Me and Psychology

Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World, 4th Edition.

Yes, yes this is the exact edition and the exact cover the one of which my dad once had.

Believe it or not, I've translated many chapters from this book for my father during his Master Degree in Psychology (Counseling) years. When I was in form 4 up to lower 6. My dad's lecturer prefer all assignment to be in BM, and my dad doesn't have time to do it being a government servant and took his master part-time; and attending classes every Saturday and Sunday.

I love this book, this is my first encounter with many terms of abnormal psychology. I still remember one chapter of this book with a picture of Glenn Close taken from movie Fatal Attraction at which she was depicted as having Borderline Personality Disorder. Sadly this book and many others were eaten by termites that infested our old house. I love this book, and another green covered book photocopied by my dad during his Degree in Psychology (Counseling) in UPM, that book I couldn't recalled at all. But it was good.

I remember translating a chapter on a Case Study of Dissociative Identity Disorder. About a sexually abused young girl and her mechanism on dealing with it by forming alters. One alter surfaces when he was sexually abused by her father, another appears when she was locked in a cupboard to soothe her when she cried hungry, scared and dirty with unchanged soiled diapers. There were 5 alters in total, all with different role. That is why I am no stranger to United States of Tara TV series, it all rings a bell.

Another case study about Dissociative Fugue, a women in her early 30 woke up on a couch one afternoon not remembering anything. Nothing at all. She wandered off her house to many places and establishing new identity.

I also translated a chapter on intervention and psychotherapies; Psychoanalysis, Self-Realization, Cognitive, Behavioral, Hypnosis, etc. This is where I encountered with drugs Valium and haloperidol etc; withdrawal effect etc.

My father always corrected my translation that 'Psychological Disorder' is 'Kecelaruan Psikologi' and not 'Gangguan Psikologi' of which up til now, I still disagree with.

Unfortunately I forgot about this books, all I can remember is the big title Abnormal Psychology. Today I searched it in Amazon.com, and it yield result that brought back memory, a familiar name Jeffrey S. Nevid. I remember typing his name in references back then. It turned out that this book is a sold-out bestseller. I am not surprised at all. I am obsessed with this book that I read it even after my given tasks were completed.

What haven't I done back then. I wrote 150 pages of transcript of my dad five sessions interview with a 30 something prisoner who murdered his dad. His dad had it coming for incarcerating and raped his wife. He was drunk and his wife haven't been back for weeks. He found out about that when his father confessed to him in one of their beer drinking session, drunk honest tell-all. He clubbed his dad head to dead. There were five tapes in total, my dad was given two weeks before he supposed to return all those tapes to Jabatan Penjara, because it was considered as crime evidence. I was extremely stressed that time having to keep up with dateline. What with study and all. I have constant argument with my dad as he keep on pushing me to do my

work fast, and I seek comfort in my mother's constant reassurance of which I called Kitchen Therapy. I tell her about my dissatisfaction and burdened while cutting vegetable and peeling onion. Her words of encouragement was "Your dad trust in you because you are the only son who he can actually rely on and you are good in English," and that kept me going.

But it was all worth it, I learned a lot. How to type fast, my vocabs were expanding, I got to learn something about psychology and liking it. And the satisfaction of finishing and printing it, priceless. The grateful and satisfaction look on my father's face, it was all worth it.

Oh I will do everything to get my hand on this old copy. I highly recommend this book. If you really serious to be a psychiatrist.

The exact book edition that I am infatuated with

The last time I was obsessed with a textbook is Jacquelyn G. Black's 'Microbiology: Principles and Explorations' during my DMLT years. I was infatuated with Microbiology. This book actually belongs to my housemate who took BBM. I read this book over meals and snacking. This is the book I read until late at night. I was so amazed by microbes and Jaquelyn made it easy to understand.

If only I can say the same about Talley O'Connor or Kumar & Clark or Davidson.