#ItsOkayToNotBeOkay
Antisocial personality disorder and Ko Moon Young’s unfortunate misdiagnosis. A thread:

First of all, let me state my credentials once more. I’m a licensed clinical psychologist, in practice since 2015. Anyone who’s been following me for over a year knows that. Thus, this thread is going to be more informative than argumentative.

It is imperative that you guys understand there are rules to diagnose. You can’t go around telling people or assuming they have ASPD because you read it on Twitter. Do not fall into that trap please. Now, let’s get to it.

ASPD falls under cluster B of personality disorders. Cluster B are generally dramatic, erratic, impulsive, and act on extreme emotions. Sounds like KMY so far. However, ASPD have complete disregard for and violation of the rights of others and are entirely self-serving. Not so MY

The basic rule to diagnose any disorder not just personality disorders is the presence of an enduring pattern of behavior that deviates from the norm, pervasive across all situations personally & socially. Meaning it’s not a one time thing, in one situation, nor with one person.

Criteria #1 repeated acts that are ground for arrest. Both these instances are self defense. She only went for the knife AFTER the guy choked her halfway to death. And the journalist was openly threatening and sexually harassing her.

#2 gaslighting, deceit, use of aliases. MY is far too blunt to be called deceitful or gaslighting. She’s calculative, sure. But deceitful? The only instance I can think of was getting ST to sign the contract. That’s it. A one time event. So I wouldn’t say there’s a pattern here.

#3 impulsivity. Moon Young is impulsive for sure.

#4 irritability and aggression. MY is irritable but she doesn’t use aggression unless she’s provoked first. Most often, in self defense. An example would be the time she reacted aggressively to Juri’s assault and instigation.

#5 complete disregard to the rights and safety of others. This scene highlights both.
Safety: she didn’t touch ST’s hair knowing it’s his no touch zone despite him grabbing fistfuls of her hair.
Rights: she negotiated with ST rather than told him she’s taking MT.

#6 consistent irresponsibility. MY has been constantly responsible with ST as well as her work commitments (showing up on time, meeting her deadlines, etc). But I want to point out that drug abuse is a form of irresponsibility too. She had to say this about OTC analgesic.

#7 lack of remorse. She apologized more than anyone else on this show. Even when it wasn’t her fault, she apologized for being a catalyst.

#8 lack of empathy. Empathy is looking at ST and knowing exactly what to do and say to comfort him and bring him out of his meltdown. Moreover, she was virtually the only person at the hospital who understood the patients needs.

#9 inflated self-appraisal. She may not be prone to self-deprecation but she doesn’t have inflated self-appraisal either. Interestingly, she’s sensitive to hurtful remarks about herself. (KT called her an empty can and told her she was born that way)

Other differential diagnostic criteria include: entirely self-serving attitude. An example of this would be failing to remain faithful in a relationship, chasing the high and pleasure of multiple sex partners instead. MY on the other hand wants to be a faithful wife.

Also, MY was deathly afraid of her mother. She was terrified by the mere idea that her mother might be alive. Thus, refuting the “no fear” requirement.

When the journalist compared her to her mother and suggested ASPD, MY was visibly upset and triggered. A most unusual reaction for someone with ASPD.

In conclusion, don’t judge anyone based on the surface. MY is a severely traumatized child who was abused by both her parents. She learned to act that way in order to survive in a world that branded her a monster just bc her mother was. She wasn’t born that way. She learnt it.

The takeaway here is that don’t judge people who do have ASPD. Often times it’s beyond their control. Some of them don’t even want to be that way but this is how their brain is wired. Have compassion and be kind. You don’t know what the person is going through or dealing with.

I want to add that I think the show did implicitly acknowledge her misdiagnosis. Her denying the allegation to her parents faces is very satisfying considering they’re the ones who manipulated her into believing it and put her through hell for it in the first place.