Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

First - It was written by a lone PHd over a year before the NIMH blog post (which was written by a lone MD).

Second - I don't think this author was presenting his article as "the last word".

Lastly - The speculation on Einstein is grounded in comments by one of Einstein's biographers. I wouldn't call that groundless.

Chaotic aligned people are being diagnosed as mentally ill by Lawful aligned people.

Unfortunately, it's frequently Lawful-{Neutral|Evil} judging Chaotic-Good, which is a travesty.

Cancer is when your cells replicate too quickly and out of control. What's the opposite? When your cells don't replicate enough. Radiation sickness is what that looks like.

Dehydration is a serious problem, but so is over-hydration.

Insufficient oxygen will kill you, as will too much.

Bacterial infection can be a serious problem, but eliminating all bacteria from the body will also kill it.

Overactive immune systems are just as bad as underperforming ones. And on and on.

We adopted my brother when he was 15 months old, and in his first year of life we suspect he was frequently neglected, leading to attachment issues. Basically, when an infant's needs are not met, they get distressed, and the more often this occurs, the more those neurological pathways become ingrained in their brains. Which means that people with a traumatic early childhood are much more sensitive to stimulus, feel threatened easily, and very quickly move into "survival mode". In survival mode, we will all lie, cheat or steal because our survival is at stake. Kids like my brother spent a disproportionate amount of their time in this state.

They also learn at that young age that their needs are not going to be met, and so they come to distrust authority and other people, focusing on looking out for themselves (since no one else is going to). They also tend to fail to internalize social norms and rules like being honest and the "golden rule". These sorts of tendencies can be considered anti-authoritarian, but it is a reactionary anti-authoritarianism, not a healthy, well-reasoned skepticism of prevailing authorities. The latter is healthy, the former is not.

So while it may be the case that anti-authoritarian individuals frequently are diagnosed a mentally ill, it is probably much more common that some kinds of mentally ill individuals happen to be anti-authoritarian. I.e. causation moves from certain types of mental illness to anti-authoritarianism. Basically, I'd like to say this is an interesting article, but please don't walk away thinking that the entire system is just a ploy by The Man to keep the Lisbeth Salanders of this world marginalized. It is much more complicated and difficult than that.

On a personal note, it can be very painful to love someone with issues like ODD. It requires loads of love, patience and restraint. It can also be very rewarding.