The mother found a dead cat. Her daughter’s behavior disturbed her [FRAGMENT OF THE BOOK]

The twins Ariel and Alice, although physically identical, couldn’t be more different. Alice’s disturbing behavior began in early childhood. It was a mystery to her parents whether she was sick or simply angry. Psychiatrists are also looking for an answer to this question.

1. When problems with Alice started, her mother took the guilt within herself
2. She was sure that she had made a mistake in her upbringing or that she was still pregnant. Maybe the daughter sensed that she was not thrilled with the idea that she would have twins?
3. Alice possessed a set of traits that indicated she was a psychopath
4. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Good and bad twin

In their 30 daughters, Helen and Steve recalled the past with mixed feelings. Any influx of pride in Ariel’s accomplishments was held back by the thought of Alice’s unpredictable, generally disruptive, and often financially burdensome behavior. The twins Ariel and Alice, physically alike, were different in terms of their personalities like day and night – or should you say, like heaven and hell.

1. See also: The psychologist has scared the child many times. He was conducting an unethical experiment

The contrast deepened over time. The previous week, Ariel had called to share some great news: Senior partners at the company had let her know that if she continued to perform as before, they would surely invite her to join their ranks in a few years’ time. The phone message from Alice – or rather, her nanny at the rehabilitation center – was not that pleasant. Alice and her friend sneaked out of the facility at night and has not been seen for two days. Recently, when something like this happened, Alice found herself in Alaska hungry and penniless. Her parents could no longer count the number of times they sent her money and made arrangements to return home.

The rest of the text is below the video.

Growing up, Ariel caused some problems. It was nothing extraordinary, however. She took offense and was in a mood when she failed to get her way, especially as a teenager. In high school, she tasted cigarettes and marijuana; after less than two years, she quit her studies, afraid that the lack of specific goals means a lack of skills. She worked a year, chose the law, and from then on, nothing could stop her from pursuing her chosen goal. She was persistent, interested in the subject of studies and ambitious. She edited an academic legal journal, graduated from the university with honors and won the first job she applied for. There was always something “a little wrong with Alice.” Both girls were lovely, but Helen watched anxiously that they were already at three or four years old, Alice knew how to use beauty and childish charm for her own purposes. Helen even had the impression that Alice was flirting – she was clearly hiding in the company of men – although such suspicions about a small child made her feel guilty.

1. Editors recommend: He fell ill as a child. He has been living in an iron lung for almost 70 years

She felt even more guilty then when the kitten given to the girls by the cousin was found dead, strangled, in the yard. Ariel was through a lot of it, and Alice’s tears seemed a bit forced. Helen couldn’t help but think Alice had something to do with the kitten’s death. All sisters often fight each other. But there was something “wrong” about the way the twins waged their wars. Ariel has always been defensive, Alice has always been the aggressor, and she especially enjoyed destroying her sister’s belongings.

Everyone breathed a sigh when seventeen-year-old Alice left the house: at least Ariel could live in peace henceforth. However, it soon became apparent that Alice, having gained independence, had discovered drugs. Now she was not only erratic, impulsive, prone to fits of fury, whenever she wanted to force something on her surroundings – she became a drug addict and by all methods, including theft and prostitution, she obtained money for her addiction. Court deposits and fees for treatments – even 10 thousand. hole. for a three-week stay at a clinic in New Hampshire – they took up a significant portion of the parent’s budget. “I’m glad someone in our family will be solvent,” Steve said when he heard about Ariel’s successes. He had been wondering for some time how long he would be able to afford financially to repair the damage Alice had caused. Frankly, he was beginning to doubt the rightness of preventing her from being behind bars. Because isn’t she the one who should bear the consequences of her actions?

Helen kept repeating impassively: None of my children would spend the night in jail (Alice had spent more than one there, which Helen chose not to remember) as long as I was able to pay bail. It was a matter of responsibility: Helen felt that she and Steve had made a mistake in raising Alice, although in 30 years of intense introspection, she couldn’t tell what the mistake was. But maybe he was in the subconscious – maybe she hadn’t reacted as enthusiastically as she should when she heard from the doctor that she was most likely to have twins. Maybe she was inadvertently neglecting Alice, which caused her more trouble in the delivery. Maybe she and Steve had triggered the Jekyll-Hyde syndrome in the family by insisting that the girls dress differently, go to dance schools and go to vacation camps separately. Maybe…, but Helen had her doubts. Because don’t all parents make mistakes? Do all parents inadvertently favor any of their children, even temporarily? Don’t all parents feel their joy for their child grow up and down alternately with life events? Yes – but not all parents get someone like Alice.

