Madness as method: as a mental disorder could be an advantage Bashny.Net

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In an era of individualism and political correctness of our ideas about mental norms becomes more vague. Heroes of pop culture have increasingly become charismatic characters with large eccentricities, and Wired and The Economist write about the demand for workers with Asperger syndromes and attention deficit. Periodically the theory that any mental deviation is not a fault and not a threat to society, but simply an alternative way of perceiving the world. "Theory and practice" tried to understand what benefits can bring some mental disorder.

Sociopathy = the art of manipulationSociopath (not to be confused with sociophobia — a man who is afraid of public action and attention from other people) are indifferent to morality, unable to feel empathy towards others and is willing to do anything to achieve their goals. Sociopaths often exhibit criminal tendencies and cravings for violence. Nevertheless, most restrained and well owning a sociopaths, according to some psychologists, are able to achieve success and high status in society. In particular, this view is held by a reputable criminal psychologist Robert hare, the author of the test defines psychopathic abilities (this questionnaire is described in a documentary bestselling book by Jon Ronson "the Psychopath test").

In the US this summer published a book "Confessions of a sociopath", confirming the opinion of Hare. The author, who took the pseudonym M. E. Thomas is a successful lawyer, lecturer and founder of the portal www.sociopathworld.com. Miss Thomas candidly described in the book his unconventional attitude and gave specific stories of life, proving by their personal example that a sociopath is capable of good to socialize, have a career, and make friends. At least John Edens — Professor, Department of psychology the University of Texas, where the author has applied to take the test for the presence of psychotic disorders admitted miss Thomas "socialized" or "successful psychopath".

Despite the repellent qualities of sociopathic personality, it has certain advantages over a normal person: sociopath has no fear and embarrassment, he keeps his cool in any situation, perfectly manipulating people and not prone to self-deception, unlike most of us. That allows him to soberly assess the people around him and gain their sympathy. Even the relationship with a sociopath, says miss Thomas, can be quite productive: a man does not build illusions and accept the partner with his shortcomings and is able to respond flexibly to their needs to keep his affection. In General, M. E. Thomas was able to provide food for thought as psychiatrists, and ordinary readers. However, when reading the book should make allowances for the fact that one of the main characteristics of psychopathic personality — a pathological tendency to lie, so maybe the success of the heroine is somewhat exaggerated.

Asperger's = attention to detailSoft version of "rain man" brings a lot of inconvenience in communication — people tend to fixate on one topic, the bad feeling in unfamiliar surroundings and with difficulty recognize the emotions of others. But people with Asperger's often manifest talents in activities that require independent work.

Professional trainer Barbara Bissonet wrote the "Guide to employers on Asperger's syndrome", which elaborated on these benefits. A perfect lesson for ASPI — alone specific task requiring great expertise, maximum involvement, creative thinking and perfectionism. The lack of social filters, though, and leads to awkward situations can also be helpful: are people able to honestly criticize a bad idea.

The prevalence of Asperger's syndrome in the IT environment have already noticed journalists Wired and The Economist. Recently become fashionable to consider the concept of "geek" and "Aspie" are almost synonymous, although the narrow interests of the person with Asperger's syndrome do not necessarily belong to the sphere of technical Sciences. Still, some correlation is observed. "If you completely get rid of the genes responsible for autism, "Silicon Valley" comes to an end," said Professor Colorado State University temple Grandin at the TED conference in 2010.

ADHD = creativityThe syndrome of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder remains one of the most vague diagnoses — something like dystonia in psychiatry. Anyway, although the nature of the phenomenon and not fully understood, it exists: not only "troubled" children, but some adults are experiencing persistent difficulty concentrating, get tired quickly and are characterized by high impulsivity. Usually people with symptoms that fit the profile of ADHD, feel very uncomfortable: it is considered that it is impossible to succeed without the ability to work hard on solving one problem. And yet in this state, you can find benefits, if you teach a person to disclose related talents: quick response and creative thinking — according to some experts. In particular, the idea of developing psychiatrists Edward Hallowell and John Raiti, who devoted several books to the problem of ADHD.

And therapist Tom Hartman has developed a bold theory of the "hunter and farmer". According to this theory, people with ADHD retained the genes of primitive people responsible for the behavior that is optimal for hunters. Over time, people switched to agriculture, require more patience and "hunting" quality — quick response, impulsivity, susceptibility — were considered undesirable. According to this hypothesis, the problem is only in the production task, and the ability of people with a syndrome "hyperfocusing" — strong concentration on subjectively interesting task, to the detriment of everyone else can be viewed as an evolutionary advantage. However, Hartman's difficult to assume an objective researcher — ADHD diagnosed in his son.

Proponents of an optimistic view on ADHD tend to look for its symptoms have famous historical figures — for example, it is attributed to Churchill and Einstein. Anyway, some successful entrepreneurs openly admit that you have this syndrome and consider it rather a positive force in his career. The well-known businessman who committed a similar coming out-the President of airline JetBlue David Neeleman. He believes he owes the breakdown of his creative potential and ability to make good business decisions. So Neeleman refuses to take medication for ADHD. "My brain is suffering from lack of attention, looking for the best way to do this or that thing. Along with the disorganization, procrastination, inability to concentrate, attention deficit disorder provides creativity and willingness to take risks" — explained his position the President of JetBlue. But this does not mean that all multiple clerks should also consider the startup: one of the main problems of the disorder remains overdiagnosis.

Source: theoryandpractice.ru