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a little bird did peck at my ear and so it went.....

in an insane world in an insane time the only sane responce is insanity.....

I suppose the quotes above are all trite but I would like to examine the role of insanity in keeping one sane....

As currently defined an insane person is a person who's mental habits and peculiarities interfere with their fucntioning in a day to day enviorment....

so that means if a person belives that the great squirel BOB protects them and guides their life that it is completely acceptable as long as it doesn't interfere with their ability to work as a cog in the human machine. To be a good little productive unit.

So I suppose that the question being is two part....

when is the line crossed from a behavior being a copeing mechanisim for ones day to day life into being an insanity that hinders ones day to day life?

when is deliberate irrationality and twisting and skeiwing of reality to make it more palatable warrented? ( I personally think of it like salt it goes good on mostly everything)

there is a theory that REAL insanity in people is just a higher state of conciousness.

Take Renfield from Dracula, he wanted to absorb life to become more powerful. in a way his logic could make sense, so he started the whole mini food chain thing to get himself more powerful.

there are examples in real life that show the same thing but i can't think of any right now :S

i don't think it's a line to cross, one could appear normal until they do something drastic and sudden. but who decides what "functioning normally" is?

doctors? psychiatrists? in the end they are just judging a character and they decide if they are all there or not...

I suppose so.... the thing being is that "all there" is subjective.

like there are plenty of rational people who are "all there" who belive in foolish even dangerous things. But the crutch from this belief is what holds them up and together. It keeps them from falling appart. It is interesting to look at.... like a house of cards.... one thinks it would be easy to knock over but sometimes it is amazingly strong.

I cheat. I hold my house of cards together with super glue.

Anyway, on the subject. Vincent Van Gough was bi-polar. He had lead poisoning from the lead in the yellow paint. That man was totally woo-hoo, but, he was admired, adored, sought-after. He was an "artist". Yet, he was totally insane to the point that he cut off his own ear and sent it to his girlfriend. (Happy Valentine's, Sweety, Now you'll always have a piece of me). So even society makes exceptions to people, depending on who they are.

As for when is "deliberate skewing of reality to make it more warrented" acceptable? Think about it. We all do it every day of the week. Example: I hate my job. But I somehow manage to make it through every single day. I walk into my office, and, as I pass by the countless hoards of drones sitting in their cubicle, I just imagine gophers. Lots and lots of gophers.

Each one of us have our own tricks to make it through the day. Are we all insane? No. Just "creative".

Oh this is gonna be a fun forum to watch.

Good show, old chap... good show indeed.

I suppose it depends on ones viewpoint in the situation being examined.

"Bob" is an obsessive compulsive reactant.
He can't touch ANYTHING not in his own home. Cause after all... God knows who else has touched said object and where their hands have been.
OCD is considered, on some levels... to be insanity.
Bob doesn't think so... untill he doesn't have his own hankercheif with him. Then he's screwed and starts flippin' out. Society as a whole... generally... then sees this fellow flippin out in the middle of Fifth Avenue as insane. He doesn't think so. All he sees is germs.

Most people who are deemed legally insane by Doctors/Governemt/Ect. don't view themselve as such a case.

Society deems them so because their actions are not normal. Society deems what is normal by their own actions.
If it's not common in society...
You're a nutso.
Yes, that's a technical term.
>:)
It's sort of a vicious cycle.
We all have little odds and ends we're "insane" about.

Me with keeping tabs on my car keys and making sure doors are locked, be it car or home... even if the windows are in fact open. The doors MUST be locked.
I continually flip out if i do not know where my keys and or cell phone are at all times. Society has engrained that if I do not have my own mode of transport and an immediate point of contact.

Others are OCD about cleaning the house… how the pictures are hung… how many Cheerio’s go into each bowl (yes, people actually count them 1 by 1).

Ok the Cheerios guy would be a bit maddening to live with… and that’s level of it is considered a for of insanity…but it doesn’t impede his ability to perform as a “cog in the machine”. LOL He gets up in time to count the Cheerios….

Like I said before I get to repetitive… it depends on the point of view I suppose….

I suppose in the cherrio's guy the question I would ask does he enjoy it or does it measureably subtract from his life.....

