post-traumatic embitterment disorder

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They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder

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resonanteye
05/27/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
ok, I'm bitter. where do I sign up for the free pills?
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hippichx sez PEACE PLEASE
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
hate to say it, but i feel like this is yet another of many invented disease names to characterize a normal human emotion and allow people to rationalize how they feel. nobody wants to be a bitter person... but if they can't help it, they have PTED, it is another story.
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kaiwhakamarie
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
Ick, I feel very squicky about the fact that I probably have this. In fact, I know I do. A disorder? Nah. I just need to get the hell over it.

*headdesk*
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PreposterousHypothesis
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
If Inigo Montoya had only known about this. Miracle Max could have probably whipped something up for him.
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
Ok, now there's PTED. I'll add it to the lexicon of Serious Medical Issues That Must Be Named Because 2% Of The Adult Population Might Have It And Be Suffering From It Right Now.

Ask your doctor about all the new drugs available to treat just about any ailment you could ever imagine because this is in no way a ploy to convince the Amurrican public to buy more pharmaceuticals. No, really. We advise you to ask your doctor about all of Big Pharma's amazing products because we care about you, the consum- um, patient, and the quality of your life which can be vastly improved by many of our fine products. Do it, do it now. Call your physician and tell them what's wrong with you; we're sure there must be something bothering you right now, right? Come one, sure there is. Maybe your retinas itch? No? Maybe...um...your arm hair grows unevenly? Or! Maybe your stomach hurts when you eat McDonalds?! Yeah it does!! We totes have just the thing to ease your suffering!! C'mon, call your doctor! We're here to, um, help!!
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hollygirl
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
I have a name for thesetypes " injustice collectors".
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Jack_Burton
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
I imagine this is very common right now...

Work hard, buy a house, put your retirement money in a conservative mutual fund. Lose retirement, lose job, lose house. Get shitty job that you are overqualified for, that produces no satisfaction or advancement opportunities.

And, yep, the problem is your attitude.
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thegogglesdonothing
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
This seems like an adjustment disorder with depressed mood to me. The DSM is large enough already.
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Princess Leela
05/26/09

@thegogglesdonothing: Yeah, agreed. Seems to me the purpose of expanding diagnoses would be so that treatment options can be refined, but there doesn't seem to be a really strong need for that here.
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Princess Leela
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
I'm glad I only know you ladies via the Internets because if you were my real-life friends I'd have jumped off a bridge by now after you all told me to JUST SUCK IT UP AND GET OVER IT ALREADY.

Yes, I concede that the overlabeling here is somewhat silly, but the disorder this article is trying to explain describes a situation in which the person is abnormally, totally fixated on a perceived wrong that has been done to them, to such an extent that that person could end up doing harm to him/herself or to the object of his/her anger. Someone in that situation needs the care of a psychiatrist (like I did a year ago), not to be told to JUST SUCK IT UP AND GET OVER IT ALREADY.
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ritualtheory
05/26/09

@Princess Leela: THANK you. The article's wording did absolutely no-one any favors, and the overpathologizing of all woes large and small is clearly out of control (and wildly lucrative for the pharm industry) but that doesn't mean it isn't thoughtless to dismiss the concept entirely. "Get the fuck over it" or "Suck it up" or "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" may seem funny when considering Dick Cheney, but ordinary mortals can suffer from unwonted, uncontrollable bitterness. A lot.
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Princess Leela
05/26/09

@ritualtheory: now available on vinyl: Right. And to be fair, one of the things working with a therapist did for me was to give me the tools I NEEDED to just suck it up and get over it already. The reminder that I have pride and can put it to use, the realization that life's too short to waste it being pissed off 24-7, etc. But when you're that deep into a hole, very often you CAN'T get out of it without professional help. And you CERTAINLY can't do it when everywhere you turn people are telling you that "it's all in your head" and just to deal. Well, duh, of COURSE it's in your head -- where else was it going to be, your armpit? And don't they think if you could just get out of bed one day and magically "deal" without anything else changing, that day would have come already?
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ritualtheory
05/26/09

@Princess Leela: No kidding. Well, no, actually, I wake up every day and decide to be furiously depressed and anxious, just for shits and giggles. Gah.

That said, I need to check my armpit for something.
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Princess Leela
05/26/09

@ritualtheory: now available on vinyl: Well, obviously you're doing it for ATTENTION. Which it goes without saying you get a lot of while you're stalking around your curtains-drawn studio apartment alone all day, alternately crying and ranting at yourself.
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crivens
05/26/09

@Princess Leela: It's just as scary when you're on the receiving end, though. Having been subject to several abusive phone conversations with someone who, if they didn't have this disorder, sure had something like it, made me extremely upset and equally bitterly angry.

So, yes, whether you stick a label on it or not, the focus should be the person's total inability to put whatever the incident is in perspective. If the label helps people get help, I'm all for it.
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ritualtheory
05/26/09

@Princess Leela: If I wasn't doing it for attention, how would anyone know I was high-maintenance?
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Princess Leela
05/26/09

@crivens: Excellent point. People should get outside help not just for themselves, but because others shouldn't have to be on the receiving end of their out-of-proportion rage.
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andBegorrah
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
Hasn't the term for this already been coined?
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Cheeks All Over
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
Jeezus - this describles my (bipolar) boyfriend to a T. Anybody want him? He's free.
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Flackette Goes Retro
05/26/09

@Cheeks All Over: Already had and left one of those, but thanks!
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andBegorrah
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
I bet there's an app for that.
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ritualtheory
05/26/09

@andBegorrah: Nice.
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prestocaro fears the culling
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
So I've had this after every roommate I couldn't fuck that I've ever lived with. Seriously, for weeks after, I would just ruminate about uncleaned refrigerators, clogged sink drains, and broken paraphernalia.
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morninggloria
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
I think the American economy has this.
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SomeAuthorGirl
05/26/09

@morninggloria: Good thing we have that hopeful fellow down in the White House, telling us to put on our big girl panties and get the fuck over it.
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morninggloria
05/26/09

@SomeAuthorGirl: Buuuuut I was told that the value of real estate would never go doooowwwwnnnn!!!!!
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SomeAuthorGirl
05/26/09

@morninggloria: Put on your big girl panties AND pull up your socks, young lady.
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Eleanor Ramilly
05/26/09

In reply to They Call Me Mr. Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
Maybe I'd have an easier time swallowing this new pill if the article didn't say:

"Embittered people are typically good people who have worked hard at something important, such as a job, relationship or activity, Linden says. When something unexpectedly awful happens -- they don't get the promotion, their spouse files for divorce or they fail to make the Olympic team -- a profound sense of injustice overtakes them."

That, my friends, is called life. It is unfair at times. As my mother would say, Deal with it.
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