Terminalcoffee discussion
Rants / Debates (Serious)
>
What percentage of the general public is fucking crazy?
RandomAnthony wrote: "Ok, 25%."That sounds like a reasonable number. I have a theory that everyone if f***ing crazy at some point, but only a quarter of the people are in their crazy stage at one time.
Pat, that's an excellent point. Not everyone may be consistently crazy. I have to think on that a bit.
30% Heidi? Am I too low? Authenticity demands honesty, and forthrightness, and talking about these things...but I'm comfortable with 25%.
But wait, 25% means that 1 out of 4 people is insane.
I'm ok with that. I used to work at Mrs. Field's Cookies.You know, let me put this out there. I like the fact we have a "nice" thread, etc., and I appreciate how courteous we are to each other, but I realllllly want to avoid excessive avoidance of anger, venting, etc. as a general unwritten rule. Heidi, you and I are friends, but I'm going to keep saying I "hate" people/things, etc., and I think it's important that people can speak plainly, vent, etc. There's room for all that and a "nice" thread, too. Reasonable authenticity is key.
And you, by the way, can keep telling me you don't like the fact I use the word "hate":)
Good 'cause I unloaded my anger at sprint in the Apropos OF Nothing thread earlier...Wait, so you're saying that you want to have a healthy balance of niceness and...not so niceness on this forum?
I think we have to be as authentic as possible while, hopefully, remaining civil. Like I said, I like and understand the desire to have that "nice" thread poop-free, etc. But we also need threads where we can be angry, frustrated, bitchy, and true. I hope TC isn't a crazy alcoholic rage or whatever, all the time, and sure hope we don't turn into a goddamn Precious Moments chapel. But I think we can choose to be authentic and civil. I have faith in us. (Just, not, um, 25% of us...:)
Yeah, that's well said, Misha, I agree.
Words are very unnecessary, they can only do haarrmmmm
OH, I know, I hear you, Misha, I like the nice thread. It's not Precious Momenty.I kind of want to see the Precious Moment Chapel, though, I must admit. Just maybe not doing drugs beforehand like I once would.
Seriously...can you imagine?http://www.preciousmoments.com/conten...
I think the "nice" thread, by the way, is one of the most challenging ones we have. Being authentically complimentary can be difficult and humbling. It's speaking from a true place in which we're not always comfortable.
That park is just scary.But then again, so is this.
[image error]
NO! It's real! And Tadpole lives kind of close to it! I demand he visits.
Oh! They have a "Precious Girls Club" that publishes BOOKS.Read this page. It's terrifying.
http://www.preciousmoments.com/conten...
Ok, Stacia, concerning your Hello Kitty picture, now THAT makes me wish I still did drugs.
Have you ever seen that show "Lottery Changed my Life"? There was someone on there that made their house into a replica of Graceland, complete with cheesy Elvis busts and memorabilia all over the inside./shudder
That's all kinds of win.
My aunt and my cousin are waaaay into Precious Moments stuff, and make pilgrimages to that chapel. Their collecting of it is an obsession, and both of them are bipolar. My uncle and cousin John both have some depression, too. My mom is perfectly fine, perfectly healthy. So am I.So, about three-fifths of my family is nuts, I'd say.
I'm so glad I'm adopted...
Seems like a disproportionate number of fucking crazy people make it onto television as pundits, or as experts in some field or another.Or are there really as many fucking crazy people as that evidence would suggest?
I know a girl who had a "Precious Moments" themed wedding reception. I wish I was kidding. Her husband is this huge tough-looking Army guy but apparently he didn't have a problem with it so who am I to judge.It was weird, though.
Mod
Or are there really as many fucking crazy people as that ..."
I'm sure that's because producers want the crazy.
Mod
I have watched those political focus groups on Cspan, though, which might make me think it's closer to 7%.
Mod
I don't know what percentage of television news pundits are crazy, but I did recently read that Sean Hannity is licensed to carry a concealed weapon in the city of New York:http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/...
Mod
Misha wrote: "And as someone who covers politics, I'm fairly certain the percentage of Americans who are insane is much higher than 25 or 30 percent. I hope it's only a temporary insanity, though."passion can be confused with insanity when discussing politics. :)
Okay... so my 2 cents - as someone who works in psychiatric research within a facility that centers its research and work around dissolving the stigma associated with mental illness, I have to say that I take issue with this thread title (specifically the "fucking crazy" part") because it seems counter to the mission of what I do. And this is a passionate issue for me. As long as this stigma exists, the numbers will continue to be inaccurate because, really... who wants to admit they have a mental issue if it's seen in a negative light? Would you seek treatment if it was an option, stigma considered? Whether a person with mental illness gets treatment or no, this bad, bad thing stays with him/her for life. This stigma is counterproductive towards a person's treatment. Consider this - on top of being treated for whatever reason they're seeking counseling or mental health care, the work is harder for the mental health care professionals in that not only are they having to treat the illness, whether it's bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, addiction, or dissociative disorder, or whatever you might find in the DSM-IV; they're also left with treating the guilt and shame... blame, secrecy, the "black sheep of the family" role, isolation, social exclusion, negative stereotyping, and even discrimination associated with being considered mentally ill. Plus how accurate can the census actually be? They count the number of people being treated... but do they factor in the homeless people who are mentally ill (thank you, Reagan administration)? And mental illness is just that... an illness. An illness that needs to be treated with compassion.
