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| 'One for solitude...' (Painting by Vincent van Gogh) |
Henry David Thoreau once said: I had three chairs in my
house; one for solitude, two for
friendship, three for society.
Jane Lynch, on the other hand, dubs herself a victim of “social anxiety disorder.” Why? Partly because she self-admittedly has “just two real friends” (not to mention a host of “second-tier” buddies).
Perhaps Thoreau occupied one of his own chairs, which would mean that he had room enough left over for just one real friend (do the math).
But let’s give it the benefit of the doubt here; perhaps Thoreau stood tall all the while, thus freeing up chairs for two real friends.
When it comes to social anxiety diagnoses, Thoreau's latter person-to-friends ratio (1:2) would have made him Lynch’s disordered equal. Thoreau's former 1:1 ratio would have edged him toward social chaos.
Such is the terrain of psychological labeling. Perhaps
neither Lynch nor Thoreau is actually disordered. Perhaps they are simply discriminating.
Or brutally honest. After all, how many real friends does
anybody have?
Resources
http://www.mstarz.com/articles/74874/20150708/hollywood-game-night-host-jane-lynch-social-anxiety-disorder.htm
Copyright July 22, 2015 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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