I always find it interesting that we tend to look at behaviors from others or ourselves and although we see the uncommon characteristics of that person, life goes on, although we may find humor or sometimes fear in what we just witnessed. In my 27 years in being a therapist I heard many stories that sometimes held for me almost disbelief anyone would think like that, but the human potential is anything but predicable. One thing we know in studying psychology is what we attempt to call “normal” is usually an illusion of our own need to feel normal ourselves. Many times sitting in my office meeting a new client for the first time, thinking there is nothing anyone can say that will shock me, and then hearing another story that defies belief. We are amazing creatures full of mystery and individuality and yet there is so much to learn about how we think reason and act. Yes there are those stories that most of would ask, how could someone do that to another person, harm them, bring so much misery to others? We may never fully understand those “horror” stories that we read about in the newspapers or watch on the news, but we continue to look at the causes and reasons why some people act the way they do. So how do we define “normal”? Is it what we in our society deem acceptable or does a behavior need to conform to our own personality and psyche?