Point of veiw aside does his habit enforce or diminish him?

if it makes him stronger and more able to cope does it deserve a label that is stigmatizing and overtly negative?

As I was saying to Gorey before he blaitantly solt emy idea and posted it, I believe that its possible for insanity to be considered as another, perhaps a higher state of consciousness, as many 'insane' people are of quite high intelligence. Away fromthe troubles of the world and trivial matters that we let consume us, someone isolated could be of this higher state of consciousness, or become that way.

I think this is why we need others aorund us to 'keep us sane' I know its not a good example, but in 'Red Dwarf' Holly brings back the hologram of Rimmer, although he's the person Lister hates the most, his hatred of Rimmer stops him going insane while on a ship alone.

didn't mean to steal it... :( sorry

*falls to knees pleading*

insanity as a way to cope with the "sanity" of life
well some find insanity to be cured
cure reality instead

clever lefay...

tho I think most people would rather go mad than try to make the world a better place....

hell most people would rather go mad than improve their own state.....

asking them to change the world might cause them to suddenly burst into flames from the strain. *grin*

there are also people considered to be "sane" and "normal" that underneath are serial killers, bombers, and the like. But we never know what lies beneath the surface until it is too late. I think everyone has qualities that some would consider insane. Consider the Rave, for instance. some people ih the outside world might consider us insane for the things we say and do.

ah but we're discussing a finer point than sanity or insanity....

Point of view aside there are people whom while clearly having a form of insanity do nothing but enjoy it and continue on better off than they were before falling off their rocker....

and there are also people whom are insane and are diminished because of it. This is the meat of it... while a person might look insane from any number of views one cares to take, they are more functional and whole for their insanity than they would be without.

It's the whole your falling into water what do you do thing......

I'm interested in those who chose to dive in head first rather than those who chose to hit the water sputtering and flailing....

i supose so

Excellent thread Mordes... Damn, thats got the cogs moving in my mind.. *ouchy*
there has been some well pointed out idea's/facts as to why someone could be considered 'living on the wrong side of the tracks'. What sticks in my mind is the high IQ area. If a person who is considered well above agv IQ, then this is usually combined with a on-going battle for perfection. In, this, i mean that what ever this person does, it is never good ewnough, they are allways striving for that little extra.. that bit more.. they can never rest, can never be at peace, as such with their achievements and over the years.. this will lead to many mental dissorders and without treatment, will, no doubt cause them to have breakdowns, from which, i believe many will never recover... The food chain was a great addition too... *applauds* I have found a great site, everyone who has a interest on this should look at now!!

Some people just play on being mentally insane (medically insane), to clain benifits, freebies and so on. Deep down they are just like everyone else.

well vampric that is an interesting thought for another thread...... as we have busses in this city that have a statistic about mental illness that 1 in 5 people will develop a mental illness and well if they are that common should they even be classifyed as an illness or should they be treated like a cold?

But I digress I want to keep the focus on people whom choose to dive into an insanity and enjoy it rather than those whom fall in and suffer from it.

Dhampir, I'm certain that equals 5 but I severly doubt my grining face is an indication that I'm insane, quite the contrary actually, nothing is quite as calming mentally as a nice wide toothy maw being flashed at you.

hehe I've lived with mordes.....don't let him fool you....nutty as crunchy peanut butter he is...

I don't like crunchy peanut butter.....

I agree that people are judging insanity by their own mental code and facilities, just like with everything else. alot of people find it hard to understand anybody else's views, being too wrapped in their own.
i just read in an article, could be webmd, or newsweek, that cheered ADD having advantages, because they think differently, and even more creatively than others.....outside the box, so to speak.

a theory, is that schizophrenics, for instance, are seeing and hearing "things" from other dimensions, that cannot be detected by others. ;)
and if you are "insane", do you know it?
i do...you see people freak out, when being tied down or being sent to an insane asylum, or being talked down to and their answers scutinized. i would freak out too! and would do insane if placed in an environment like that.

Didn't you noticed that all insane people are very focused to something (see Mordes' face for example, (no offences Mord, but you really look tweaked out on that photo :) ))?

