Commercials for medication often bring out the hypochondriac in all of us. Maybe you have Restless Leg Syndrome if your feet fall asleep, or Fibromyalgia if you have joint pain and are in your 60's. You may be in dire need of Depression Medication A if...
..you get tired at night. If you are sad sometimes.
A new diet medication might be right for you if you if...
...want to eat more than once a day and if your body weight doubled between the ages of 7 and 17.
I do not deny that people do suffer from the conditions listed above, but it is obvious from the way treatments for these conditions are being marketed that pharmaceutical companies are more concerned in gaining profits than they are with getting their medication to the right people (surprise, surprise). But it is not only the pharmaceutical companies pushing new medical conditions. Books, TV, movies and magazines also do their part to sell us on who we are and what we have, even where there isn't a financial push from a profit-making mechanism (well, maybe ratings have a little something to do with it).
When I read Girl, Interrupted, I was certain that I was also afflicted with the main character's Borderline Personality Disorder. With such generalized and generalizable symptoms, maybe you could feel this way, too. Taken from an informative pamphlet I obtained from a local behavioral health clinic:
The personal may feel confused about- and make sudden changes in- his or her goals [and] direction in life, for example...People with BPD may see themselves as constantly changing, depending on the situation they are in. As a result, they often change jobs, goals, etc...The person may feel the constant need to fill a void in life.
Check, check and check. I feel like I am surprising people (and myself, actually) every day when I explain my newest job application. Sure, I am also getting more and more desperate, but I have gone from applying to teaching positions, to environmental and women's non-profits, to a sushi restaurant and a farm internship in Colorado. I am once again considering applying for PhD programs, but not for Spanish or Latin American Studies as my undergrad and grad school experiences have been so far, but rather for geography. I have gone from academic-related careers to the nonprofit sector to interests in documentary film-making or sketch comedy writing. I get asked what it is I want to do in life and I freak out. Which goal do I say? All of them? Do I try to pick one? One of my mentors was always instrumental in making me feel a little less crazy about my many, and at times diverging, interests. "Find a way to tie them together," she would tell me, and then throw me a couple of examples.
Sounds to me that this is more about my failure at unemployment once again, and not about an actual psychological disorder. And I hope you do not judge me too harshly for drawing these conclusions, as I in no way intend to make light of psychological conditions (and hopefully it doesn't come through that way). There are legitimately many other symptoms that go along with Borderline Personality Disorder with which I also identify. I do not feel the need to go into those comparisons here, however. If you know someone with BPD and you know me personally, perhaps you could show me the ways in which my condition is different. Or maybe you're thinking, they really are a lot alike...
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