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Riddle me this. People like to consider one another as "insane", so much, that they never look in the mirror.

My question is "why?" After all, what is the real difference between "insanity" and "sanity"? The two meanings are completely contradictory to themselves and each other. So what is the point in believing that one is sane, when in reality, they are therefore the opposite?

The question here is difficult to answer because it is not very clear. Considering oneself sane rather than insane, or vice versa, is made easier, not harder, by the fact that both terms are their polar opposites. Thus, whatever your actual question or topic for discussion is remains for me, at least, still unstated.

My question isn't really that unclear.
It's simply "why do people insist upon considering one another 'insane'?"

I don't quite understand the logic in the way of thinking that people seem to have about it. It seems as though people simply enjoy being ignorant of the reality of their own mentality.

Actually there are universities full of people who seek to do just that, exercise their rational mind, that is the key to sanity as you appear to define it.

Hmm. I don't believe in this world that there are "sane" people. Everyone's a little "insane" at times but, (I go to meetings that are sort of like AA) I try me best to find the Sanity (or the serenity/peace) out of the Insanity (chaos) in (almost) any position that I'm put in.

I'm not to sure if this relates to what the thread is trying to say but, oh well. I put my two cents into this thread. :)

~Tory~

Seems to me, Estanged, you presuppose facts not in evidence. Where are your evidences that have you concluding people consider one another insane?

Perception. If you are in a group and you're 'different' you're seen as insane. Related to normality but that's how it is.

Which groups consider all others insane? I personally know of no such.

Unfortunately, I have to say that Just because you think you don't see any "groups" of people who see everyone else as "insane", doesn't mean that thwy aren't there. But I don't refer to groups of people, here. I refer to the world, in general.

For example, let me ask you this--

Are you insane? Or are you perfectly sane? Who do you consider to be insane or sane?

The primary problem I have with this trio of questions is that no one can really be perfectly sane, in the first place. Even those in the 'Vampyre Community' are seen as insane to someone, and vice versa. In short, everyone thinks that someone is insane, without proper reason. Far too many things begin to contradict another.

You still don't provide any evidences either of groups who consider outsiders to be insane or the world as a whole considering "one another" to be. I don't see your point or what question(s) you are asking... as apparently neither do others given your disagreement with their responses, as well.

You make it seem that you believe everyone in the world considers themselves to be sane while considering everyone else to be insane...which is not at all true and seems quite a delusional viewpoint.

Again, please clarify your point/question(s).

This thread is not far from a previously posted thread on Normal. It seems as though someone is trying to fabricate a dilemma were one doesn't exist, by taking a pair of words in an abstract way.

Groups in general. You are with a group of people, by what you say, like and do can be seen as insane. If we have to make it more world wide, let's say this site gets mentioned in the media, in all of the countries, get ready of having groups of people who want to petition for this site to close, calling it satanic, evil and stuff like that. Just by being here they'd think we're insane. The word vampire itself, is enough to be shocking.

In the past were there were a few of my off line friends on here, they told me, I'll delete from that site, because the people are insane, because of the belief in vampires, meh.

Every Insane individual will considered everybody around, insane, reason, Insanity only can be detected by professionals. Who say that we are all sane or insane. At some point in our life, we will act as insane depending in the moment and the situation that is happening.

it seems like another thread about labels, we've had them about vampires, demons, and even the one I posted about normal, as far as I'm concerned a label is just a label you put on things to organize them and stereotype them

labels cause issues, people are who they are and act how they act and that's about it, you just learn to deal with their actions as you have to

labels have expectations and stereotypes and there are issues when one who assumes a certain label does not meet them

so the solution I see is not to use labels at all because everyone is an individual

Ibelieve sanity and insanity are personal perspectives. What seems to be sane to one person may seem insane to another. Ive been called everything from insane to bat **** crazy, but in the world I live in is perfectly normal.

Now if you want to delve into the clinical definition of insane most of us on VR would fall under a catagory of disfunction for our beliefs, lifestyles and world views but most I have found to be pretty normal in my view.

