The Road Less Traveled
    A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth
M. Scott Peck, M.D.

Neuroses and Character Disorders

- Neurotic: assumes too much responsibility
- Person w/character disorder: does not assume enough responsibility
- Neurotic feels that they themselves are entirely to blame for their problems
- Person w/character disorder
    - Demonstrates image of someone who has no power of choice
    - Seems like someone directed by external forces totally beyond his or her control
    - Much more difficult to work with (than neurotics)
- Most people have both a neurosis and a character disorder
    - In some areas of life, guilt-ridden due to having assumed responsibility that is not
            really theirs
    - In other areas, failing to take realistic responsibility
    - Few of us can escape being neurotic of character-disordered to some degree
- Problem of distinguishing what we are or are not responsible for
    - One of life's greatest problems
- Much that parents can do in child's maturation process
    - Requires sensitivity to children's needs
    - Willingness to take time
    - Make uncomfortable effort to meet these needs
- Character-disordered people make disastrous parents
    - Avoid responsibility, lay responsibility on children
    - Produce neurotic children
    - When they blame someone else for problems, the problems still exist
    - Have become dead weight on society

One of the toughest problems in life is to figure out what we are and are not responsible for. When we take responsbility for things beyond our control, we are neurotic. When we avoid responsibility, we suffer from a character disorder.