Modern world puts too many pressure on the mind, too many things to see, hear, feel, smell, and try to avoid... so the mind just snaps out at one moment and focuses hardly on one thing, blocks everything that can and we have a man who is focused to not touch anything that someone touched before.

he tends to look a bit tweaked anytime he is concentrating.....
it's the psychotic amounts of caffeine in his blood.....and the psychotropics I slipped in his food

I must deserve this on some level...

well I suppose I should get to my point in this before I get beaten with a stick....

The point being that a person who chooses a path is always better off than one who lets a path be chosen for them.

Simple really....

that is the difference between suffering from, or enjoying every minute of

or at least that is what I read from it...

tho I might needd better glasses to see all the minutae

hmm I prolly needed new glasses before that last post

nope hes not the only one,we are all a bit insane, justto get and do the same 9-5 b.s. then to get off andd become the real person that we are

Mordes you are absolutely insane ..confirmed simply by your dislike for crunchy peanut butter...*giggles*

People are driven 'insane' sometimes I think from frustration ....witnessing the continuing stupid and irrational behaviour of the human race would drive anyone with any sense to become frustrated, to the point of having something 'triggered' within them to cope with it all in a perculiar manner.

I love to see people in the street who are quite clearly bonkers....I could watch them for hours.....their behaviour impedes them in functioning within society... and are shunned....however I think they are fabulous ..very entertaing.... or am i just nuts??? *grins*

Noone is normal ...noone meets all of the criteria for being such ....we should embrace it and laugh like maniacs when we realise that we are all mad as a box of frogs....ROFL!!!

Oh yeah also another thing ....the nutters who are only found to be such ....when there is a perculiar smell emitting from the drain outside their house....ya know the quite ones ...the ones that keep themselves to themselves and seem like nice people.....those I worry about ....they are the ones that make the choice to dive head first into craziness..they do it calmly and without remorse...*shudders*

yes it is better to choose a path considered insane...than to be forced into the "safe" road

     Everyone thinks they are so normal doing every cliche known so they can be accepted by society. Well heres a newsflash what they are doing is so insane. If everyone had the same common thoughts or 'sanity', life is rather dull and vexing... Its woulkd be a never ending cycle and a sorry excuse of a life.

     I am sane and insane in at the same time since I have these ideas of reaching God's knowledge or sense of thinking. One insane goal of mine also is to be Unlimited one that exceeds God. Hmmm... A mortal/human reaching an impossible dream that's a cliche too. Besides there are no limits on dreaming.

     For me there is no real sanity or insanity because we neeed the two to make a balance of ego and way if thinking. One is lost without the other.

     I'm not a Taoist but I do believe in a balance in the Universe. There has to be an antonymy in everthing.

everyone has that. People might deny that they have that but they do have it.

Being an Advocate for people with Brain Disorders I must speak here...
Define Sane
Define Insane
Define Societys labels which equal Stigma
Brain Disorders are feared more than any other physical problem with our mortal bodies..Fear being related to simply not understanding. Life is stress and for some the stress levels cause the chemicals in their brains to break, leading to a loss of reasoning and logic, Intelligence is not a factor, being mentally ill does not mean stupid ;) It is a safe protective way for the brain to cope... Next time you *see* someone lost in their world, maybe smile at them , feel compassion, understand and be glad its not you. They still have feelings ...

everyone has a little of both

hmmm well my topic has nothing to do with brain injury... that involves the physicality which isn't what interests me in this situation...

I'm interested in people whom take a deliberate step out of touch with reality for their own benifit.

Steppin out of reality is quite a common thing anyway and we all do it to an extent when we need a break from everyday life.
Thats my opinion I mean i do it a lot I.e. goin on my Playstation 2 or when I go clubbin the music makes me forget who I am and what I deal with for a few gours :)

The correct term for mental illness now is Brain Disorder...

ummm most of the time this is true every body is alittle insane

Nice thread
"All I've got is insane"-SlipKnoT-
I believe we're all a little insane, it's just how we deal with our insanities determines if we are insane or not...

i agree, the practice goes well with everything.

i think that the "do not cross" line lies right around where you start to get more aggitated than ever, because people are failling to follow the rules in your personal crazy-land.