Medically, insanity is characterized by extreme distress in the victim. Distress being known as anxiety to the level that it hurts the individual. For example, if a person has schizophrenia and suffers from both paranoia and hallucinations, they would be considerably distressed and might be considered "insane". Insanity is also relative to the level of dangerousness -whether to themselves or to society - the patient presents.
Colloquially, insanity is used to label anyone acting outside or against societal customs or acting with no care for any sort of consequences. A high school boy may be considered insane for not returning the affections of the head cheerleader (stereotypical example, I know). Or maybe a skateboarder decides to ollie do a fifty foot flight of stairs two months after getting his board. In that last one, the skateboarder would be called insane because the consequences of his sick move will inevitability be severe injury.

Come to my country and I'll show you the cruelty of labels, but they're part of life. I can't express my opinions in public due to my 'insane' views. That's why I come here. Even if I say in public that I am here I'll be considered insane.

The lose of ones facilities is a sure sign of insanity, or mental disturbance. So when a person starts to profess a loss of logic, and rational reasoning they start to degrade from their standard mental acuity. The further one deteriorates from their mental facilities the less sane they are.

I am curious as to why this thread was posted in a similar manner to your journal, by the same title. Also why are you so determined to make the difference between sane, and insane so "grey", and ambiguous?

Everyone considers everyone in the world to insane because of their preception of how one should be, society in general expect people to be how do say.. Well mannered, respectful.. basicly like a robot programed to act like everyone else. And when someone acts outside of these boundaries..? For instance.. In a crowd of people someone yells out of pure joy or happiness or another form of emotions..? They are looked upon as rude, disrespectful and insane.. I just think it is pointless to call someone else insane or sane because we all fall into that category one way or another..

Well.. That is my opinion anyways..

Maybe there are some days where they feel sane and other days where they feel insane? I sometimes feel that there are days that I can completely lose my mind. Other days, I feel sane, "normal" you could say. It's an interesting subject indeed!

For one, insanity is not a psychiatric term but in its most primitive definition, not being able to distinguish right from wrong in committing certain acts.

In certain ways the use of insanity to describe a person is relative. It is not the same as terms the psychiatric field uses to describe those who are mentally ill.

From an article in Psychology Today:

To be clear, insanity is a legal term pertaining to a defendant's ability to determine right from wrong when a crime is committed. Here's the first sentence of law.com's lengthy definition:

“Insanity. n. mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.” (called perseveration)

Insanity is a concept discussed in court to help distinguish guilt from innocence. It's informed by mental health professionals, but the term today is primarily legal, not psychological. There's no "insane" diagnosis listed in the DSM. There's no "nervous breakdown" either, but that's another blog.

Where did this saying come from? It's attributed to Albert Einstein (probably not), Benjamin Franklin (probably not), Mark Twain (probably not) and mystery writer Rita Mae Brown (probably so) who used it in her novel Sudden Death. It's not clear who said it first, but according to at least one blogger it's "the dumbest thing a smart person ever said." The catchy saying has gathered steam in the past few years (example I, II, III), and regardless of the source, it's gotten a lot of mileage.

So if someone behaves in a way that is considered outside of the norm of the societal group or culture where one lives they might be called insane by a basically lay group of people or used as a plea in court because from what I have read a plea of mental illness might not get you an acquittal but a plea of insanity might. So as I stated using this term in general would be a judgment based on what people are willing to accept as the norm in behavior or viewpoints, more or less.

You may perhaps wish to pick up Shakespeare's King Lear. "Reason in madness, madness in reason" is used throughout this play. It also shows how the minds of people (albeit, royalty) never really change over the years. Would you have acted differently?

I just went with the students' version of it.

I believe we are all insane to a degree. Depending on the person decides to which degree. But who is to say a little insanity is bad

It is becuse society tells us that we should be a picture of balance yet this balance is evr shifting ,as in we look for the horrors in other so we can try to improve the beat in us when in reality we destroy that goodness...

"Riddle me this. People like to consider one another as "insane", so much, that they never look in the mirror."

Insane people are not always aware they are insane, in fact they usually think its the others that are nuts and out to get them. Paranoia is quite common in some mental conditions.