As she searched for answers to her questions, Helen kept a close watch on other families and saw very easygoing, very unjust parents with balanced, calm children. She knew that troubled and even unbalanced children were mostly children of brutal parents, but for all the mistakes they made, she and Steve certainly did not fall into that category.

Is Alice sick or just angry?

So the twins ’30th birthday filled Helen and Steve with mixed feelings: gratitude for their daughters’ physical health, joy that Ariel found safety and self-fulfillment at work, and a long-standing anxiety about Alice’s fate. But perhaps the strongest emotion as they toasted their absent daughters was the unease at Alice’s continued failure to improve. After all, the XNUMXth century was ending, you had to know how to deal with such difficulties. Cures for depression have been invented, and therapies have been developed to overcome various phobias, but none of the countless doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, and social workers who have come across Alice have been able to explain the problem or propose an antidote. No one was even sure if the girl really suffered from mental disorders. Thirty years later, Helen and Steve looked at each other across the table and asked sadly, “Is Alice sick? Or just bad? ”.

1. Also read: Boy in a plastic bubble. He spent his whole life in it

We still face the problem of “Is Alice sick or angry?” This question has long troubled not only psychologists and psychiatrists, but also philosophers and theologians. Formally speaking: is the psychopath a mentally ill person or someone who completely consciously breaks the common rules of conduct? This is not just a semantic question. Considered from a slightly different perspective, it is of great importance in everyday life: does the treatment and control of psychopaths belong to institutions that deal with mental health or to the penitentiary system? Everywhere in the world, judges, social workers, lawyers, teachers, doctors, prison officials and society in general need – whether they know it or not – an answer to this question.

Confusion and ambiguity are often caused by the very term psychopathy, literally: “mental illness” (psyche – “mind”, pathos – “disease”; this meaning can still be found in some dictionaries.) Moreover, the media uses the word psychopath as the equivalent of “insane man” or “madman”: “The police suspect a psychopath is on the run”, “Whoever killed her must be a psychopath.”

Most clinicians and researchers use these terms differently, knowing that psychopathy should not be judged in the traditional terms of mental illness. Psychopaths are not confused people, out of touch with reality, nor do they suffer from the delusions, hallucinations, and deep, subjective discomfort that generally accompany mental disorders. Unlike psychotic people, psychopaths are reasonable, aware of their behavior and its motives. Their actions are the result of free choice. Therefore, if a person diagnosed with schizophrenia under the influence of an illness breaks social norms – for example by killing a random passer-by because it was ordered by the “Martians in a spaceship” – we believe that he is not responsible for it, “due to insanity”. If, on the other hand, the same norms are broken by a person diagnosed as a psychopath, we consider him sane and send him to prison.

Even so, a common response to reports of violent crimes, especially torture and serial murder, are the words “You have to be mentally ill to do something like this.” Possible – but not necessarily in the legal or medical sense of the term.

The excerpt comes from the book “Psychopaths Among Us” by Robert D. Hare (Wydawnictwo Znak).

Also read:

1. Mrs. Beata from Świecie woke up during the operation. She was traumatized
2. What is Schumacher’s condition? The neurosurgeon from the Clinic “Alarm Clock for Adults” talks about the possibilities
3. The newborn was born with blue skin. It turned out that there were more people like him
4. “Toxic Lady”. The medics in the emergency room lost consciousness and suffered from convulsions
5. All the sins of Oscar Pistorius. Was he really an outstanding athlete?

The content of the medTvoiLokony website is intended to improve, not replace, the contact between the Website User and their doctor. The website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Before following the specialist knowledge, in particular medical advice, contained on our Website, you must consult a doctor. The Administrator does not bear any consequences resulting from the use of information contained on the Website. Do you need a medical consultation or an e-prescription? Go to halodoctor.pl, where you will get online help – quickly, safely and without leaving your home.