Stooge Therapy

We're all variations of Moe, Larry or Curly and our lives are often short subjects filled with cosmic slapstick. When Moe (your boss) hits Curly (your buddy) with a corporate board and then blindsides you when you try to make it all nice, you're living a Stooge moment. So why not determine which Stooge you are and better understand the problems you bring on yourself and how you can be a generally happier, more successful knucklehead.

Moe: explosive hot-heads who storm through life constantly infuriated by other people. "These men suffer from classic low frustration tolerance," says Allen Elkin, Ph.D., "This not only makes them difficult to work with, but also gives them high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a much greater risk of heart attack." In fact, Moes often end up seeking counseling to control their anger, usually after it costs them a job, a marriage or a couple of good pals.

Larry: A Larry doesn't have the nerve to be assertive so he protest by not doing something. Not securing the ladder on the triple-bunk bed or not mentioning that the coffee is actually rat poison. Consequently, Larrys are rarely promoted. If a Larry actually does work up the courage to ask for a raise, the Moe he works for will usually give him a meaningless title upgrade or say, "get outta here before I murder ya."

Curly: Curly had what's called an oral personality, and a particularly self-destructive one. Boisterous, attention-seeking men, especially those who are secretly ashamed of something, (like a beer gut or a bald head), often feel that they must perform in order to be liked. These guys always come in for counseling because they experience mood swings and addiction problems. It's what killed Curly and his modern-day version, Chris Farley. Curlys are almost always fat because they live to binge.

The Shemp Factor: Shemp, who was Moe and Curly's big brother, had the absolutely ideal Stooge personality type. He wasn't a moron like Curly or a slap dummy like Larry. He was the lovable Moe, who returned eye pokes, seduced women and occasionally told Moe to go service himself in 1940s terms. The one problem with being a Shemp though... you're a swell guy and nobody's whipping boy, but when you show up everyone just asks, "where's your crazy brother?"

Geraci, Ron: Men's Health, September, 1999, Which Stooge are You?