Better Than Normal: How What Makes You Different Can Make You Exceptional

Simple/straightforward overview of the 8 mental health diagnoses and exploring a spectrum of the disorders. For example if you have some of the tendencies of ADHD but are not excessively high you can use this extra energy and need for adventure to your advantage. I only gave it a 4 because I felt the quiz was a bit simplistic, Dr. Archer does say it is not diagnostic but a guide for realizing your tendencies. I noticed that while I scored lower on some of the quizzes I found I had lower or higher tendencies, but overall it was fairly accurate. It's part self-help book and part plea to the psychiatric community to stop seeing mental health diagnoses as either/or (you have the illness or you don't) but rather a spectrum. Easy read for most readers.

After reading Dr. Dale Archer's Better Than Normal, I learned to see "Disorder" in a new way. His candid report and sensible, take on the many disorders society has labeled so many with gave me insight on how these are being treated, and why most of the treatments do not work. I got the feeling that western medicine is trying to recreate personalities that they find abnormal. Mostly his take on ADHD clearly enabled me to be grateful that I am able to multitask. Speaking strictly for me, I have been able to accomplish more than the average individual while raising 4 children. With the stress factors placed upon women today, it makes sense that the human brain would have a re-facing of the often slightly damaged fight or flight mechanisms we naturally react from. In that case we will suffer "meltdowns" and sporadic onset of the blues.I agree with his statements that reflect our culture's belief that we need to be treated for this problem and the popular belief that we need to sit face to face with a professional who will diagnose us, give our meltdowns a name so we can have an answer. He mentions the past when anyone who saw a psychiatrist once a week was considered flawed in a shameful way. Today's culture or society might see a person who has never been in counseling as flawed. (I paraphrase here)Lately everyone we talk to has some sort of prognosis for their emotional discomfort. I see this as a weakening of our way of life. For most it is easier to complain about things we could be changing than to change what we are doing. I think Dr. Archer's book echoes this.I am one reader who leans toward the probability that science has failed us. And yet, I wonder if we ever needed to approach science and ask it to help us cope with the normal responses to grief, divorce, job loss or financial peril. There is no magic pill for the normal brain function of someone who reacts to any of those life situations. If we numb our emotional pain we cannot possibly evolve, whether we do it with pills, alcohol or any mind altering substance. Not to say there are not people who were born with a pathological disorder, mind you. I am sure some individuals are struggling with biological issues and medication is their only hope.The problem I have with western psychiatry is, the professionals who see and hear patients go on about their emotional pain are diagnosing them with some label that justifies medication instead of giving them cognitive tools to apply to their problems. The latest popular treatments contain a mixture of different medications ranging from ADHD med, to a list of antidepressants that mess with brain neurons. After my son died, I became obsessed with distraction and worked longer hours, working more then I slept. The energy that grief is was channeled toward productive activities (I opened,owned and operated my 5Th restaurant) and I cried a lot even in a "hyper alert state." My husband was concerned and suggested I see a professional. I saw a doctor who diagnosed me with ADHD, and Bi Polar disorder. I went home with and took my pills, and weeks later I was in a mental hospital wanting to die. There, I was given more little orange bottles full of antidepressants with new names. One of those medications was prescribed for seizures, which I didn't suffer from, but the claim was, this medication would be a good mix with antidepressants. (I never understood the gamble) While taking the antidepressants I became or at least felt debilitated in comparison to prior behaviors. I slept too much and couldn't obsess or even process my own thoughts. Months later, I stopped taking them. I didn't know what would happen, but I knew I'd die if I didn't. I found out there is no magic pill for grief.Because I learned a great deal about psychiatry, I wanted to read Dr. Archer's book, BETTER THAN NORMAL. I learned more than I expected to learn about labels, emotional pain, healing and saw through Dr. Dale Archer's scope of the word, normal.

Dr. Dale Archer has a better than normal knack for telling anecdotes, but his ability to write a truly helpful book remains lacking. This thin volume lists a handful of common psychological "problems" and then spends a few pages listing why some of those traits are beneficial under certain circumstances. This is more of a pep talk than anything else. Three cheers for social anxiety disorder.Many of the book's anecdotes end in a compromise. The patient thought he or she wanted one thing from life, ran into an obstacle involving mental health, and adapted to overcome that obstacle and live a compromised life based on that person's natural strengths. The pages are replete with anecdotes about people changing their jobs and lifestyles to compensate for anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, OCD, and other common mental health issues. The message is not that you can overcome these disorders, but that you can live a life with them, even if that is not the life you planned on living.I was looking for more and I did not find it.

This book is so good! Everyone should read it - we all have quirks and sings of mood - but are we abnormal? This book is easy to read and breaks down the different areas of mental behaviors and explains the ranges and how they can affect people in each 'zone' of that behavior. Some quizzes if you want to assess yourself or someone you know, but mostly it's just an excellent book about how we all have quirks and how our psychology compares to the ranges and types of thinking in the world

AMAZING! THE "MUST -DO" OF ADHD CHAOS IS TRANSFORMED WITH THE "CAN-DO" OF DR. ARCHERS VISIONARY DIRECTION.THIS WORK HAS CONNECTED THE DOTS, FOR ME. WELL THOUGHT OUT, WELL RESEARCHED, CLEAR, AND COMPASSIONATE FUEL FOR ANYONE IN THE ADHD EXPERIENCE. DR. ARCHER IS THE OZZY OSBOURNE OF PSYCHIATRY: STRONG, REAL, BRAVE, AND LOUD ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU HEAR IT. GOING OFF THE RAILS ON A CRAZY TRAIN? GET BACK ON TRACK: WITH THIS INNOVATIVE , DOWN TO THE BONE LOOK AT WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON!

My daughter wanted to read this to help her understand her ADHD. She read another book by the same author. She gave it a thumbs up and said it was very good. Now it's on my reading list.

I've read many psychology books over the decades, and none put our traits and how they work for (and sometimes against) us into perspective so clearly as this. You will come away not only with a great layman's understanding of how we all have some degree of every trait and how are personalities are reliant on where on the scale of each trait we fall. And most of all Dr. Archer seems to want us all to know that all traits have value to us if we know how to use them. Included is an easy self-test to find out where you stand and gain new insight to your personality and relationships. Great read!