Personality Quirks
What’s the difference between a personality quirk and a mental illness?
Is there a fine line that separates the two? If I’m obsessed with avoiding germs and wash my hands all day long, when does it cross over into being OCD? When I damage my skin? When I stop doing things I want to do because I’m afraid of the germ exposure? Or, when my fear of germs affects my relationships because of the unreasonable limitations I set for myself? Does it matter if I am conscious of these limitations and how they are affecting my life and my relationships?
What if I have intrusive thoughts that prevent me from sleeping, and I am constantly tired because of it? Is that just a quirk or something that is a sign of mental illness?
Or is there more of a murky frontier between personality quirks and mental illness? In certain situations the quirks present major problems in our lives or relationships? While in other situations the quirks only present minor issues or even strengths? Is it different for everyone? Does everyone have personality quirks? Or some form of mental illness? Is there a difference?
Who is it that decides whether we have quirks or mental illness? The people who write the DSM? The people who use the DSM to diagnose mental health disorders? Who check the boxes to determine if we fit the profile? Do we get to decide for our selves? Would that require a lot of self knowledge? Self understanding? The people in our lives who notice how our quirks impede our own successes? The people in our lives who suffer from the results of our quirks? Or mental illnesses?