To be crazy

[ar81]

People with psychological problems are seen like "crazy", while people whose body is not working properly are just ill.
Psychological problems indicate that brain is not working properly, so in a way it is to be ill. I will not refer here to people who are disconnected from reality or violent, but about people who are just not feeling fine and are called "crazy" by other people.

World Health Organization have abandoned this biologist concept of health Long ago and mental health is seen as health too.

But for some reason we still make a difference between a person who is ill and a person who has problems. I had a chance to see a person with mental illness and this person became happier and was not "crazy" anymore.

What do you think?

[joyfulgrowth]

First of all, if at all (I rarely witness it!), the label "crazy" seems to be used for types of mental condition that have to do with having a very different perception of reality and doing things not common in a society, without being aware of it (e.g. somebody who believes he is Jesus and that the Pharisees are after him, and who doesn't notice that he is the only one who sees it that way. Or maybe occasionally people who (re)act in very unexpected and unpredictable ways).

On the other hand, people who strongly struggle with depression or anxiety are sometimes scared of being seen as "crazy", which might keep them from reaching out for professional support, but this fear usually is without substance [I just wanted to put that ahead because I want everybody to get whatever support enhances the quality of their life, and getting therapy really does NOT mean you are crazy].

I believe that all labels we attach to people (crazy, smart, complicated, cool...) really are an expression of our own met or unmet needs when we are around them. In the case of calling someone "crazy" my guess would be that it often has to do with fear.

For many people it is simply challenging and scary to be around somebody who speaks, acts and thinks in a very different way than themselves. It takes a lot of energy. Ideally you would be highly skilled in being present with yourself and being present with another human being, and switching between those two modes with a lot of ease.

If holding those two modes at the same time is a challenge for you, labeling somebody as "crazy" means that you can gain ease by basically telling yourself that it is okay to have a different standard of interacting with them than you usually have with people.

In my view, it's an odd way of saying "I don't know how to take this person seriously, to really care about them, and at the same time hold myself with care, take myself seriously. So I will reduce my interaction with them, especially any interaction where I actually would open my heart, so that I won't loose myself."