defined as being unhappy or in pain (Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, n.d.). This emotion alone does meet the criteria for abnormality. Distress is part of everyday life, whether it entails a death in the family or just a “bad day” at work or school, distress can become an abnormal component when one is exceedingly upset and/or cannot function appropriately. For example, at times, a person may be conflicted with an issue that saddens him or her to a point that it influences the decisions made. Individuals are able to work around the problem(s), and regulate emotions back to normality. However, if one was not able to return to a normal emotional state and remain in an extremely distressed condition then this amplifies abnormal behavior. Having an extreme response of any emotion or risky behavior seems to put one in danger of meeting one criterion for abnormality. Moving away from distress, we can also discuss someone having his or her social functions impaired. A person who is immoderately introverted or lethargic and refuses to interact with others, and shuns all contact with people, is perceived as having an abnormality. One can be seen abnormal per society if they deviate from t... ... middle of paper ... ...rt(s). Not conforming to social norms, makes one a target to arbitration and labeling whether or not a person is “normal” or “abnormal”. It is difficult to define what is peculiar and what is ordinary. These labels depend on one’s society and awareness of another’s culture/tradition, and/or whether or not a behavior fits into a particular category. If an individual manifests his/herself in one extreme of the spectrum, for instance, being in an heighten emotional state or being an introverted person; this type of marginality can be classified as abnormal. Meaning, that people should not always lean towards one side or the other, but if the person were to be “normal”, he/she would be better off in a homeostatic and/or balanced state of mind and existence; in other words as Aristotle once stated one should always remain in “The Golden Mean” (faculty.bucks.edu, n.d.).

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