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July 9, 2010
Artist and photographer Jenna Genio is undoubtedly a provocateur—but in the best sense of the word. She readily admits to being diagnosed as being a ‘borderline personality” as well as being bipolar or having acute manic depression. With the current debate on the forthcoming edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the DSM V as detailed in my article for the Philippines Free Press here, we decided to subject this mercurial but prodigious talent to our own evaluation.
Formulated by British psychologist Hans Jürgen Eysenck, it was used in the 70′s for admission into psychiatric wards or for assessments of mental patients, although it’s since fallen out of fashion in psychiatry circles. It was given to cult author J.G. Ballard (Crash, Empire of the Sun, The Atrocity Exhibition) for a documentary film made on him. You can view the film here. In the original test, you can only answer yes or no (that also accounts to it’s validity being questioned). For Jenna, we allowed her to elaborate a little if she wished.
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Do you have many different hobbies? Yes.
Do you stop to think things over before doing anything? Yes, when I need to stop doing nothing.
Does your mood often go up and down? Yes, I am bipolar, borderline, and more.
Have you ever taken the praise for something you knew someone else had really done? No.
Are you a talkative person? Yes, when I am not trapped in my own thoughts.
Would being in debt worry you? Yes.
Do you ever feel ‘just miserable’ for no reason? No. There is reason in everything, even irrational or impulsive emotion. There is science and syntax behind even those.
Were you ever greedy by helping yourself to more than your share of anything? Yes. After I am full, I consume for the taste.
Do you lock your apartment carefully for night-time? No. Horrible, I know.
Are you rather lively? Yes. Even when I am idle, so much is going on inside that it’s impossible to feel dead.
Would it upset you a lot to see a child or an animal suffer? No, if it were in times of war.
Do you often worry about things you should not have done or said? No.
If you say you will do something, do you always keep your promise no matter how inconvenient it might be? No.
Would you enjoy skydiving? Yes.
Can you usually let yourself go and enjoy yourself at a lively party? Yes, after taking a lot of the edge off first.
Are you an irritable person? Yes, but am tolerant and overly understanding.
How I deal with idiots is often exponentially more agreeable than how I feel about them.
Have you ever blamed someone for doing something you knew was really your fault? No.
Do you enjoy meeting new people? No. I enjoy getting to know people and being pleased with my findings.
Is making insurance policies a good idea? Yes.
Are your feelings easily hurt? Yes. It is the balancing price I pay for my power to easily hurt others.
Are all your habits good and desirable ones? No.
Do you tend to keep in the background on social occasions? No. My voice is too loud to be drowned out in background noise.
Would you take drugs, which may have strange or dangerous effects? Yes.
Do you often feel ‘fed-up’? Yes.
Have you ever taken anything (even a pin or button) that belonged to someone else? Yes.
Do you like going out a lot? No, but that doesn’t stop me.
Do you enjoy hurting people you love? No.
Are you often troubled about feelings of guilt? Yes. I don’t dwell on the guilt of one wrong for long. I am just guilty of doing wrong often.
Do you sometimes talk about things you know nothing about? Yes. In such cases, my words are formed into fervent questioning.
Do you prefer reading to meeting people? Yes.
Do you have enemies who want to harm you? Yes.
Would you call yourself a nervous person? Yes, but at the moment of truth I cease to be nervous.
“Do you always apologize, if you have been rude?” No. If there is no real need, and if it is not at the expense of another’s rights, I remain uncouth as I please.
Do you have many friends? Yes.
Do you enjoy practical jokes that can sometimes really hurt people? No.
Are you a worrier? Yes. I worry about my future, about money, about my friends in the military, about my little sister’s imminent romances and vices, about my visa, about my goals, about art, about capitalism, raping the planet, the cosmos’ inevitable hatred of Earth if we keep fucking things up; I worry about truth, about the Philippines, technology in the wrong hands, religious fanaticism stifling love and progress, and I worry about humanity, a fact that actually surprises me all the time.
As a child did you do as you were told immediately and without grumbling? No.
Would you call yourself happy-go-lucky? No.
Do good manners and cleanliness matter much to you? Yes. Permission and gratitude, in anything.
Do you worry about awful things that might happen? Yes.
