Box of Rocks

Avoiding the extremes of neurosis and psychosis  

Job 3:1-3, 11-17  

Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!” Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth, like babes that have never seen the light? Wherefore did the knees receive me? or why did I suck at the breasts?   

          I’ll never forget the day I learned the difference between “psychotic” and “neurotic,” these are two psychological disorders. Do you know the difference? Someone who is neurotic blames himself excessively when something goes wrong. He says, “I failed the test because I’m dumb as a box of rocks.” On the other hand, a psychotic person blames others to an extreme, saying, “I failed that test because Mr. Austin’s history class is like a medieval torture chamber!” Catch the difference?   

          By the way, if anyone ask you, “How are you?” don’t answer, “I’m fine.” Why? Well, because “fine” is an acronym where the four letters stand for “Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional.” Anyone who answers that they are “fine” is usually anything but fine; they’re hiding their true feelings. People who are “fine” tend to be neurotic and blame themselves for everything that goes wrong.   

          In the first reading from Job, we see Job needing to blame someone excessively for all his misfortunes. He’s lost his family, his land and his livelihood, in short, everything. Whom does he blame?  Let me read to you one line and see if you can guess if Job is being psychotic (blaming someone else) or neurotic (blaming himself). Job says: “Perish the day on which I was born, the night on which they said, ‘The child is a boy.’ Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?” If you think Job is being psychotic, raise your hand. If you think he’s being neurotic, raise your hand. Clearly, he’s being neurotic, and blaming himself for his problems and pains, wishing he had never been born. You see, Job didn’t say he was as dumb as a box of rocks; he didn’t even think he deserved to be a box of rocks.   

          Boys and girls, today I want you to learn about these two disorders, but I also want you to live in a way that you avoid these disorders. For example, don’t be neurotic and blame yourself excessively when something happens. When parents divorce, some young people blame themselves and wonder what they did wrong. It’s not your fault when your parents divorce. Another example is “cutting,” where teenagers punish their bodies because of deep feelings of guilt or depression. Sometimes, excessive dieting or exercise is not just for health purposes, but to beat yourself up for some problem. Sometimes even drugs and alcohol are a way to show I should suffer for this problem; it’s my fault. Don’t do that; don’t hurt yourself.   

          On the other hand, psychotic people point fingers at others when there is failure. They say things like, “It’s Matt Hollenbeck’s fault, after all he’s the quarterback!” or “If Taylor Pate played better we’d win more volleyball games!” or “If Mary Alex Cole served more Aces in tennis, we’d kill the competition!” Psychotic people point fingers and put the blame on others. Yesterday, I was talking to a parent who jokingly said, “Are you going to give the football team bullet-proof vests for their game against Vian?” I answered, “No, we’re going to give them guns so they can shoot back.” My answer was a little psychotic.   

          Today, I hope you’ve learned the difference between neurotic and psychotic. But it won’t do you any good to learn it, if you don’t also live it.   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!