al-Mu'akhkhir

i don't think that insanity is as fluidly defined as all of you seem to think it is..

Schizophrenia is not self induced (not in a meaningful way, anyways)... The same goes for just about every diagnose-able mental illness on the market today. Perhaps you feel "insane", and this may be your particular way of describing your irrational actions, but I believe that true insanity lies in an extremely skewed perception of reality, the world around us, the actions of people in our lives, etc.

I do not believe that you can purposefully alter your perception of said things permanently, at least not of your own volition (the exception here is in cases like Syd Barret: taking acid, and triggering a recessive mental illness. Indirectly he caused his own insanity, but I believe it would have been triggered at some point, none the less).

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Dr. ShinDig

call me insane but... I keep getting the feeling that something more is supposed to come out of this thread which has not yet been discussed.


And a hint to what that is.. the moral majority and their definition of a "normal" "sane" lifestyle.

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al-Mu'akhkhir

sanity and insanity are not "lifestyles"...

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Waves

they are states of mind

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On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

Dr. ShinDig

no it isn't per say, but what I'm getting at is the definition of what insanity is. And that definition is almost definitely owned by the majority of whichever country you reside in.


for instance, in America, being 30 pounds overweight and a devote christian is considered "normal" and a "sane" lifestyle.

If I hear one more person repeat the same sentence about the bailout plans in the US one more time I'm going to go insane myself, but that is just one of the many sentences, thoughts, phrases, that are bounced around society like a child's toy in today's half insane world. but this is a deep root of what is considered good "sane" reality, so it is acceptable, since it is acceptable by the moral majority..

And this idea I'm speaking of goes well beyond the definition of sanity. This idea delves into many aspects of human lifestyles and what is and is not an acceptable way to live life, pot smoking included.

I think that the term "insanity" is in part derived from the ideals of the majority of a society that is hooked on one way and one style of life, and that style is you wake up, you go to work, you pray to god, and you concern yourself with what everyone else is doing that you don't approve of. Weather this is a scape goat of life in general to feel better about one's self I don't know, but it is a factor of life in America that pisses me off almost on a daily basis.


Am I insane myself for these thoughts against the majority of society? Perhaps by some standards I am Indeed, but I feel I must give my full opinion on this topic, and of course I am willing to discuss further if there are those who wish it.

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al-Mu'akhkhir

^ I'll get to you tommorow.

You're verging on trivializing mental illness...

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FineazPR

Self induced insanity..? hmmm...way too deep for me...but Ithink I've gone insane a few times in my life. ..and probably will again, in the not too disant future.

SageTree

I agree with Rev as well.

Insanity is not found in the Diagnostic Critea Manual for the APA, American Psycholgical Association. It's not real, so this isn't a real problem. It's more like an 18th century term or slang for things much much more specific.

But for the sake of talking about 'it'......

Insanity isn't as good as the person diagnosing, but rather what the diagnosis of Insanity does for the patient. Saying, what does insanity mean to that person. Insanity is passed around as a word easily, but I bet there are plenty of people out there who would faint if a doctor told them they were insane. These people take it to heart. " You are an alcoholic " Some people are like 'Yea! I'm an alcoholic. I drink too much.' As someone from that got beaten by their alcoholic father and you will get a different meaning.

Therefore especially in this case "insanity" has to be held in the eye of the beholder and whatever weight has been placed on the word for that person.

Sage

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SpankyMcLankey

I think he's talking about the people at church that dance around like they think they have jesus in them.

al-Mu'akhkhir

i'm confused as to whether or not we're even talking about diagnosable mental illness anymore...

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reverie

That's probably the most vital question to be asked here.

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dissolve popular detachment

al-Mu'akhkhir

*even more confused*

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SageTree

Insantity isn't a diagnosis. It is a blanket term for not normal, whatever people believe that is, its slang.

Schizophrenia is a larger disorder, based on a scale of the patients experience of symptoms.
Autism, know as autism spectrum disorder, is a broad range of symptoms.

Insanity isn't even those things. There is no diagnosis, Insanity. Therefore it can't be self imposed.

What is the more specific 'Insanity' we are trying to discuss here.

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al-Mu'akhkhir

^ I don't agree with that. The root for the word "sane" come from the latin "sanus" which i believe would be translated as healthy.. So it could be concluded that "insanity" would refer to an unhealthy mind.. which points more towards "mental illness" than "abnormality" to me.

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SageTree

You can take unhealthy to mean whatever yo want. I think people who are obsessed with material posession have an unhealthy tendency that add to their suffering cause by attachment. Does that make materialist metally ill too? By your definition the answer would be yes since it based on opinion of what a healthy mental state is.

If you told a doctor you were insane, he would ask you what that meant to you hopefully, and then would proceed to help you if you have an actual disorder to diagnose, otherwise theropy would be a fine answer to most of life's confusions and difficulties for those with normally functioning levels of horomones.

Maybe I'll ask my wife the psychologist what she'd say if someone said they were insane......likely the same thing I said, since I have helped her study and reviewed every paper up through and in her masters. But still I'd like to hear her opion of what insanity means to a professional. Wouldn't you?

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SageTree

Just for shits and giggles here is what the WikiGods know. Insanity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Traditionally, insanity or madness is the behavior whereby a person flouts societal norms and may become a danger to themselves and others. Greek tragedies and Shakespeare often refer to madness in this sense. Psychologically, it is a general, popular and legal term defining behavior influenced by mental instability. In modern usage, it is most commonly encountered as an informal, unscientific term, or in the narrow legal context of the insanity defense. In the medical profession the term is now avoided in favor of more specific diagnoses of mental illness such as schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. When discussing mental illness in general terms, "psychopathology " is also considered a preferred descriptor.

Insanity is no longer considered a medical diagnosis but is a legal term in the United States, stemming from its original use in common law. The disorders formerly encompassed by the term covered a wide range of mental disorders now diagnosed as organic brain syndromes, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other psychotic disorders.

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GratefulDead

I don't know if this counts as "self induced" insanity, but stay up for about 12 days smoking ice and tell me you don't go insane. I suppose that could be considered psychosis...but I digress. If you spend 4 hours in the bed of your truck watching out for the shadow people, you just might be insane.

tedkennedy

depends on what you consider the definition of insanity to be, if you mean acting recklessly and doing random inappropriate and destructive behaviors, then i suppose yes.

however i believe that if you have control over your actions and are aware of your own behaviors then you are not "insane". when one pleads insanity for a crime it is assumed that they do not have control over their actions and cannot be held responsible. therefore by this logic one cannot make themselves insane.

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matthew munari

al-Mu'akhkhir

this is exactly the point I'm trying to make...

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~1~

No...

'Crazy' people don't think they're nuts, in order for one to induce insanity upon ones self, you would have to believe the actions that make you bonkers are perfectly normal or 'sane' if you will.

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