Fixing bad Psychology

This blog is on indefinite hiatus and now exists as an archive. Tumblr, why? Featuring the lovable mascot Psyhnauzer the Short-Sighted Schnauzer.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

Happened to catch someone saying that science (by which they mean psychology) is unreliable as an opposition to metaphysical woo-stuff, because “psychology is still pretty "out there" to be seen as a hard science”. They then cited Carl Jung as proof that metaphysics and psychology are intertwined, since Jung is “kinda a big deal” in psychology.

That’s. No. That’s not how it works at all. 

*screams internally*

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

You talk about how stupid crap like 'angel-gender' is harmful to trans kids (which is right) but you don't seem to realize that the idea of being trans is extremely harmful to gay kids. The amount of lesbians who become trans men because their parents would rather have a straight son than a gay daughter is shocking. In some middle eastern countries gay kids are being forced to have sex changes. Trans actively harms gay kids.

Nice try, anon. That's the best you could come up with?

[biologyweeps]

You know, occasionally I come across a blog that’s horrible in an entirely off-topic way and I just… I can’t. Because that blog I came across exemplifies that whole ‘callout culture’ thing tumblr got going in the worst way. 

You see the blog is basically a single large blacklist for a certain subsection of tumblrites (yeah that’s right I’m gonna vague like a pro about this). And the blacklist they got up is…. certainly something.

Firstly, it provides the tumblr blogs of the blacklisted people, as to be expected. But for some of them they also provide facebook accounts. That’s the first brow lift I got.

Secondly, they don’t actually say why they blacklist people. Like, they got in their about a list of ‘offenses people can get on the blacklist for’ but not which ones a specific person allegedly did. Which is kind of important because on that list are at least two I would consider outright woo and absolutely not on the same level as harrassment or cyber stalking.

Thirdly, for none of the blogs any evidence is provided. The blacklist blog is just sitting there like ‘trust us they’re horrible what neither are we going to tell you what horrible thing they did nor are we going to provide any evidence of the horrible’ so all you got is their words that they’re totes horrible people - or and that’s another kicker - they’re being manipulated by horrible people. 

And lastly, the evidence they supposedly have but aren’t showing you is not even their own stuff, no it’s stuff they’ve been told by other people from the same corner of the blogosphere. So we’re not just talking hear-say,we’re talking hear-say once removed. 

And apparently asking these people to take you off the blacklist (the reasons of which they will not tell you, let me remind you of that) constitutes harrassment.

So yeah, quality tumblr callout blogging, completely unsourced, hear-say based bullshit for offenses that are in least part bullshit (and completely unprovable by their very nature) but totally make you deserving ostracizing from the community. 

What a time to be alive and looking at this. It can drive a grown owlet to drink I swear to Plaguemum.

Edit: and of course a system like that is completely secure against being abused or used by abusers to hurt vulnerable people. Nothing like that could happen nope. 

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

I'm not an unusual enneagram MBTI match up. If anything mine seem to sync up quite closely. I'm a 5 with a 4 wing and I'm an INFP. Lot's of common elements amongst these.

So belated, but thanks for the input, anon. :) Guess it must be a lot easier participating in personality typing conversations if it all matches up, haha.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

What do you think of genderfluid and non binary transtrenders? Disgustingly trying to get into trans people spaces and trying to make trans people problems trivial. Ugly fuckers think gender is clothing they can take off or on at their own whim.

Okay, this is… A loaded question/ask to answer. (And also not really related to psychology so much as sociology? But I digress.)

First off, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with genderfluid or nonbinary people. I have nb friends (although I am thoroughly binary transmale myself) and they are wonderful people. 

That being said, I don’t like ‘neopronouns’/’nounself’ pronouns, and I think the recent trend of creating a range of fabulous and strange genders based on things that aren’t even related to gender (e.g. ‘angelgender’) is absurd. I’m sorry, but it is. And I agree that it has a potential to harm trans people indirectly, especially people who are coming out to their loved ones for the first time only to have them google trans stuff and find this kind of thing. It might lead cis people to be even more dismissive of the trans movement, and although I don’t really give a crap what cis people necessarily think of trans people, I don’t want any trans kids to be hurt.

Still, I don’t think kids exploring their genders are necessarily cis; they could just be transpeeps who got introduced to an odd way of exploring their gender. Give it five or ten years, we don’t know how these kids will turn out. I don’t think assuming that they’re just bored ciskids is really justifiable.

