Mental ILLNESS.
Mental DISORDER.
SICK in the head.
Why is everything abnormal automatically treated as something negative which needs to be fixed?
The student with an unusual ability to focus and be motivated and analyze patterns/complex papers/literature is abnormal… but does that make them “above average” or have some kind of mental “disorder”? If the behavior and brain structure and/or function is what makes them excel beyond the average student in a noteworthy manner, does that qualify as abnormal clinically? Does it not because it is socially acceptable to be a Type A/overachiever/perfectionist?
When does the unusual part become a disorder?
Is it when the characteritistics start driving the person to be somewhat less ‘socially acceptable’, whether it is less social than ‘normal’ or more driven/even OBSESSED with something than normal? Who gets to say what is a lifelong passion for someone and what becomes an unhealthy obsession? Is it a fine line defined by what a culture perceives as being within a “normal range” versus “weird”?
Who gets to say whether or not I am normal?
Does a word for mental disorder or illness without the negative connotation even EXIST in the English language?
If NOT, what does that say about our view of mental health?
The Calculating Mind 