Fluther: If you were given the "opportunity" to be Crazy for a ...

I would like a pill to make me normal, so I could see what its like in the land of the boring. :)

pjanaway (3002

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Absofrickinlutely! To get to act and speak without regard to the consequences, for just one day??? To get to just say whatever pops into my mind without facing any sort of penalties? That would be heaven!

juwhite1 (2971

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I’m crazy Every damn —-DAY—- 1337ELITE

Fred931 (9434

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The bewildered stares from other people wouldn’t be that much fun, but then, it is only for a day. A small price to pay!

juwhite1 (2971

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I’d rather have a “normal” pill. Mental illnesses can be anguishing. What I have is bad enough. I don’t think I’d want to try anything else.

loser (15032

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And also, they have already designed a mental-illness drug. We callz it teh Mary Jane

Fred931 (9434

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LMFAO!......

Pazza (3268

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Crazy is not a diagnosis. And everyone faces consequences for their actions.

Mental illness is not fun, or funny. Millions of people suffer everyday, including myself. You don’t want the pill. Trust me.

tinyfaery (44086

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@tinyfaery “Diagnosis: identifying the nature or cause of some phenomenon.” My craziness causes a ****LOAD of phenomena.

Fred931 (9434

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Crazy is not in DSM IV, sorry.

tinyfaery (44086

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First off, I think crazy and mental illness are two different things.

If I had to pick one disorder though, or state of mind, I would want to have Down’s Syndrome for a day. They have such a great outlook and always seem genuinely happy. I want to be genuinely happy.

jamielynn2328 (4737

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As to what mental illness I’d choose, I’d opt for schizophrenia with delusions of grandeur (not persecution… that would be horrible).
I do realize mental illness is not a joke, and used to work on the admission ward of a psychiatric hospital for a couple of years. Not all people with mental illness are suffering, any more than all people without mental illness are happy. In the spirit of the original question, there are some advantages of getting to check out of your regular life for a little while and try on something different. I think it would teach me a lot about who I am and about the world I live in. It’s a great question. Lurve!

juwhite1 (2971

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If you were given the opportunity to have painful cancer, or lung-crushing emphysema for a day would you do it?

jaytkay (25810

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@tinyfaery Of course, the flip side to that particular coin is that; if everyone were to take the pill we would better understand mental illness from the POV of the sufferer, increasing compassion and empathy towards all people.

Of course, humanity are mostly fools so they’d probably learn little and just have a blast.

anon (1631

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No. I wouldn’t. I saw how frightened my guardian was when she was having an “episode” or when she thought she heard voices talking to her. I’m not looking to experience that.

aprilsimnel (30749

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Down’s is not a mental illness, though people with Down’s often suffer from mental illness.

tinyfaery (44086

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@jaytkay See, I could actually incur sadness and depression from that, but it would be temporary as well. Same goes for those who think insanity would incur sadness and depression. However, the reason people would stay away from it is that people actually expect the bad things that normally come from those. Not so for a normal amount of ADD, etc. at least those who don’t have it already

Fred931 (9434

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No thank you. I’m mental enough on my own.

ItalianPrincess1217 (11979

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You obviously do not have a grasp of what those with mental illness suffer with.

tinyfaery (44086

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@tinyfaery Just the diseases that show up on news and such, and ADD is probably not in that category.

Fred931 (9434

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No, thanks. The idea of having a mental illness terrifies me. I do not want to experience that. Part of the reason I’ll never do hallucinogenic drugs. Not interested.

DominicX (28808

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Intriguing question. Most mental illnesses also terrify me and I do have a very very real fear of asylums. I probably wouldn’t trust it to “put me back to normal” so I wouldn’t try it.
But in concept, I’d want to for the sake of understanding it better, maybe developing a new appreciation of life afterwards.

Iclamae (2412

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No
Mental illnesses are not something to make light of.

PretentiousArtist (4401

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@Iclamae

I also have a fear of mental hospitals. I’ve only been to one. I was 11, my grandmother didn’t know kids weren’t allowed in, and I went in (my uncle was there) and it really freaked me out. Kinda scarred me a bit…

DominicX (28808

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If anyone thinks having a mental illness is like having a “get out of jail free” card, think again. Mental illness does not absolve you of responsibility for your actions. And people act like there are invisible people, or paranoid like everyone is going to kill them, or they take off all their clothes and walk into the ladies rest room because they truly believe that the people are there, or that other people want to kill them, or that the woman they saw absolutely loves them and wants to jump their bones right then and there.

Crazy people are just trying to deal with a world they is fearsome and awful and makes you think the worst of yourself and not even want to live. Anyone with romantic ideas about it is delusional, and should be hospitalized, themselves. People who opt to spend a day mentally ill have no idea… NO IDEA what they are fucking getting into.

However, if I had to be ill for only a day (oh how I wish it were only a day), I would choose to have what I have, only I would choose to have it on my best manic day, when I am on top of the world and can do anything, and women really do just eat out of my hand. If only that could go on and on and on, but unfortunately, the mind is soon drained of whatever was making it work well, and then what follows is a descent into hell. A hell that 20%... yes, TWENTY PERCENT of my compadres dies from, by their own hand.

You tell me where to find any other illness with a death rate that high? Go ahead. I dare you! Now come and tell me you want to spend a day in my shoes. You better fucking hope that it is the right day, ‘cause I don’t want you killing my body on the day I’m off somewhere else.

wundayatta (58722

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@DominicX Wow. That’s way worse. I’ve never been in one. I’ve just seen a lot of movies. The restraints, meds, and possibility of being locked in when you’re sane scare the hell out of me. I’m not sure how much of it is real or not, but mostly it’s the being locked in and never getting out idea that really terrifies me.

