completely insane

Like you didn't already know that about me?

But seriously, as of late my views about mental health have changed as my perspective on the issue has shifted.

My internship at the crisis clinic has brought me closer to portions of our community population who are chronic (if not lifetime) clients of the mental health system.

I work some real late nights, and I'm becoming more and more familiar with our lonely late night friend - insomnia. Insomnia is so interesting, some times it's a disease all it's own, some times a side effect of stress or emotional issues, other times a latent component of a greater mental health issue, or even a side effect of the meds given to alleviate mental disorder (when the side effects of your mental health meds make you feel crazy from lack of sleep - you sure must feel like you've been born under a bad sign. )

But why do I work the night shift, you may ask? A nice way to say it is that, I'm a bit of a night owl. In other words - I'm up half the night anyway, why not answer some phone calls?

So, if the phone caller is "abnormal" because they are wide awake in the middle of the night, thinking about their troubles when the "normal" world is resting... how am I anything but "abnormal" for volunteering to stay up all night thinking about a complete stranger's troubles?

Here you see the beginnings s of my quandary - who came up with these definitions of normal? And how do we judge people who don't fit into those categories?

It gets better... follow me quickly down this slippery slope of reasoning*:
Would it be rational to stab/cut yourself with a sharp knife every time you felt frustrated, insecure, lonely, or bored?
Would it be rational to pull your hair out your head just because you couldn't find your hairbrush? What if someone told you that was the only way to take care of your hair - that it had to be done? What if the person telling you to pull your own hair out, was inside your head?
Would it be reasonable to crash your car into the side of a building? What if had been drinking? Would it be reasonable to emotionally break down every time someone said they were heading "home"? What if you had never had a home home?
Would it be reasonable to scream and cry?
Would it be reasonable to feel overwhelmed by emotions, like you just couldn't go on because the world was causing you nothing but pain?
Isn't it reasonable that from time to time, we all feel emotional?
*It should be noted that all examples given in no way represent any individual who has sought help from the crisis clinic. While such examples may represent the type of call the clinic could receive, these examples are entirely figments of my imagination, as I would never comprmise the confidentiality or privacy of a caller.

The answer? Based on my new experiences as a crisis intervention counselor, I would have to say; there is no answer, and there is no reason. And there is (most importantly) no judgment. The drawing on the left is a classic example of skitzophrenic art taken from a psychiatric hospital and used in psychology textbooks (it typifies the chaotic lack of perspective experienced by skitzophrenics.) The painting at the top of the page is a world famous piece of art by Salvador Dali, sold for hundreds of millions.

I ask again - who came up with these definitions of normal? And how do we judge people who don't fit into those categories?

Remember, it was in the not-so-distant history that homosexuality was still considered a "diagnosable mental disease" listed in the DSM-IV (the medical reference book used to define all mental diseases/ disorders). Neither was it too long ago that medical doctors performed full historectomies on women, to cure their ANXIETY. And still today, we can see in our psychiatric hospitals use of the highly controversial electro-shock therapy (have you ever read/seen "One flew over the cuckoo's nest? I do highly recommend it). People in you community and family have mental disorder - they are everywhere, I can guarantee it.