Bear with me here some personal stuff is relevant: My first and only so far standardized psychological diagnostic (WAIS III) concluded I was narcissistic essentially for recognizing my own intelligence and some other things. (It then proceeded to tell me how above average my intelligence is. /smh) I feel like this is wrong but I have no way to disprove it. If anything I have excessive empathy. I can’t play multiplayer competitive games for example because I feel guilty when I win. I don’t like “entrepreneurship” because I feel like I’m exploiting information asymmetry. I worked myself out of a job repairing computers so well my clients no longer needed me. I’m vegan 99% of the time because I find the idea of enjoying the product of torture unconscionable. My girlfriend finds me to be quite loving and compassionate and I do genuinely care about the happiness of those around me. I’m against all forms of punishment because in my view crime is either desperation or illness. I strongly agree with the phrase: All who do evil are suffering. I feel like I could think up other examples. Is organizing two disaster relief charity drives the kind of thing narcissists typically do? /snark
That said, I also recognize the primacy of power, having basically none in my life thanks to being unable to drive or make phone calls. Which finally brings me to my point here. Disability turns me down repeatedly because I can’t properly complete the process or hire a lawyer. For me it’s impossible to get or fetch records being in a small town that pretends email doesn’t exist still.
Socially, until I get some other diagnosis or official label. I am simply lazy. And holy crap if that’s not one of the top five awful social labels to endure. It’s like a secular version of original sin. Economically and socially being male and jobless means I am lazy until proven otherwise by income or exception. I specify male because until recently being an aspiring homemaker was a perfectly valid social option for women, and still is in many areas of the nation. But men have been expected to win bread since its invention as far as I know. If that’s wrong, so be it, my point is that right now, my society thinks all males who fail to work are lazy by default. And that all laziness should be punished. (Preferably by austerity, homelessness, and death apparently.)
Further, I think psychology as an institution refuses to challenge this out of fear. For example, how come no disorder has excessive laziness as a symptom when literally every other aspect of human psychodynamics if carried to a harmful extreme is part of some disorder or other? Seriously, pick a sensation or behavior and mentally carry it to the extreme, you’ll find that as a symptom somewhere.
All except laziness. Interestingly, disturbingly, even horrifying physical wasting diseases that merely somewhat look like laziness get the same treatment. I.E. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. (That disease is nightmarish, and our loathsome society scolds people who have it.)
So why this omission? I’ll tell you. Because if our medical establishment recognized laziness as a legitimate medical phenomenon then the shame and blame that justifies homelessness (the pillory of our era) would be undermined and the whole capitalist ideology would have to go to war with the psychological sciences because they would find them literally attacking capitalism.
Incidentally this tells us something about the social pecking order as well. Clearly medical science comes second to corporate interests. You already knew that if you ever had your doctor told no by an insurance company, or you ever noticed one of those “this office does not perscribe narcotics” signs in the waiting room of same.
Science always serves power. That’s why politicians always commend PHDs instead of having them.
I could link to stuff in support but why bother.