I can't believe no one quoted this: ''give me a sane man and I'll cure him'' :P

Well it makes sense, in my opinion it means that we can't really know what is sanity and who really is sane.

A person who is compelled by delusions to alter their behavior in a manner that harms, or impedes on the safety of themselves, or more importantly others can securely make a case for insane.

I view sanity and insanity as more... rationality and rationality (and a whole mix of other things). You can be borderline, on the cusp of madness, or the brink of brilliance.

One's view of 'sane' and 'insane' could be completely off the grid from another. Or visa versa. Who is to say really. My friends say I have insane tendencies. Insane according to whom? Yes my colleagues/friends are indeed physicians/surgeons/specialists. That doesn't make them the expert in my opinion.

you can also think about it this way:

before they set out and explored you used to be insane if you thought the world was round

people used to believe in the theory of spontaneous reproduction and that meat produced maggots and rain produced earth worms, such beliefs might be considered insane today

the idea of a woman showing her ankles used to be completely insane but now they can acceptably show much, much more in public

as science, technology, and culture evolve so does the definition of insane and sane

Absolutely true, its all about percerption. Insanity to someone may be sanity to another.

For example, I like random violence but that is irrational to most these days.

Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person becoming a danger to themselves or others, though not all such acts are considered insanity. In modern usage insanity is most commonly encountered as an informal unscientific term denoting mental instability, or in the narrow legal context of the insanity defense. In the medical profession the term is now avoided in favor of diagnoses of specific mental disorders; the presence of delusions or hallucinations is broadly referred to as psychosis. When discussing mental illness in general terms, "psychopathology" is considered a preferred descriptor.
(wiki definition)

I have known a number of schizophrenics which is terrible diagnosis because most cannot successfully hold jobs and interact with others well. If there is paranoia with it, it can be totally over the top and sometimes meds are of no help. People are getting this at younger and younger ages. We most often think of people like this as insane but in the US it really isn't labeled that way. I use to talk to someone with that diagnosis although his was schizoaffective disorder I believe. Anyway we talked for about seven years on the net and most of the time he was pretty stable and easy to talk to. Certain things would set him off and some of them totally irrational but he was walking around on no meds at all. (maybe) He loved physical contact so he would start fights (he was put in martial arts and went constantly) but he found if he got into mosh pits the physical contact of that would help. It is very relative because most probably thought he had an anger management problem and was eccentric. It really is a matter of perception both ways. He said he had a fear of getting into cars even if it was with friends. He knew it wasn't rational and he usually held it in but he was paranoid the driver would kill him. He had his own coping things that kept him from over reacting to most situations. But he did at times have a problem with what was real and what was not. Is that insanity? I don't think so because he recognized there was a problem but wasn't always aware when things went down the irrational path. He had a mental illness. I didn't see him as insane in the way most think of it.

"The descriptions "crazy, insane, mentally ill" mostly refer to schizophrenic (they now call this a spectrum disorder) patients who can be inappropriate, sometimes bizarre, and occasionally dangerous. Schizophrenia is a psychosis and is considered to be the most severe form of mental illness." That's where my line goes. If the person has this disorder they very well could hurt themselves (suicide) or others and commit criminal actions due to delusion. A friend of mine whose son was in early diagnosis was thought to most likely be schizophrenic and he drove to Las Vegas out of the blue, having never been there and walked off a three story parking facility holding his laptop in his hands. He was barely in his twenties. They have videos of it and there was no one around him or in sight. We think he had a delusion but no one knows nor ever will.

Many throw the word insane around loosely to signify someone who acts in a way not acceptable to the person using the term. Whose to say really and I always wondered if some of these people had a higher perception of certain frequencies and weren't in all reality anything other than overwhelmed by the things they perceived that others could not. Who knows because this is a tough question to answer.

In response to the original post.. They say you're only crazy if you deny it..

I have borderline personality disorder and know that I am crazy.. Does that mean I am sane?

so you're saying if you accept the label of insane or crazy that somehow makes you sane and not crazy? What if you still do the behaviors that got you that label?