The Antisocial Patient

This week on FW I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful man who had a career as a subway train driver in NYC. Perfect timing! I went to NYC for the first time the week prior J He talked about his life in the Bronx and his life now in Durham. He seemed like a pretty active man throughout his adulthood however current day consists of reading 3 newspapers and “taking care of things around the house”. His son reported that he pretty much lives an antisocial bed to chair life, living in poor conditions (dirty, moldy, floorboards breaking, etc…). Getting to know him a little further, I immediately started to think of leisurely things he could try while he was in rehab and potentially carry over to his home. All these lofty ideas were floating around and I thought to myself but does he really want to be involved in these? Does he like his life just like it is? Do I just see his life described on a piece of paper and want more for him just like his son does…and finds his life pleasing and doesn’t see a reason to change anything? I was starting have conflicting feelings about my own perceptions on what relationships mean to me and how they may drastically differ from my patients. I believe at the root of all human beings we desire to be in relationships and desire to share connections, love, and companionship. Well what happens when someone doesn’t crave those things? It really got me thinking about the title “antisocial” and what an individual who would be described by this name would enjoy.

Also I started thinking…his main goal is to return home at a Modified Independent level in his daily functions but by creating independence are we feeling his antisocialism? If there was a need at least partial assistance, would this relationship help him psychologically? I leave this week with more questions than answers...I am looking forward to finding out more about this interesting man this week! I want to know how he interprets his life, what he likes, what he would change and what are his personal goals.

(I didn't see a professional diagnosis of "antisocal personality disorder" in his chart - just the word antisocial to describe his nature and personality in the evaluation. But it is interesting read about the disorder and its characteristics. Click on the title of this post to read more...)