HEALTHY, DYSFUNCTIONAL, AND PATHOLOGICAL PEOPLE

HEALTHY , DYSFUNCTIONAL , AND PATHOLOGICAL PEOPLE

As you begin to differentiate between how to deal with the variety of emotional responses from employees , it is valuable to see them along a continuum in their level of functioning in the world. On one end of the continuum is the health employee, the poster child of mental health, company morality, function, task management, social capacity, and ethics. At the other end of the continuum would be the pathological employee, the employee who just cannot do the job, who fights and struggles with every task, is not liked by others, is abrupt or uncomfortable to be near. There is another branch of the continuum that shoots off the end of the pathological chart. That is the Emotional Terrorist who is willing and able to sacrifice others for a personal goal or agenda

Use the following analogies to begin getting more comfortable with the continuum:

The Healthy Car Analogy

If you want to take a trip, and actually get there while also enjoying the scenery, you want a car that is HEALTHY, a car that is functional. It gets you from here to there. A High Order Healthy car just needs fuel and an occasional window washing. Driving this car is a delight. A Middle Order Healthy car needs regular oil checks, tire rotations , and an occasional wiggle of the spark plugs. Perhaps the glove box gets a little stuck. It still gets you where you want to go without much effort. A Low Order Healthy car is one that requires frequent replacements of spark plugs, extra oil on a regular basis, needs to warm up before you drive it, the third gear sticks and must be wiggled just right, the outside mirrors wiggle out of place, and you never think about leaving without a spare tire. But you still get there without major concerns and you get to enjoy the scenery on the way because regular maintenance will generally keep the car functioning adequately. Some healthy vehicles look cosmetically perfect. Some look like they just came from a wrecking yard. You don't really need to worry.

The Dysfunctional Car Analogy

Dysfunctional cars might get you to your destination and they might not get you there. They need occasional or constant support to keep running. Even with constant help there is no guarantee that the dysfunctional vehicle will make it through the journey. Even with all the preparation and maintenance, it is a risk. Unfortunately, over the long haul they are vulnerable to breakdowns. High Order Dysfunctional cars usually get you there, but you have to take a few spare parts in the trunk, check the oil, watch the gauges and be on alert for random strange sounds. Middle Order Dysfunctional cars need more care and attention and the glove box doesn't even close. You are pleased if you get somewhere, and not surprised when you don't. Low Order Dysfunctional cars break down every few miles and there is no time to watch the scenery out the window. These clinkers rarely make the trip worthwhile or enjoyable due to the high level of maintenance required to micro-manage every detail. The dysfunctional car starts incurring costs. You may have to join a towing membership club, keep a cellular phone available for breakdown, or hire a mechanic to ride with you to help keep it going. Some dysfunctional vehicles look cosmetically perfect. Some look like they just came from a wrecking yard. You worry.

The Pathological Car Analogy

Pathological cars don't get you there safely, if at all. They tend to catch on fire under the hood and may explode before you even see much smoke. They may randomly swerve into oncoming traffic. The brakes may fail as you are going around an important curve and the windows don't open if it plunges into the river . The head gaskets crack under any sort of pressure. The rubber comes off the tires at 55 m.p.h. The engine might not start no matter what you give up in the process. In fact, they control the entire vacation and take up your time looking for ways around the delays. You spend time seeking other modes of transportation while hoping the vehicle suddenly turns into something functional. High Order Pathological cars sometimes have an interesting capacity for crime they are the stolen cars that run well, but are on their own agenda. They may be confiscated before you get to your destination. And you might unknowingly become an accessory to the crime. They may appear very powerful or very calm just before they kill you with carbon monoxide. Middle Order Pathological cars are wannabes ” soapbox derby cars with no motors. They have the flash but not the power. Low Order Pathological cars are usually easy to spot. They may barely be recognizable as a vehicle. Or they are the lemon cars that someone else traded in that looks good, but has been involved in a fatal accident or cleaned up after someone committed suicide in the front seat. They might look very good cosmetically, but under scrutiny do not measure up. They may look shiny in the driveway and make you look very cool, but don't put your kids in the backseat and head for the Grand Canyon because no one would survive.

The Range of Healthy, Dysfunctional, and Pathological Employees

		LEVEL OF CAPACITY TO FUNCTION IN SOCIETY
		HIGH	MEDIUM	LOW
LEVEL OF	HEALTHY	The shaker and the mover	The capable and the helpful	The well intentioned and the steady
	DYSFUNCTIONAL	The present and accounted for and troubled	The present and troubled and needy	The randomly absent, troubled and needy
	PATHOLOGICAL	The criminal and the manipulative and ill and brilliantly successful	The criminal and manipulative and ill and needy with less success	The incapable and removed from society

Variables of Healthy, Dysfunctional and Pathological People

HEALTHY	DYSFUNCTIONAL	PATHOLOGICAL
Basically Happy	Basic Unhappiness	Altered States
Positive Tools	Limited Tools	Negative Tools
Skills	Limited Skills	Skills
Options	No Options Thinking	Options
Tracks Well	On and Off Track	Private Track
Reality Based	Realities Shift	Distortions
Stable	Unstable	Charismatic
Manages Loss	Fear of Loss	Controls all Loss
Flexible	Less Flexible	Rigid
Belongs	Wants to belong	Prefers Ownership
Influential	Vulnerable to influence	Exploitative