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SUSAN'S NOMAD PSYCHOLOGIST BLOG

As the name of my blog is nomad psychologist, here I will write about my personal experiences, adventures, insights and struggles when it comes to my life and the identifications with what I do.

So in whatever it involves to be Susan: a nomad, a yesmad, a female, a Dutchie, a dreamer, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a contradiction, a cliche, a healer, a storyteller, a traveller, a philosopher, mindfulness teacher, meditator, a dancer, a yogi, a trumpet player, a hiker, a couchsurfer, a runner, a writer, a chocolat eater, a foodie, a joker, a curious one, a sagittarius, a psychologist and human being or anything else I might get involved in or identify with to please my ego. 

My journey as a psychologist started in 2008, the nomad journey in march 2016.

I wonder if it is possible to be a psychologist and “ No- MAD”. If one starts thinking about the spectrum of saneness and madness, I’m not sure where on the scale of polarities I find myself. What is considered as mad, crazy or a disorder seems to depend on the context you find yourself in. For example the group and culture that you are part of, the psychology manual or questionnaire that you use (DSMIV), the time that you live in, the social norms and values that are present and the laws and regulations.


I believe that the kind of psychological symptoms you develop depend on your coping-strategies. These are mainly learned behaviours shaped by what’s accepted in your context, from family to society. If your parents cope with stress by eating, then you are more likely to do the same thing. Especially when it comes to men, suppressing expression of vulnerability, for example openly showing emotions like anxiety and sadness, often seems to result in unhealthy or ineffective coping strategies like using drugs, drinking alcohol or aggression.


What is also true is that in one culture something as schizophrenia can be seen as a disorder and in another you are considered a shaman. It all depends on the box that you are part of or let’s say the software you downloaded.

Boxes can give us an understanding of life but they usually are generalisations that are not a good description of something that is alive and constantly changing and moving. We are not computers after all, as they are something we created. Just like our idenity is something that is created, the experience we have right now that is life! 

I like to travel because I get to play with my boxes and I want to share this experience with whoever is interested in it. To start of with I will explain my idea of nomad and yesmads… see my first post!

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