Quote of the day (as blurted out by a male classmate after the psychiatry clerkship director clarified some question about defense mechanisms): "Oh yeah, like Mean Girls!"
Today was the last day of our psych rotation, so we assembled at our home hospital and were lectured on important highlights of psychiatry in preparation for our shelf exam on Friday. Our teacher was the same doctor that thought us behavioral science a year and a half ago. He's eccentric and fun to learn from - traits on display today when he described several psychologic ideas in this great analogy of music:
Defense mechanisms are like notes of music; think of each defense as a key on a piano. A person's personality is like a song. Each song is a unique combination of notes, just as a personality is a unique use of defense mechanisms. Songs are grouped together into genres in the same way that personalities are grouped into personality types when they're healthy and personality disorders (PD) when unhealthy. Some types of music are fairly benign and well-liked, such as pop or classical music. Others, like jazz, are bold and eccentric, taking the listener right up to the edge of chaos, but back to traditional tones and melodies for a satisfying conclusion. This is analogous to some exciting personalities, frequently of celebrities, as their eccentricities are what make them interesting. A personality disorder is a collection of defense mechanisms that don't work for a healthy relationship with society. These are like atonal or metal genres, which don't typically bring pleasure to the vast majority of music lovers. Of course music genres are just a matter of taste - I really like some metal - whereas personality disorders can be downright dangerous.
TIL: Antisocial PD is said to be the only PD that is nigh untreatable. First of all, antisocial PD does not mean that someone is shy (that's more the avoidant or even schizoid PDs) but rather that they are unremorseful about breaking society's expectations. This means that antisocial people break laws, rules and, most relevantly, psychiatrists' prescriptions for medications and/or therapy.
[Note to readers: I will be studying for the rest of the week, but WILTIMS with return on Monday with day one of my pediatrics rotation!]
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