1 - Beginning with Normal Behaviour

Which of these feelings have you experienced: unexplainable worry or anxiety about the future, suspicions that people do not like you or are laughing at you, mood swings from joy to depression? These reactions are common. Occasionally feeling worried, suspicious, or anxious about something is natural. But when these feelings are exaggerated or persist over long periods of time, they may become abnormal.

How is mental disturbance distinguished from normal behaviour? Normal people have accepted the challenges of everyday life, meet conflicts as they arise, attack problems realistically, and have a positive orientation to life. Normal people are able to adjust to the problems and disruptions that come their way.

Normal behaviour is typical of a group of people within the boundaries of a culture. Each society determines the range of behaviour it considers normal. All behaviour outside that range is labelled abnormal for that society. What is normal in one society may be abnormal in others. For example, some Native tribes celebrated the Potlatch when they got together for social occasions. A rich chief would either give away or destroy many of his possessions. This behaviour was considered normal for that Native society. If we suddenly started exhibiting that kind of behaviour (destroying possessions or giving them away), people might wonder if we were mentally stable. Thus, normal behaviour is linked to what is accepted as routine ways of acting for a certain society.

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