What is a dysfunction? It is anything that keeps a person from functioning to the best of their ability. This can include certain disabilities. 

When I talk about dysfunctions, I can include dysfunctions caused by disabilities, though there are many times that these dysfunctions are the result of situations unrelated to disabilities I have already mentioned. No matter the cause, dysfunctions can disrupt home, school, and/or work life. 

Most of the time, people reference these dysfunctions as Family Dysfunctions; but I have learned over time that these dysfunctions can also occur at school and work. 

There are many causes and types of dysfunction. Two great resources come from Kalpana M and Gregg Henriques, Ph. D.  To find their articles, click on their names. Both Kalpana and Dr. Henriques describes all of the things that I think of when I think of dysfunction. Though they do a wonderful job going into it in detail, they describe dysfunction in different ways. And because their combined articles do a wonderful job, I will not go into detail here. For more detailed information, please refer to their articles.

To summarize my thoughts on the subject, the types of dysfunctions that I am referring to that interfere with home, school, and work are those related to the way we interact with others, no matter what the cause. 

Sometimes it can be as simple as having a stressful day and so, we become off-centered and then become irritable, which then leads to our inability to communicate effectively with others. It can be as complex as having an altered personality due to alcohol or drug use, or having schizophrenia. 

Sometimes dysfunctions are temporary conditions, while other times they have been with us since childhood. 

When they have been with us since childhood, they seem natural. They are an every day occurrence. We can think that dysfunctions occur in all relationships, in every home, school, and work environment. And we usually have no clue that there are better ways. 

When we travel on the road of personal growth and become aware that there are better ways, we usually are not skilled in better methods or we have no idea what choices we have for a better way. 

Learning new ways not only takes time and effort, it takes discipline, intention, and practice. Sometimes, raising our own family, getting involved in college life, or gaining new employment can interfere with learning these ways, so the dysfunctions carry over into these other environments.

If we want change at home, school, work, or for our children or grandchildren, we must work on ourselves.