Debate Stance

SID: 460324993

Affirmitive

“There is a mismatch between some innate personality types and modern societal
expectations, leading to pathologizing and medicating “normal” personality traits.”

3 characteristics that define a personality disorder (millon, 1981):

 3 main characteristics that differentiate a personality disorder:
o 1. Functional inflexibility
 Failure to adapt to situations: rigid response
o 2. Self-defeating
 Some behaviours can damage the individual/cause distress/problematic.
Behavioural responses damagings
o 3. Unstable in response to stress
 Emotional, behavioural and cognitive instability
 Also to a certain extent – lack of insight: failure to recognize dysfunctional aspect of
personality

Enduring pattern of inner experience and behaviour that:

 Deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture
 Is pervasive and inflexible
 Has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood
 Is stable over time, and
 Leads to distress or impairment

 DSM-5
o 10 personality disorders categorised in 3 clusters

Problem 1!! The DSM divides people categorically rather than with dimensions!
 Categorical – normal vs abnormal
 Dimensional – Healthy personality functioning  some problematic traits  many
problematic traits  personality disorder  serious personality disorder  extreme
personality disorder

DSM-5 is a categorical approach to personality disorders

 More compatible with disease classification systems used in medicine
 Assumes that personality disorders represent distinct clinical syndromes
 Difficult to distinguish step from ‘normal’ personality traits through personality disorder

Where do we draw the line between eccentric personality and abnormal personality?

Being culturally ‘normal’ is defined by the culture…. moral relativism!

Treatment can not only reduce impact, but can also make you a different person….

 Personality disorders are among the most stigmatized disorders in DSM-5

 Problematic behaviours are considered maladaptive – behaviour that once served an adaptive
function but is no longer adaptive.
o This may have been in early life experiences when parent were not acting in a way
which fulfilled the individuals emotional needs, or other relationships.
o This behaviour was protective at some point. The problem is not that it was protective
then, but it endured, and is applied in settings where It does not help the individual or
others.
 We try to understand how that behaviour in the past might have been essential for the
individual to get their emotional needs met.

 Behaviours that are commonly labelled using stigmatizing language: ‘acting out’/
‘manipulative’. / ‘self-destructive’ are described using non-judgemental, factual, descriptive
language that recognises unmet emotional needs.
o “manipulative”  “unskilful attempts to have needs met”
o “attention-seeking”  “connection-seeking”
o “a Borderline”  “An individual with BPD / Complex Trauma”
 The person is NOT their disorder – they are an individual with a diagnosis

Rebut:
1st speaker’s focus was about anxiety and depression, and how important it is to medicate
these disorders. If it’s serious enough sure, but our question is about ‘innate personality
types’ – this is a separate thing – our focus is on the eccentricity of personality –
introversion / extraversion – differing from society and being an individual.
 They also raved about how great medication is, and how we should use it to regulate
mood/happiness/positive outlook – absolutely not! it should be used as a last resort –
behavioural therapy comes first.

2nd speaker:
 We are not talking about ignoring people who are having issues – stage fright? – the issue
here is how quickly we are turning to pathologizing someone – labelling them – and
medicating (which is VERY serious).
 We are focusing on the person and what is WRONG with them, rather than think about how
we can sensibly help them. Also think about society’s perspective.
 Stress is helpful.

Speaker 1:
 Definition of disorder
o 1. Functional inflexibility
 Failure to adapt to situations: rigid response
o 2. Self-defeating
 Some behaviours can damage the individual/cause distress/problematic.
Behavioural responses damagings
 o 3. Unstable in response to stress
 Emotional, behavioural and cognitive instability
 Definition of normal
o No such thing… normal is a societal construct – its normal to be an individual
 There is a mismatch between these personality “types”, which already is a simplification of
the word – humans are complex - and what society considers normal!
 Introversion / extraversion – mismatch example
 Not saying if there’s a serious problem not to seek help and medicate, but there is a serious
issue with over-pathologizing and over-medicating.

Speaker 2

 Limitations of the DSM and - categorical rather than dimensional

o Science is simplified, abstract, broad  we don’t understand a lot! Oversimplifying
is a limitation.
o Homosexuality mental illness until 1970s.
 Dangers of pathologizing
o Restrict themselves – live within these parameters
o Thinking of yourself as an outcast in society – maybe society should be more
accepting of different personalities, whether that’s more introverted,extroverted
o Kids overdiagnosed with ADHD
o Feedback loop – if you see yourself as abnormal, you will act abnormal
o We should take context and environment into account
 Dangers of medicating
o Financial burden
o Serious effects
o Drug treatment linked to an increased risk of relapse – should be more reliance on
behavioural therapies
o Combination therapy would have less chance of relapsing
o 75% of people who wrote the DSM have ties to pharmaceutical companies
o 25% of Americans have GAD  then isn’t it normal? Hard to tell.