Iclamae (2412

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Insanity Test! refresh the page and reference how many pictures you see before you fall out of your chair! Scoring is as follows:

1–5: Rehab is imminent. Stop calling me about the stupid website. Its not that funny.
6–10: I think your meds are all worn off now…
11–15: Ok, you need to chill.
16–25: You seem a little high, but not too much.
26–50: You’re a perfectly normal person.
51–100: You’re a pretty thick shell to crack.
101–200: Why aren’t you laughing?
201–500: Maybe you need anti-depressants instead.
501— so many that you lost count: You are living a lonely and miserable life.

Fred931 (9434

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@Iclamae

I didn’t see too much, but I had never seen anything like it before and I didn’t know what to expect and it really scared me. My uncle is currently in a mental institution for schizophrenia, but he is “sane” enough to feel as if he doesn’t belong there. He’s not all locked up or anything, but man, I’d hate to be in his situation.

DominicX (28808

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@DominicX I’m sorry :(

Iclamae (2412

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One in five people in this country, it is estimated, suffers from a treatable mental illness. Ya’ll are scared of us, but we are everywhere. It’s just that we’re afraid to show ourselves exactly because of the attitudes seen here and in movies.

Mental Illness can be lived with, and quite well. Look at your classmates and coworkers. One in five of them is being treated (or should be treated) for a disorder of some kind or another. Being schizophrenic can be terrifying. You try walking around when the voices are telling you, incessantly, to kill yourself. And not just one of them, but four or five. The chatter is never out of your ears and your head. Who wouldn’t kill themselves just to get rid of it?

But there are medications and they do work, and so a lot of mentally ill people are doing just fine, thank you very much. Others, maybe not so good. Living on disability, and often unable to pay for meds or therapy, and rent, and it’s tough.

Ok. I better go. My heartrate is getting to high. But kudos to @tyrantxseries for asking this question, and giving people a chance to let their misunderstandings hang out. Education is the only thing that can combat prejudice.

wundayatta (58722

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@LastPost I got a 23!

Fred931 (9434

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I’m not understanding why some are assuming there aren’t consequences for their actions…Having a mental illness isn’t a get out of jail free card. Why would anyone think that?

ItalianPrincess1217 (11979

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@daloon

It is my observation that the rate of mental illness continues to climb and climb and climb. That is what truly scares me. Providing that is what is happening, but it sure as hell seems like it.

DominicX (28808

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@LastPost I took it again and got a 9. Uh Oh.

Fred931 (9434

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@daloon Mentally ill people don’t scare me. I admit I’ve only met 1. But they don’t scare me. Asylums scare me. Not being able to turn off voices scares me. That’s not the same. I think mentally ill people who manage to control it and live even a sort of normal life are way stronger than I am. I don’t think I could handle it.

Iclamae (2412

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@Iclamae

For me, it’s the mental illness that scares me, not the people with the illness. Schizophrenia in particular seems to freak me out. Sybil Dorset’s mother had schizophrenia, after all. It’s horrifying to think of the power the illnesses have.

DominicX (28808

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@ItalianPrincess1217 – Because our legal framework allows that when someone has mental illness severe enough to cause them to not be able to tell the difference between right and wrong, they do, infact, get a free pass. They are put in a mental hospital, treated until better, then released. They are not responsible for their actions while so mentally ill that they couldn’t comprehend the consequences. If I’m going to try on a mental illness for a day, I’m going full out, severely mentally ill, and unmedicated, and get the entire experience. I’d think that people with mental illness would actually want others to do that, rather than lambasting them for considering it.

juwhite1 (2971

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@DominicX Agreed.

When I said Sorry before, I meant I was sorry for the emotional stress on your family and uncle.

Iclamae (2412

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I wouldn’t miss this opportunity
I would try 3,

1-Bipolar
2-narcissism
3-amnesia if that counts
if not total Obsessive–compulsive

I find your answers very…um…interesting

want to know don’t want to experiance

tyrantxseries (4722

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Choose the blue pill.

ratboy (15167

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Yes. If I could have a genuine but brief, time-limited first-hand experience of any condition other than my own, and be assured of returning to my normal (normal for me) state afterward, and not get killed at it, I would probably take it. I sometimes feel very confined having nothing but my own experience and point of view from which to see. I would gladly broaden my understanding.

This is one reason why I love to read fiction. It’s like trying on someone else’s head.

I think I might choose schizophrenia because I think it might give me the most insight, but I’m not sure, What would you recommend, @tyrantxseries?

I would want to be able to warn my family, though.

Jeruba (55829

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I don’t even like being drunk for too long because I start to feel like I’m losing control of my own mind. It really starts to make me anxious and crazy. I think being mentally ill for a day would have a very bad effect on me. I would be scared of what might happen.

ItalianPrincess1217 (11979

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I wouldn’t choose any of them. They are all painful, alienating and not something to be viewed as a vacation. Trust me, if you chose any of them you would never be the same again. It changes you forever.

gemiwing (14718

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Removed by me because I’m getting angry at the idea of mental illness as being a ‘free pass’ to do whatever you please.

gemiwing (14718

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Weird question…
But uhm…i’d choose Narcolepsy. it sounds fun :D

RAWRxRandy (620

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@gemiwing

I’m still not sure where that was said…the OP didn’t say that…

DominicX (28808

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@DominicX, the OP didn’t, but some responses have definitely taken a jocular tone, @juwhite1,‘s for one.

I would also take cancer for a day, imprisonment for a day, living in a war zone for a day, starving in the streets for a day, homelessness for a day, living in a repressive totalitarian regime for a day—not that I imagine that spending one day and then being home free would be anything like living the life, but it would give me understanding and compassion that I don’t have now.

Jeruba (55829

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