The unnatural (unpredictable) behavior or action of a person in a given situation can be labelled under the banner of abnormal psychology. To begin with, a good question to ponder over could be: how can the nature of one’s action be affiliated with the study of psychology? What role does psychology play?
It is common to stumble across many cases of mental disorder, eating disorder, personality disorder, anger management issues, identity crisis etc. that can all be linked back to the field of psychology. The functioning and understanding of the human brain is very complex which sometimes, can also prompt and encourage abnormal behavior. The person exerting such behavior is not the one in control but the brain.
For instance, if you were to just look at the headlines of a newspaper, you’re bound to come across several shocking incidents and crimes happening in your area. Now, sit back and think to yourself: what would I have done if I were in this situation? Would I have tried to hide the evidence and not confess of being guilty for murder? Most importantly, is it okay to hurt another human being?
A specious argument could be the normalization of such acts of cruelty and injustice wherein a person does not fully recognise the consequences of his actions and refuses to take accountability. As vague as this might sound, it does hold true. People suffering from mental illness often find themselves helpless and are unable to process their actions before performing them. In other words, they are unable to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong.
What one might see as a symptom of mental illness can be seen as a normal behaviour by someone else. Even though one might not be able to categorise a person’s mental illness into the aforementioned disorders, it is relatively easy to read into the signs of a person suffering from mental illness and quite possibly, extend a hand of help. Therapy sessions and seeking help from a professional can contribute significantly for the betterment of a person suffering with mental health problems.
A plausible case to further explain abnormality in one’s behaviour can be understood by critically reviewing ‘attachment theory’ and revisiting a person’s childhood.
Here, we are presented with two cases. One, a child feels strongly connected to his mother and develops into a positive and trusting human being in nature. Second, the child did not receive much attention from his mother in his childhood and feels disconnected in terms of his relationship with his mother. With the advent of this shortcoming, the child is likely to have a hard time trusting people and establish stable relationships with others in his adolescent and possibly, adulthood years.
In such a case, it is crucial to recognise and understand why someone is behaving in an odd fashion. What you might think is an unusual behaviour can most likely be traced back to a particular incident in a person’s past history.
The views on mental health still continue to remain exhaustive and subjective. It is preposterous to relate a person struggling with mental health issues with demonology, witchcraft, magic and Gods. For a very long time, this erroneous stigma found its place in society and successfully managed to encourage the practice of ill-treatment of patients. In retrospect, patients were locked and taken away from society. These patients, especially women, were considered to be possessed by the devil or suspected of being a witch for which they were tortured and punished. Up until the 18th century, the masses would review patients with mental illness nearly as repulsive as a contagious disease. Some of them were given electrical shocks, some were tied with chains, some lost their intestines and others were starved. This inhumane treatment lasted for ages and no action was taken against this. But over a period of time, several activists took the onus upon themselves to do something about the situation at hand and change the public mentality over this issue. With striking efforts, many individuals fought in favour of a dignified yet humane treatment to be offered to patients locked up in mental asylums in the United States.
In present days, mental health related issues are given a lot more significance in comparison to the ancient times. We are fortunate enough that parents, teachers, relatives and friends understand and support a person struggling with mental health issues. Now, people are not hesitant to seek help from psychiatrists and psychologists to find a better future for themselves and nor does society look down upon these patients!
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