This article in Psychology Today called “’I’m Normal’ and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves” points out that, while we feel normal to ourselves, we often project what it’s like to be us onto other people. It’s an interesting read with relevance in today’s social backdrop, and we recommend you check it out.

Key takeaways include:

1. Averages lie. Even when looking to data to see what is ‘normal’, psychologists often find themselves with flawed statistics that don’t really represent anyone’s experience.
2. There is no “normal” in mental disorders either. For example, there are more than 1,000 different symptom patterns found in people with depression alone.

Normal is not the goal. Healthy is the goal and it’s customizable.