mine works well for me as long as i remember that not everyone is "in on it"

first of all i would like to say insanity is just a legal term and a mentally disturbed person may still be considered sane according to law (yeah i recently dabled in gen psych). But insanity keeping one sane i do believe so one thing that kept all my friends and Itogether in highschool was our admitance that we were not sane so, we would joke about our problems rather then let them bother us too much. I say its a laughing pain away technique. But not saying its always the cure thought because some still cut and i still battered my fists and legs on walls and steel poles from time to time but after the psychosis we were all peachy. so yeah I'd agree with that quote to an extent

I LOVE IT MAN YOUR QUESTION IS AWESOME, all in all, everyone is insane, define normal, in the text of ones self, there for everyone is insane one way or another! To cope with everyday life is insanity it's self, that's wh yI'm still here, I love the insanity of life!!

current pc terms stragella....why bother with political correctness....that concept itself is borderline becoming hysterical extremism....which is a deviation from the accepted norm all on it's own...
my insanity that is apparent to others is what I allow out to halt the progress of my much darker side that some people would probabbly not survive the release of......
go a little nuts to stave off the total breakdown....like a pressure release on a dam

I agrea with dearmon one of my friend i use to let him punch me in the back to subside his anger towards the high school i went to which he attempted to blow up once. I mean if not for letting him take out some of that anger on me i think hey who knows the school prbly would be a big ball of ash right now

hmmmm well I don't know that i'd go quite that far...i'd find him a punching bag or something....
letting yourself be used as one shows you too have a few issues.....

Most of the people are labelled as insane only cause they are misunderstood.If a person suffers from depression,suicidal tendencies,paranoid and a lot of others, even by having different opinions and lifestyles is considered as insane.
Am considered as insane/weird cause of my lifestyle and different opinions so if that makes me insane am happy with it.

on the idea of the "insane" seeing things from other dimensions that "sane" people can't see: take a look at animals. watch a cat or dog if you have one. They're always staring at a spot where there appears to be nothing there. Are they insane? Not too long ago I watched a group of cats all staring at the same spot in the middle of and empty hallway. They were sitting on all different sides and at different levels but clearly looking at this one place. Then the dog went to the spot, growling, yelped and ran away and hid as thought he'd been hit. Was there something there or were the animals just insane?

Has anyone seen "Little Britain"? i don't watch it but apparently there's an insane crossdresser in an asylum who does things like pouring tea over people but instantly becomes sane when he gets a phonecall. Go figure

I'll leave you now. I need to take my medication.

yes it happens to my dog.She stares at a spot and she's like angry cause she makes that sound grrrrrrr.....
Anyway yeah you're right.Clairvoyants are considered insane infact:/As I said before most ppl are considered insane cause they're misunderstood

I'll agree with the "most people are considered insane because they are misunderstood." I am insane. You are insane. Fuck name one sane person out there.

well i do have some issues but i tend to keep em under control. yeah I know its shows like a wierd behavioral pattern that probly can be traced back to childhood or whatever but yeah.

Living on a thin line between sanity and insanity..how many of us are not? I love some of D's old music, and here is the lyrics of a song by Fleetwood Mac entitled:

Walk the thin Line

I've seen so many things that made me wonder
But sometimes it's hard to tell
I said
"Take your time"
But no one was listening
I walk a thin line

They told me that I never would recover
Still some say they knew me well
I said
"Stay by my side"
But no one said nothin'
I walk a thin line

I said
"Please toe the line"
But no one was listening
I walk a thin line

I said
"Fate takes time"
But no one was listening
I walk a thin line.

----------------

I felt it suited this thread very well :)

lol love the song

i like fleet wood mac ....^_^
i know i ain't sane.... ^_^
and how true it is....
i agree.....name one sane person.......
i like the song.....counting flowers on the wall.....
if i lost ya on the song ..messege me... ^_^

I act insane to keep my sanity. If that makes sense to anyone. If I weren't this so called nut case people think I am... life would be boring. I hate boring.

Once I've heard that all genius people were/are a bit insane so...

ye insanity can be fun,if not extreme hehe:p

cherry nail to that head and bang bang maxwell and all that jive about the silver hammer.....

Making and taking a choice and taking control even if it seems errant is what I was interested in. insanity or precived insanity I suppose is beside the point .

The trick I suppose is just knowing who's driving....

nope, i'm the same