The Trouble With "Normal"...

Not so long ago, I was sitting in my doctor's waiting room, reading an article in some out-of-date psychology magazine. As always, Dr. B was running late...

I don't remember which magazine it was and I barely remember the overall idea being proposed by the article... but it had something to do with educating children and I clearly remember the frequent references to assorted groups of children who were described as "falling outside the norm."

Having very little else to do, I drifted off into thinking about how "normal" has become one of the most misused words in this world of ours, and how we have adopted this pervasive habit of "normalizing" practically any and all natural difficulties of the Human Condition, rather than teaching people how to deal with them.

Normalization has become the path of choice for an ever-increasing number of people who languor in a state of victimology and learned helplessness.

The bizarre thing is that "normal" actually seems to be moving all over the map.

We widen definitions in some areas, to allow some people — who actually aren't very normal — to feel normal.

Goodness, we wouldn't want anyone to feel "excluded," would we?

Paradoxically, we narrow normalcy in other areas, so a different group of people can be pathologized, rather than being allowed to live normal lives.

Goodness, we wouldn't want to deny someone access to Prozac to numb out their negative feelings over their neighbor's dog pooping in their yard, would we? What gives?

Of course, in these days of "wokeism," what I am suggesting here might be considered inflammatory and practically blasphemous. Everyone should be afforded equal access to having a pathology, or not having a pathology.

Before you get your shorts tied in a knot, I am certainly not attacking anyone who has genuinely serious problems in their life; many of us do. I am merely attacking the way a growing number of people are using the label "normal" as an excuse to not deal with "The Stuff of Life," from weight gain, to diabetes, to an assortment of emotional and psychological issues.

Sometimes it feels like it has taken on near-epidemic proportions, in our modern society. I am not just talking about the use of the term, I am talking about the inclusiveness of it.

Where 30 years ago some "abnormal" behavior pattern might have referred to the 1-2% extreme examples of a pattern, today it refers to maybe 10-20%. Or maybe more. Sometimes it even strikes me that the ostensibly "normal" people within a population represent the minority, not the majority.

By most measures, my personality (and physical traits) includes at least 3-4 statistical outlier traits that likely would have been described as "quirks" some 40 years ago, but today gets me pursued by so-called "experts" trying to convince me that I might have some kind of "syndrome" I would be wise to seek treatment for.

On the other hand, if I mention that it wouldn't hurt me to lose 20lbs, other people jump up and insist that my weight is actually "normal," lest my desire to lose weight insults someone else's chosen reality that the extra 70lbs they carry actually are "normal" and height-weight proportionate.

I am not only tired of being "normalized," I'm tired of what seems to be a growing paranoia, vis-a-vis anyone who doesn't fit some very narrowly defined criteria of How To Behave. Why have we become so obsessed with "categorizing" everyone into neat little pigeonholes rather than simply embracing the beauty of our differences?

Frankly, I'm sometimes tempted to say "bite me!" and ask these people to instead spend a little time considering whether or not I am a content human being, living the actual life I want.

Of course, that would probably get me classified as having Antisocial Personality Disorder... so I'd better be careful!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about you? Have you ever noticed that people misuse the term "normal?" Have you seen it used to both INCLUDE and EXCLUDE, at the same time? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.05.21 01:35 PDT
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