I will say this: People who are comfortable in their assigned-at-birth gender role, who experience no dysphoria (either social or physical), require less help and support than people who want to transition and who experience dysphoria. Regardless of whether you define transness as requiring dysphoria or not, needing to transition and having no choice but to suffer the difficulties of transition, feeling dysphoric in your own body, these are all things that suck. These are things that need help and support, both emotional and medical. I know they suck, because I’m going through this right now, and I can tell you I have nothing but envy for people who are comfortable in their own bodies and their assigned-at-birth gender roles. 

Personally? I think being trans requires you to be uncomfortable somehow with your assigned-at-birth gender role and/or your body. And I mean in regards to society at large, not just asking your friends to use ‘fae/faer’ pronouns. Deep, profound discomfort. That horrible sinking feeling you get when someone misgenders you. The desire to strip off your wrong body and reveal a new one underneath, the self-loathing and tears, the dull pain of binding or tucking every day. 

But even if you disagree with me on what it means to be trans, you can’t deny that people who want to transition need more help and support and these are the people we need to really focus on.

(Btw, what does being ugly have to do with anything?)

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

The dog in your icon looks just like my dog! :D

Aww! Give your dog a pat from me.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

Is it just me, or does everyone on Tumblr claim to have a personality disorder these days?

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

I see that you are somewhat interested in the MBTI test (even if just in a for fun kinda way.) I was wondering what you think of the Enneagram test (if you are familiar with it.)

I actually quite like the Enneagram system almost as much as the MBTI, the only problem is I don’t know as much about it as I do MBTI so I try to refrain from talking about it on this blog at the risk of sounding like a dummy.

That being said! I’m self-typed 3w4, if anyone was curious. Followers feel free to reblog with your own types. :)

I’ve heard that the Enneagram represents your principles/ideals/motivations whereas the MBTI represents your behaviour/way of thinking, which I always find quite interesting to consider. A lot of guides on ‘which Enneagram type matches up with which MBTI type’ exist out there on the Internet, but IMHO there’s no hard-and-fast rule. I know 3s, for example, usually are extroverted types such as ENFPs, but I don’t believe there’s such a thing as “You can’t be this Enneagram type because you are this MBTI type”. After all, the main driving force of the 3s (social status, recognition, respect, success) can still be inherent and important to an introvert, they just might go about it in a ‘quieter’ way than the stereotypical businessman/woman extrovert. 

So I guess I’m sort of an unusual MBTI-Enneagram match, but no matter how many times I study the Enneagram’s different types I still conclude on being a 3, with a 4 a close-ish second. I wonder what other unusual MBTI-Enneagram match-ups exist out there - anyone got a story to share?

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

I’m not sure if any of my early followers remember...

...When I looked at so-called ‘psychopath expert’ Kevin Dutton way back when?

Went to a bookstore with my friend the other day, ended up browsing the Self Help/Layperson Psychology sections for the lulz, and saw KEVIN FUCKING DUTTON’S new book “The Good Psychopath’s Guide to Success”.

AND I SCREAMED. INTERNALLY.

Why is he still writing books?! Why is he still selling them?! Why is he still spreading misinformation about ASPD? Oh God why does he exist.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

MBTI stereotypes are so ridiculous. I know an ENFP who doesn't follow the stereotype at all. I've been told I must not be an INTJ because I'm comfortable around people, have feelings sometimes, and have a messy room. Even though I've taken the official test, the 16 personalities test, and many others that have repeatedly confirmed I am INTJ.

“Have feelings sometimes”…

That’s. Well, that’s obviously ridiculous given literally every human being has feelings. But I know what you mean, INTJs get stereotyped as robots incapable of human emotion, like Sherlock Holmes with all the charm taken away. And INFPs stereotyped as permanently disorganised people, constantly daydreaming and skipping through fields of daisies. Honestly I’d be surprised to find someone who actually fit either of these two stereotypes, although I’m sure they exist. In my experience stereotypes for Extroverted types tend to be more fitting/less ridiculous, at least from people I know, which makes me wonder if most MBTI stereotypes are written by extroverts? That might explain a lot, who knows.