Have you ever broken or lost something belonging to someone else? Yes.
Do you usually take the initiative in making new friends? Yes.
Do you easily understand how people feel, if they share their trouble with you? Yes.
Would you call yourself tense or ‘highly-strung’? No.
Do you throw trashes on the floor if trash can is not available? Yes, in my own residence. Nowhere else.
Are you mostly quiet when you are with other people? No.
Do you think marriage is old-fashioned and should be done away with? No.
Do you sometimes feel sorry for yourself? Yes.
Do you sometimes boast a little? Yes, but I think of it as sharing my fortunate stories with friends.
Can you easily get some life into a rather dull party? Yes.
Do people who drive carefully irritate you? No, not the people. The situation irritates me, when I am in a high performance vehicle and not experiencing it at its potential.
Do you worry about your health? Yes, my mental health. My lungs can stay black.
Have you ever said anything bad or nasty about anyone? Yes.
Do you like telling jokes and funny stories to your friends? No.
Do most things taste the same to you? No.
Do you sometimes feel grumpy? Yes.
As a child were you ever cheeky to your parents? Yes. They used the term “smart aleck”.
Do you like mixing with people? Yes.
Does it worry you if you know there are mistakes in your work? Yes.
Do you suffer from sleeplessness? No. I suffer from a circadian rhythm disorder called Delayed Sleep Phase. I get enough sleep, just at irregular times.
Do you always wash before a meal? No.
Do you nearly always have a ‘ready answer’ when people talk to you? No, but I am always ready to answer.
Do you like to arrive at appointments in plenty of time? No.
Have you often felt listless and tired for no reason? No. There is reason in such things.
Have you ever cheated at a game? No, but I have had airsoft admins let me stay alive even after I called my hits.
Do you like doing things in which you have to act quickly? Yes.
Is (or was) your mother a good woman? Yes.
Do you often feel life is very dull? No, just my life, and my life doesn’t equate to “life”.
Have you ever taken advantage of someone? Yes. I take advantage of friendship. I am always asking for favors.
Do you often take on more activities than you have time for? Yes. It is a manic phase occurrence… Delusions of grandeur, thinking I can do anything I set my mind to, getting excited and trying to juggle so much… Only to end up not continuing or finishing what I’ve started.
Are there several people who keep trying to avoid you? Yes. Former boyfriends, and former friends who are now dating former boyfriends.
Do you worry a lot about your looks? Yes. Insecurity, have to work on that one.
Are you always polite to even unpleasant people? No.
Do you think people spend too much time safeguarding their future with savings and insurance? No.
Have you ever wished that you were dead? Yes.
Would you dodge paying taxes if you were sure you could never be found out? Yes.
Can you get a party going? Yes.
Do you try not to be rude to people? No. I try to be polite, though.
Do you worry too long after an embarrassing experience? No, because I don’t know “how long” is appropriate for embarrassment.
Have you ever insisted on having your own way? Yes.
Do you often arrive at train just before it departures? No.
Do you suffer from ‘nerves’? Yes.
Have you ever deliberately said something that hurts someone’s feelings? Yes.
Do you feel awkward to be among people who tell harmless jokes about others? No.
Does your friendly relations break up easily without your own will? No.
Do you often feel lonely? Yes.
Do you always practice what you preach? No.
Do you sometimes like to tease animals? Yes, lovingly.
Are you easily hurt when people find fault with you in the work you do? Yes.
Would life be too boring without risks? Yes. Difficult to imagine, impossible to even exist, for all life is at risk.
Have you ever been late for an appointment or work? Yes, almost always.
Do you like plenty of bustle and excitement around you? Yes.
Would you like other people to be afraid of you? Yes. I do not intentionally cause fear, but when people are afraid, I do like it.
Are you sometimes bubbling over with energy and sometimes very sluggish? Yes.
Do you sometimes put off until tomorrow what you ought to do today? Yes.
Do other people think of you as being very lively? Yes, only at first.
Do people tell you a lot of lies? Yes.
Are you touchy about some things? Yes.
Are you always willing to admit it when you have made a mistake? Yes.
Would you feel very sorry for an animal caught in a trap? No, not if it was a small disease-spreading pest that suffered from overpopulation.
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