My goal is to give you everyday examples of people with mental disorders. I want to show you that people with mental disorders walk, and talk, and interact. They function probably better than myself in normal society. They are not on the other side of the world, and are not living in their own world (unless they are narcissistic, and then an argument can be made). People with mental disorders are exactly like you and me except they are born with a different twist, a perception disturbance.

From these examples, I hope to educate, and in a way equip the public with information on how to "deal" with the everyday interactions of the mentally unstable.

Meet Joe

Joe works as an architect at a well-established company in Philadelphia. He does not miss a day of work. Joe has a wife and kid. On the outside looking in, he appears to be a stand-up individual. Actually, Joe seems to be somewhat more than a stand-up individual. His words and his actions go above and beyond any social standard. Joe goes to church, and is sure to be seen volunteering at the local hospital.

He is very charming. Joe uses this charm as a way to gain importance and position in his field. This charm also makes it easy for Joe's eyes to wonder at the ladies who laugh so merely at his jokes in the office. Joe is not loyal to his wife, although no one, not even his best friend is aware. Every once in a while, when Joe lets his guard down, a sense of aggressiveness comes through his voice, and the words seem very uncharacteristic. Joe is an everyday example of a sociopath.

First note that my example is not one of extreme severity. Joe however, does show examples of what a sociopath would act like in everyday situations. If you know someone like Joe, let he or she think they do indeed have the upper hand. Joe's mental disease is a scary one, and I would advise to only maintain a relationship in which he is most comfortable, meaning you should try to only maintain an extremely superficial level of friendship with this person.

Meet Sally

Sally is an artist at a studio in Austin, Texas. She dropped out of college the last year she was there because she believed her beautiful artwork was going to make her famous. To any normal person, Sally seems a little disorganized, very polite, and maybe a little dramatic. Although Sally's studio is doing well, she is not able to keep all the money she makes. A few years earlier, Sally went on EBAY and charged thousands of dollars worth in clothes to her parent's credit card. Although Sally does not send money to them most of the time in an effort to pay them back, she believes one day she will.