It's interesting how much people can affect you without you realizing it. I know this because after recently moving back to the south, I have already noticed my speech patterns changing and adapting.

And as I was writing this, I was listening to Dane Cook, talking about guys who kick down the bathroom door. And I wrote the word "door" down in place of "south."

My brain seems to be wired like that.

I have a date tomorrow. I really like this guy, and I've been hanging out with him a lot recently. He likes Queen. But something interesting about him is that he has something called Hirschsprung's disease - which I knew nothing about. He doesn't like to talk about it that much, but it has to do with the nerve cells in your lower intestine not being able to push out stool, and it collecting in your bowels, and causing much discomfort, infection, and in some cases, colon bursting or death.

But he's had a few surgeries to fix it - in fact, he's having some sort of minor surgery today that is apparently so minor that he's going to be in and out today and ready to be on a date tomorrow. But he wouldn't explain the procedure to me because he's embarrassed.

I, myself, have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorder, and A.D.D. Psychologists have also debated that I might additionally have borderline personality disorder, split personality disorder, or manic depressive disorder. Personally, I don't believe I'm really stricken with any of these diseases, but hey, maybe I do.

However, this makes me consider the severity of physical and mental disorders. My "mental disorder" apparently caused me to cut myself some when I was younger. His physical disorder gave him lots of infections and almost killed him. He's extremely embarrassed about it, but I don't know why he should be, because we both have somewhat interesting problems. Besides, he has absolutely no control over his disorder.

But I'm wondering if people with mental disorders are more "controllable" than those with physical disorders. When I cut myself, maybe I could have stopped myself with some inner strength. I probably could have.

Do you think that mental disorders should be categorized with physical disorders in the sense that they both are nothing to be ashamed of? Can I be faulted with my own decision to cut myself, despite whatever "disorder" I may have had at the time? Or are both situations the same - neither of us can help it?