MBTI is a very flawed system, and taking a bunch of tests could still give you the wrong result, especially if you’re (subconsciously) gunning for a particular result. That being said, I’m not sure it’s very likely for that to happen, and even if it did, human beings change so regularly and are difficult to categorise that what might be the ‘wrong result’ now could be the ‘right result’ later. I mean, let’s say someone who’s almost, but not quite INTJ, mistakenly believes they’re an INTJ. That could influence the way they guide their own behaviour over time, to the point where they’ve naturally become more INTJ-ish anyway. At the end of the day, I think MBTI stereotypes can be fun (and often funny), but I’d definitely say taking everything they say with a grain of salt is basically essential. And if things still seem confusing/unclear, try approaching it from a cognitive functions perspective. That’s the best you can do really.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

Has BPD ever been used as an abbreviation for bipolar disorder? It turned up in a recent Science article and it bothered me because it was distractingly wrong.

It has, yes. My teachers actually used it as an abbreviation in some of my classes, which confused and bothered me because in my mind BPD always = borderline personality disorder. I’m not entirely sure why bipolar disorder can’t just be abbreviated to ‘BD’ or even ‘BP’, but I guess it’s just one of those inconvenient things that happened about by chance.

IMO using BPD as an abbreviation for two unrelated (but frustratingly, oftentimes confused) disorders is just a pain in the ass, but what can you do.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

Sorry for the quiet spot.

In the middle of moving house so haven’t had much energy/time to tackle my messages. Going to do my best to get to them all now, though. Thanks for bearing with. <3

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

What therapeutic techniques are used to help someone unlearn things they internalized from abuse? Not trauma in general, or abusive behaviours that you picked up from them, but specifically internalized messages that your abuser taught you? I'm having trouble looking this up.

Very good question, anon. As someone with an abusive background myself, this is something I’ve had to deal with/try to figure out as well. There aren’t any therapies tailored specifically to abuse survivors, but the main ones I can think of are CBT, Schema Therapy and psychoanalysis.

TL;DR: CBT is a good first port of call for any abuse survivors. Schema Therapy and psychoanalysis may be worth a try if your abuse dates back to your childhood/adolescence.

CBT is one I’ve had some luck with. Although its focus is mainly on the present and not the past, it can help identify unhealthy cycles of thinking or unhealthy standards that you’ve internalised. For example, I had this internalised idea that I was never good enough and that my entire worth was based around how academically successful I was, because of the way I was brought up. My CBT therapist (who worked with an IAPT service) asked me to think of a real life person I considered to be “more successful” than me and one who was “less successful”, and to place them, and me, along a line. To actually unpick what I really meant by “successful” was really eye-opening, since it’s usually the sort of thing that isn’t consciously expressed but lurks subconsciously, and it made me realise that the idea of “success” is much more arbitrary and subjective than my upbringing had led me to believe. CBT is good for writing down and making clear the thought processes that you might not be aware of in everyday life and therefore “redirect” them onto a healthier path. 

That being said, although CBT did help me unpick some of the unhealthy internalised ideas about myself that I had, I didn’t feel like it completely addressed everything to do with my abusive background because the focus was on present coping mechanisms rather than the actual ‘root’ or beginning of the problem (in my childhood). I haven’t been able to personally undergo any therapy that has a more past-oriented focus, but I’ve heard both Schema Therapy and psychoanalysis are designed to look more towards the past. 

I first heard of Schema Therapy when a talker (a BPD sufferer whose condition had been caused by a severely abusive childhood) at one of my classes mentioned that it had really helped her. Schemas, for people who might not know, are sort of like “packages” of thoughts we have about the world. So, for example, my schema for a Kitchen might include the thought of an oven, a hob, a microwave, the smell of fresh bread, etc. We have schemas about everything, including schemas about ourselves. Going back to the success example earlier, my schema for success might include A grades, a high income, praise from my peers, etc. Someone else’s schema for success may involve other factors. Of course, my schema for myself may include “unsuccessful”, which then means you need to look at my schema for what success is, so all the schemas are tied together and inform each other. Most of our schemas begin formation as soon as we can understand information about the world and store it away in our brains, so in very early childhood. As far as I understand, schema therapy looks at the maladaptive (unhealthy) schemas that are formed during childhood and tries to rework these, since schemas form our underlying understanding of the world and so a schema that’s unhealthy from the get go has probably informed a large chunk of that person’s life and made everything built on that schema unhealthy as well. I think Schema Therapy is usually used to treat patients with personality disorders, but it may be worth seeing if you can find a therapist willing to work with you too even if you don’t have a personality disorder.