Aside from that... RA, you're welcome to continue using "hate," and I will continue to bare my fangs at you when you do. :)
I hear you, TawNub... it still doesn't change the fact that this thread title gets under my skin. What do you guys wanna know about mental illness? I'll be happy to educate you. I don't know everything about it, but I do know some stuff... including some of the latest research in this area, specifically around depression, substance abuse treatment, addiction, dementia, or dual diagnosis. Really cool research.
And this is exactly where public education could go a long way in reducing the stigma towards mental illness. I can tell you that I know most people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia don't have violent leanings, but rather... they tend to be withdrawn and prefer to just be left alone. Research indicates it's possibly a developmental disorder resulting from impaired migration of neurons in the brain during fetal development. It typically emerges during adulthood, and rarely occurs in children. Bun, you of course went straight for one of the hot button topic in mental health care (schizophrenia treatment). There are no easy answers in regard to treatment of schizophrenia because the treatment is antipsychotic meds... and they can dull the emotions and affect the memory. And most don't like these effects. Understandably. The one thing that seems to be consistent is that a good doctor-patient relationship is very important for someone with schizophrenia. And over time, they can learn to overcome some of the more severe symptoms of their illness.
Mod
I really do feel "fucking crazy" / mentally ill sometimes. I really do. I wonder about myself if I'm on the border or about to lose my marbles or if what I feel now is the dementia that will swallow my past when I'm 75 or if the stars had been slightly differently aligned I would be a paranoid schizophrenic.
I know I don't like movies/books about characters with clearly defined mental illness. It makes my forearms ache.
Mod
This is something I'm discussing in therapy right now.
BunWat wrote: "Well I went to schizophrenia simply because I was reaching for an intractable example. What I meant to say is that for the whole spectrum from mild depression to full on psychosis with hallucinati..."Hmmm, violence doesn't seem to be normal for a person with schizophrenia. I'm guessing the violent or aggressive behavior was spawned because of drugs or alcohol and not so much the schizophrenia. I can understand why that might upset you. I've had several confrontations over the years with study participants who are high on meth or crack... sometimes both, or withdrawing from opiates. I would think that the advice I've been given on how to handle the situations would be relevant for your street confrontations.
I try to use a calm voice when speaking with them. I'll address the fact that they're upset - i.e. "I can see you're upset right now. What's going on with you? Why are you upset? What can I do to help you?" Talking to them in a calm voice with reason and compassion helps. I'll get them to sit down (because this can lower vitals - blood pressure/heart rate) and I will sit down with them. I'll validate what they're telling me by repeating back what I've heard them say, affirming, and engaging them so that they indicate that I'm not the enemy... "So, what you're telling me is you're having very uncomfortable withdrawals right now and you're very uncomfortable... Am I right? And I'm guessing that all you can think about is getting dosed. I understand. I want you to get dosed as quickly as possible. I want to help you. So let's get you through clinic as quickly as possible so we can get you dosed as quickly as possible. Can you be patient with me for a few minutes - we'll get through this faster if you're cooperative. Do you think you can work with me on this?"
However, if I were in your shoes, I'd likely use that sort of discussion as a last minute tactic with them. It might be best in those scenarios to avoid eye contact or engaging in a conversation so as to not provoke any aggressive behavior. I don't imagine you initiate that sort of interaction. In fact, I'm sure you probably are thinking "please don't be talking to me, please don't be talking to me..."
Consider this - by nature, people have, if you will, bubbles. Some have small bubbles and they're comfortable with people being in their space. Some have big bubbles and do NOT want people in their space. It's possible you're unknowingly invading their space and they consider it an act of aggression towards them. A former coworker gave me some interesting insight into this - he's from India. I'm not. I have a HUGE bubble. And he would often be in my space. When he was, I'd tell him, "You're in my bubble" and I'd try to make a joke of it. He told me he has no bubble. He said people in India do not have bubbles because there's not enough room to have a bubble. I suspect he was exaggerating his point, but I'm sure there's some validity to that. And this brings me to something I find fascinating (mental illness around the world).
Regardless, YOU've taken the first step towards dissolving stigma - you're talking about it. Asking questions. Bringing up issues. And that's a good thing.
BunWat wrote: "Heidi I wasn't saying that I thought the street people were schizophrenic. Two separate topics in that post. First that I find it interesting that even a very intractable mental illness (like sch..."Ahh... that wasn't clear to me (obviously).
I had a beer with my dinner. I'm probably pretty dense right now... so I'm probably functioning on half a tank? :) ♥
Mod
Absolutely.
Hehe. Your comment reminded me of this video. A true classic!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFUW6h...
i just want to add that this thread title made me laugh out loud while sitting in my chair with my dog. she looked at me like she thought i was crazy so maybe i am of the problem and not the solution. other than that, carry on
It doesn't matter what the percentage of the population is crazy. The US has 15 times the number of crazy people than we have in Australia, and we try our hardest to send you the ones we have. :)
wait, didn't everyone send their criminals there a while back? no way the 15 times deal is accurate. maybe you guys are all crazy there and you just think that is normal. with all that criminal DNA swimming around i would think you would have to be reasonably looney :)
LOL, Yes that would explain our lower percentage per head of population in prison. Our criminals are left to roam around free.
Based on the shambling, living dead shuffling around near my bus stop downtown, I'd go with 33%.
Gail "cyborg" wrote: "It doesn't matter what the percentage of the population is crazy. The US has 15 times the number of crazy people than we have in Australia, and we try our hardest to send you the ones we have. :)"What? You people swim near sharks and alligators!
I'm going with 20%.