Better Than Normal

Zusatztext A psychiatric pep talk guaranteed to rev up any reader. Booklist Archer's creative redressing of these pathologically considered conditions is compelling and will definitely capture the attention of readers eager to re-diagnose themselves using his spectrum scale. Kirkus Reviews [An] extraordinary book. -LibraryJournal.com "With his fresh approach and some interesting ideas! Archer normalizes personality characteristics too often seen as pathological." - Publishers Weekly Informationen zum Autor Dr. Dale Archer Klappentext A New York Times bestseller that offers a groundbreaking new view of human psychology! showing how eight key traits of human behavior--long perceived as liabilities--can be important hidden strengths What if the inattentiveness that makes school or work a challenge holds the secret to your future as an entrepreneur? What if the shyness in groups that you hate is the source of deep compassion for others? What if the anxiety and nervousness you often feel can actually help energize you? Renowned psychiatrist and popular on-air personality Dr. Dale Archer believes that behaviors frequently labeled "ADHD!" "bipolar!" and "OCD" are often normal human qualities--and he contends that we all experience these and other psychological traits to some extent yet fail to leverage the significant advantages they can offer. Worse! we stigmatize one another for these aspects of our personalities. In Better Than Normal ! Dr. Archer offers an empowering framework for redefining mental health. Drawing on his 20 years of clinical experience! he describes eight traits of human behavior! each of which occurs along a continuum rather than as a simple on-off switch. These are the aspects of our personality that we worry about the most! but these are also the very things that make us distinctive and different. Filled with engaging anecdotes and practical tools to help readers capitalize on their unique characteristics! Better Than Normal offers a new and liberating way to look at ourselves and others. ONE the eight traits And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more diffi cult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. Niccolò Machiavelli It's time for the introduction of a new order of things in the world of mental health. As a psychiatrist, I feel called to look critically at the overdiagnosing and overmedicating of America. More important, I am driven to spread an empowering new message about mental disorder that places responsibility for identity and mental health back where it belongs in your hands. I am envisioning a real change in the way we all talk about what it means to be ourselves. I believe that by understanding the eight fundamental behavioral traits and by seeing them as part of a continuum, we can really make a positive change in the way we understand ourselves. By the time you finish this book, I hope you will be able to see that every one of us has all of these traits, to some degree, and can analyze where each of our traits falls on a one- to- ten continuum (more on this in a moment). You'll be able to say: I'm an eight on the ADHD continuum. I am a seven on the narcissism continuum. I am a seven on the bipolar continuum. I am a two on the OCD continuum. What's more, you should be able to recognize exactly how your dominant traits have aided you in the past...

ldquo;A psychiatric pep talk guaranteed to rev up any reader.” – Booklist
 
“Archer’s creative redressing of these pathologically considered conditions is compelling and will definitely capture the attention of readers eager to “re-diagnose” themselves using his spectrum scale.” – Kirkus Reviews

“[An] extraordinary book.” -LibraryJournal.com

"With his fresh approach and some interesting ideas, Archer normalizes personality characteristics too often seen as pathological." -*Publishers Weekly

Auteur

Dr. Dale Archer

Texte du rabat

A New York Times bestseller that offers a groundbreaking new view of human psychology, showing how eight key traits of human behavior--long perceived as liabilities--can be important hidden strengths

What if the inattentiveness that makes school or work a challenge holds the secret to your future as an entrepreneur? What if the shyness in groups that you hate is the source of deep compassion for others? What if the anxiety and nervousness you often feel can actually help energize you?
Renowned psychiatrist and popular on-air personality Dr. Dale Archer believes that behaviors frequently labeled "ADHD," "bipolar," and "OCD" are often normal human qualities--and he contends that we all experience these and other psychological traits to some extent yet fail to leverage the significant advantages they can offer. Worse, we stigmatize one another for these aspects of our personalities.
In Better Than Normal, Dr. Archer offers an empowering framework for redefining mental health. Drawing on his 20 years of clinical experience, he describes eight traits of human behavior, each of which occurs along a continuum rather than as a simple on-off switch. These are the aspects of our personality that we worry about the most, but these are also the very things that make us distinctive and different. Filled with engaging anecdotes and practical tools to help readers capitalize on their unique characteristics, Better Than Normal offers a new and liberating way to look at ourselves and others.

Échantillon de lecture
ONE the eight traits

• And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more diffi cult to take in
  *hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take
  the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator
  has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and
  lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.
  — Niccolò Machiavelli
   
   
  It’s time for the introduction of a new order of things in the world of mental health. As a psychiatrist, I feel called to look critically at the overdiagnosing and overmedicating of America. More important, I am driven to spread an empowering new message
  about mental disorder that places responsibility for identity and mental health back where it belongs— in your hands. 
     I am envisioning a real change in the way we all talk about what it means to be ourselves. I believe that by understanding the eight fundamental behavioral traits and by seeing them as part of a continuum, we can really make a positive change in the way we understand ourselves. By the time you finish this book, I hope you will be able to see that every one of us has all of these traits, to some degree, and can analyze where each of our traits falls on a one- to- ten continuum (more on this in a moment). You’ll be able to say:
   
  “I’m an eight on the ADHD continuum.”
  “I am a seven on the narcissism continuum.”
   “I am a seven on the bipolar continuum.”
  “I am a two on the OCD continuum.”
   
     What’s more, you should be able to recognize exactly how your dominant traits have aided you in the past. “I would never have had the desire to do that ten- day solo sailing trip if I wasn’t an ADHD eight,” you might say, as I do. Or even better: “I have all the strengths I need to go on that trip I’ve always dreamed of. There’s nothing to stop me now.”
    …