Psychoanalytic therapy is something I’m not particularly keen on, as I have my doubts about its efficacy. It’s a bit of a opinion thing, though, since lots of psychoanalysts claim that it’s successful and that the current way of evaluating therapies just isn’t suited to giving an accurate picture of psychoanalysis as psychoanalysis usually takes years as opposed to short-term therapies like CBT. As far as I know, psychoanalysis (and yes, it’s the therapy Freud originally developed) involves going back to your childhood and the relationships you formed with early figures, e.g. your parents, and examining those in a critical light. I believe psychodynamic therapy is a more condensed form, if you’d prefer not to take years to undergo therapy. :P

Only CBT is funded by the NHS, I believe, if you’re a UK citizen. 

There are some other alternatives that I don’t know much about. This link may help you. Sorry I can’t help more, anon.

P.S. More generally, if you have PTSD/CPTSD caused by trauma you may want to look into EMDR treatment. Good luck.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

solipsistful answered your question:

MBTI chat

i’ve gone from typing mostly as INTP to INTJ. but i think that’s just more me going ‘okay yeah i am a judgemental misanthrope what of it" than an actual change lmao -A

Pffft. Yeah, I think half the time changing types is just going “okay, okay, I’ll face up to the fact I’m actually _______”. It’s good though, being true to yourself/authentic (oh God existentialism anyone) is generally healthier than the alternative.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

My INFJ (which I tested as like maybe a year+ ago) became INTJ within the past half year and when I took it, I literally got a 1% little to no preference of T over F, which put things into perspective for me. I relate deeply to both generalizations of both types, so I don't really know which one I am actually? Like, I feel like I'm INFJ because of how feelsy I am. But reading stuff on INTJs has me like "YES, THAT'S ME."

INTJ is one of those types that I hear is apparently a common mistype? I.e. People mistype themselves as INTJ but really they’re something else. I’m not entirely sure how true that is but when you look at the “profiles” for the types it’s hardly surprising. The ones for INTJ and INTP tend to be “you are quiet and reserved but supersmart” whereas for example the ones for INFP tend to be along the lines of “you’re a sweet-hearted hippie who likes to skip through daisy fields because you’re so idealistic!!” I mean, most people who look into MBTI are the kind of people who are introspective and self-aware so to see profiles like that which are not only stereotypical but strangely patronising are really off-putting. (Sorry, I had a few years where I absolutely refused to believe I was “F” type because I thought Fs were all moodswingy disasters or touchyfeely fairy queens. Of course that’s not true at all so now I tend to go on mini-rants about the T vs F bias. XD) Not saying you’re a mistyper at all, I’m just curious what you think/if you agree that INTJ is one of those ‘common mistypes’?

ANYWAY. Sometimes people are just in-between types, since it’s a flawed system and sometimes people just don’t fit into it. So maybe you’re one of those? I mean, one option is to try looking at the cognitive functions method of looking at MBTI (if you look through my MBTI tag I’ve talked a bit about it before) but that’s pretty complex and time-consuming.

The thing is, INTJs aren’t robots but INFJs aren’t overemotional disasters either, so it’s really difficult to figure out what each type means when it isn’t framed in a super-caricature version of itself. Ugh. I definitely know how you feel because I was in the same boat a while back. In the end I decided to go for F, partially because I knew some self-typed INTPs/INTJs at the time and didn’t feel like we were very similar, but partially because I felt like, for me, INTP/INTJs were more what I aspired to be (at the time, I don’t any more) rather than what I actually was.

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

MBTI chat

I don’t usually put much stock into online MBTI tests because I think they can only provide a starting point for figuring out your type, rather than being taken at face value. Still, they can be useful (and fun) so I decided to take one randomly earlier today. It was the test at 16personalities.

I’ve typed as INFP for years now but was typed as INFJ by the test. “Ha, okay, online tests being silly again”, I thought to myself, but then I decided to look up and do a comparison between INFP and INFJ. As I was reading about the two types I realised I’ve changed since the last time I looked properly at MBTI, and I might have changed types - which isn’t unexpected. People do change throughout their lives and the MBTI categories are fairly arbitrary as it is. Still, I like using them as a way to kind of “mark” how I’ve changed over time. I think I probably changed because I’ve gained a lot more independence since graduating from my BSc and felt more confident in myself.

I haven’t had the chance to look at the cognitive functions and see how those match up, but I was just wondering if any of my followers have had their MBTI type change over time and why they think this happened? Any interesting stories to tell?

[biologyweeps]

Re: terms of endearment: can strangers call you comrade

defuq

But I guess so, though I maybe feel inclined to call them some plague-based terms in return. 

[your-psychology-is-wrong]

You confuse me with your talk of great science, Comrade!

(I sincerely apologise to any Russians reading this.)