Physical PAIN
2008-10-11, 10:10 p.m.

So, I usually make fun of Yoga. I prefer a workout that requires strength as opposed to flexibility and balance, like boxing. But I found out about this Bikram Yoga studio near my place, and they have a starters discount. Basically the Yoga is hot Yoga. You do it in a room that's like 90 degrees. 15 minutes in I was getting all nauseous and I had to go throw up. But when I was done, you know what I did?? I went right back in and finished. I'm awesome. Got right back on that horse, yes siree.

Friday I went to University of New Orleans to give a friend a ride, ended up staying there to write because I found a quiet place, and then talked to this guy for an hour. I'd met him before during a training for an anxiety assessment and he remembered I was from Texas (he is too) and we got to talking. Turned out he got his masters in gen psych with a focus on psychopathology. He worked under someone who is ON the DSM committee!!! Awesome.
Then we got to talking about personality disorders and characterizing anti-social personality disorder and narcissism.
The reason I write about this is because there is a paradox we found that I think is true of most things in life that theoretically sound great, but that end up not working.

People who have anti-social personality disorder and narcissism benefit immensely from therapy as do most people with personality disorders. The thing with anti-social and Narcissism though is people refuse to get treated for it because they think they're to good for therapy and only "crazy" people go to therapy, among a plethora of other symptoms. So then they self-medicate. Then the only treatment they end up getting is forced rehab which usually includes therapy, and that ends up failing because forced therapy NEVER works, because therapy is most effective when the patient is open minded and willing to try, and willing to be helped. It makes me so incredibly sad.

And this paradox is pervasive in society. We see systems of social welfare developed all the time, and because it's forced, people don't give a damn, but it's proved to work, but only when the client comes willingly. If the client does not adhere to the rules and standards the intervention becomes ineffective, so then what's the point?

It's either you find a way to get them to accept it will help so that they'll be open minded, and when that fails, you just leave them alone hoping against all hope they'll recognize their own stubborn irrationality and get some help.

And if they don't we lose valuable lives .But when is it ok to give up on someone? Is it ever ok?
Is there a point where you just let go in hopes that they can take life at face value and accept aid (therapy or other social services such as parent education, rehab, etc) or do you keep hounding and hounding and forcing hoping maybe for this person, for this case the service might work regardless of the clients stereotypes about the aid.

Maybe a valid research question?