Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Friday, October 17, 2003

Psychology lessons via bouncing rocks...

I'll stick with Paxil, thank you, because it works well for me (although different people respond better to different medicines, so keep trying if you are suffering from similar issues!) This little quiz pegged me right (although the OCD and panic disorder rock would have worked, too). It's a cute illustration, but somewhat misleading.

Personality disorders are actually something totally different (Axis II rather than Axis I, which most anxiety disorders fall under). I'm no psychologist, but I've had it explained to me like this: Axis I disorders (which include OCD, depression, panic disorder and social anxiety--all treatable by such medicines as Paxil or Zoloft, as well as schizophrenia, which can be treated by other classes of medicine) tend to be disorders where the brain chemistry is really off. Personality disorders, on the other hand, are pervasive ways of coping that may have a biological and environmental base--an abused child, for example, may be more likely to develop a personality disorder due to genetics, but the abuse causes coping methods to come to the forefront that may work during the abuse but may leave the person ill-equipped for dealing with normal situations. They can be very difficult to treat; often clinicians will focus on taking care of the Axis I issues a person may have with medication and Axis II disorders with therapy, such as cognitive-behavioural or dialetical behavioural therapy. If you look at all results, for example, the cutting/self-abusive rock is more in line with the Axis II borderline personality disorder.

Results...: "-pee-
You are the Social Anxiety disorder rock! :(


::Which rock personality disorder (from the Zoloft commercial) should you have? (Results contain pictures!)
brought to you by Quizilla"

PS, Funny, I never saw it as a rock. I always saw it just as a bouncy cartoon character who loved insects. Is this some hidden ink blot test? How do you see it?

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