Various events around us of recent have lead to a discussion between my hubby and myself about the nature of insanity versus the nature of sanity….it has long been a lingering question of mine since my year 12 English majors dealing with the question…I studied ‘Catch 22’ and One Flew Over the cuckoo’s Nest’ as my main Novels and entered into the vain search for regularity in this indefinable concept of our reality. In some ways I believe it has affected my entire subsequent life journey in so much that I do not take the ‘norm’ for granted and am open to the many differences of social mores that define man/woman as ‘sane.’ I think it’s all a matter of perception and perception is filled with areas of grey and shadows that are not definable.
The reality is that the distinction between sane and insane is very often arbitrary. There is no clear borderline. These two terms are relative, i.e. they depend on cultural and social surroundings and can be at best statistically defined.
From a philosophical viewpoint we can ask, ‘Can we define insanity?’ Reasonably, we can see that for this to occur we will have to define sanity first. Moreover if insanity is defined by sane people, then we could presuppose that sanity would have to be defined by insane people. Each presupposition suggests a double-backing on itself and ultimately leaves us with nothing for a definition.
All we really have when defining such terms are views concerning human behaviour and everyday social phenomena formed within the imposed bubble of the social norm. In other words, the criteria imposed on the acceptance of a view or definition is whether or not the majority of the community agrees to it, while the latter is wholly dependent on the observation of behaviour and character of most people in a current social context. In short, the norm determines what is viewed as “Sane” and those falling outside of this norm are considered to be “Insane”. We can see that there can never be an absolute or permanent definition of anything, as times and human conditions are continuously subjected to change. Take for instance, the social event of war, where killing others is suddenly seen as a reasonable norm and those willing to do so are touted as heroes. Similarly, those people who are sensitive, law abiding and considerate human beings, who are not willing to kill for any socially acceptable norm, are now seen as weak and possibly a danger to the safety of their country.
Consider also the case of those rare geniuses, artists, scientists, inventors, philosophers and the like. These people are often seen as odd and dysfunctional in a social context. Often however, they are the people responsible for the advance, improvement and formulation of novel forms of thought, trends, arts, inventions etc. Much of our technology, science, art, literature, entertainment and many other treasured and inspiring things would not exist if it was not for them. Are we to label these individuals as ‘insane’ or ‘inspired’ and what is the difference?
The Rosenhan experiment, conducted by Doctor David Rosenhan way back in 1972 raises a notable question into the validity of the diagnosis of Insanity. It was published in the journal “ Science” under the title "On being sane in insane places.”
Rosenhan's study consisted of two parts. The first involved the use of so called healthy individuals or "pseudopatients," who briefly simulated auditory hallucinations in an attempt to gain admission to 12 different psychiatric hospitals in five different states of America in various locations in the United States. The second involved asking staff at a psychiatric hospital to detect non-existent "fake" patients. In the first case hospital staff failed to detect a single pseudopatient, in the second the staff falsely identified large numbers of genuine patients as impostors. The study is considered an important and influential criticism of psychiatric diagnosis. The study formally concluded, "It is clear that we cannot distinguish the sane from the insane in psychiatric hospitals" and also illustrated the dangers of depersonalization and labeling in psychiatric institutions. This makes you really think doesn’t it??
A lot of so called insane behaviour or mentally unstable behviours are also in fact instinctual reactions to unpleasant or perceived threatening situations. By denying us the right to behave thus we can actually be perpetuating later and more permanent dysfunctional behviours that might otherwise be termed insane.
For example, worry and anxiety responses to stress are usual first line defences to events perceived as threatening. Adrenaline is released to prepare for a flight or fight response. This causes trembling, sweating, palpitation, hyper-breathing etc, all because the body is actually preparing to combat the perceived stressful event. Unconscious memory of a past anxiety provoking event may cause a general sense of ever present anxiety. Are we insane because we react to stress so...or are we behaving in instinctual ways? Are we justified in labelling these as unwanted behaviours or are they necessary in order to deal with the stress....is the problem perhaps how much stress we create by our so called modern societal norm? Similarly depression & mood dips are responses to frustration and unfulfilled desires or let downs which stem from unusually high expectations or super ego - ego conflicts that are generally also a product of the societal norm we have generated in the modern world.
Perhaps we need to understand that the various manifestations of so called mental illnesses or insanity are nothing but enactions and verbalizations of countless unfulfilled desires and expectations that characterize the complex species called human beings.
Finally the thing that really got me as a young girl and still ahs me firmly in its grasp is the idea that an insane man is unaware of his madness and that he perceives his imagination or hallucinations as being entirely real. Begging the question, how can anyone really know whether or not he or she is sane or insane? How do I know if I am not just imagining everything around me? Even if I consult a psychiatrist and ask for his substantiation of my perceptions, it could still be just my mind playing tricks on me...! What is real, what is not, what exists, what does not, are we our thoughts….do we exist….is thinking about this insane….is it sane to question the very truth of one’s existence….and so on.
And lastly I found this poignant paragraph anonymously w written about the sane and insane on the net……. ‘The insane spend their lives trying to understand. They strive for acceptance, and only want to blend in. A visit from a far away relative is far more important than finding two-hundred dollars. Running a race is more important than winning the marathon. The sane will beat, kill, and steal to be on top. They want riches and fame. They strive for respect and honor at anyone's expense. The sane are unstoppable. They know everything. They are you and I on days when we have to be at work on time. Move out the way!’
As that veritable psychoanalyst Lang has put it, “Insanity is the reaction of a sane mind to an insane society”.
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