Once upon a time, there were the mad and the sane. These days, psychiatric medicine has defined scores of disorders, of which personality disorders are a subclass. Just as many doctors would say, "there's no such thing as a healthy person, only an undiagnosed disease", so many psychiatrists believe that most people would fit onto the spectrum of one personality disorder or another. Whether it's depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (not to be confused with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder), or hoarder disorder, there are so many to choose from.
The notion of the 'neurodiverse' as opposed to the 'neurotypical' is increasingly accepted by society - we are all slightly different, and if you consider the 'long tail' of people at the milder end of any personality disorder spectrum, the neurotypical among us are actually quite rare. This raises the question of what is 'normal' and what percentage of us can be truly classed as 'normal'.
Students of human behaviour will recognise specific characteristics and habitual behaviours associated with various personality disorders among their colleagues, family and friends. Those with greater powers of self-awareness (self-criticism indeed) will recognise these characteristics in their own behaviour and patterns of thinking.
Observing this trait or that one, we can infer that this person or that person can be placed somewhere along this or that spectrum - or indeed along overlapping spectrums. The textbook from which to compare symptoms to diagnoses is DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition)
We can also self-diagnose, and this process is made vastly easier these days by instant access to online knowledge (as long as you are intelligent enough to know what to look for).
Looking at myself, I'd say that I am very mildly along the Asperger's spectrum; generally I don't have any great difficulties in social interaction and communication, but I'm not naturally gregarious, I don't get on easily with strangers in social situations; I don't like small talk, preferring to get into serious discussions straight away. I lack that gift of immediate intimacy unless I've had a couple of glasses of wine. Most people abhor being lonely; I treasure solitude as a luxury - perhaps there's an element of demand-avoidance syndrome there!
However, the restricted, repetitive behaviours and interests (RRBI) element of Asperger's is clearly present. Strong interests in specific topics. I like maps, spreadsheets, railways, a small number of movies that I know inside out; interest in UFOs is another trait. I'd rather re-watch an old, much loved film than go and see something new of which I know little. And I'm often quoting from my favourite films in everyday situations. I have a massive knowledge of classic cars and 20th century aviation from childhood days. However, atypically, I also have a broad general knowledge and can says things that make sense about many subject areas - but not to any great depth.
While I have no problems with being on stage, professionally I'm happiest in the back room - editing other people's English-language text, applying a set of rules that ensure clarity and consistency. My knowledge of the principles of house style grow from year to year; here I have a narrow but deep speciality that keeps me in bread and butter.
I have no television set; I determine what I want to watch and when I want to watch it with YouTube Premium. Here, I'll be mostly watching talks about science, philosophy and the metaphysical. No sport, no serials. No distractions.
"The symptoms of late-onset Asperger's can be similar to those of early-onset Asperger's, but they may be less severe and more subtle," but it may also be that my symptoms were too mild to attract attention in childhood. I do recall when still in infants school, my story books were all about aeroplanes with human characteristics (half a century before Disney's Planes); my teacher told me to broaden my interests and to write stories about other subjects. Given this advice, I did.
Other Asperger's symptoms I have are around routine - especially in the mornings, and my exercises, all of which are logged in a spreadsheet maintained now for the tenth year in a row. My Lenten routine (32 years in a row). Counting - when I'm chopping fruit or vegetables, I count out loud. When my routine or my sense of how things should be gets interrupted or threatened, I can get agitated.
I can also see that my father displayed many of these traits too - he kept spreadsheets for years, logged his blood pressure daily. A curious and observant man, my father read a lot and his mind was active to the very end. Like my father I dislike waste, and have a mild hoarding tendency. (My scrupulous segregation of waste helps here!)
Personality disorders (are they even disorders at the mild end of the spectrum?) have a strong hereditary link. Engineers, accountants and (these days) IT coders are professions correlated with fathering people on the Asperger's spectrum; boys are four to five times more likely to be on this spectrum than girls.
But being able to think at the meta-level, being able to look at myself from a detached perspective, I can see these traits and work around them, self-administering cognitive behavioural therapy. And also important is masking. It's about being intelligent enough to rein back your desire to go into great detail, backed up with statistics to two decimal points, when engaged in a conversation with a more neurotypical person. Not boring someone about the minutiae of a train journey, or demonstrating your knowledge of WW2 aircraft engines to someone who's not remotely interested.
My interest in traits and habits are now focused on the life-skill question of knowing when to hold on, and when to let go - when to go with the flow. More on that soon!
This time last year:
Qualia Compilation - playing with Lego
This time two years ago:
Onto the frozen pond
Mid-Jan pictorial round-up
This time eight years ago:
UK migration and the NHS
This time 11 years ago:
Miserable depths of winter
This time 12 years ago:
From - a short story (Part 1)
This time 13 years ago:
A month until Lent starts
This time 14 years ago:
World's biggest airliner over Poland
This time 15 years ago:
More pre-Lenten thoughts
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