Are We Crazy?

What Comes to Mind When I Think of 'Crazy?'

I must be pretty self-righteous because when I think of being crazy I think of anything, anyone, other than myself. I think of other patients my psychiatrist has. Not me! I think of my Uncle who has bipolar disorder. He might be crazy. Not me! Even my neighbor, the one who never talks, she must be crazy. Not me! The person walking by outside, the one I can see while I type these words through the large window, walking in knee high snow. Now there's a crazy person! Someone walking in snow on a declared 'snow day?' That's insanity.

Walking in snow. Being shy and not saying hello to your neighbor--that's what really defines a crazy person. Even my dog, with his boundless energy, I bet he could really use a mood stabilizer.

I hope, after reading this, you are wondering if I am crazy. And while I don't believe much of what I wrote above--not the dog part, I assure you--I don't like the word crazy. I don't try it on for size before I leave my home.

There is no Accurate Definition

That's right. Throw away all the ideas you have of people shuffling in slippers in the hospital, even if you have, and many of us have, been in that exact situation-- this is different than being crazy.

The word crazy is useless. Applying the word to ourselves, to our recovery, makes things harder.

After all, it's a real blow to what might be a bit of a shattered ego already, to place the word on yourself. It won't help you recover. Now, I understand that we may feel out of the loop when first diagnosed, we may even apply the word to ourselves, but with time it's important to kick the word out of your mind, your life, and just work on becoming, maintaining wellness.

You are Not 'Crazy'

And neither am I. Sure, you have a mental illness. You probably take medication. A lot of it--well, I do. But that is what makes us healthy. Treating our illness. As much as I love words I equally hate the ones that society places on those diagnosed with a mental illness and the words we place on ourselves. The ones that really hurt and damage our recovery.

Throw the idiotic word away. Five letters cannot define us. A single word. Even when we become ill and need help, when our moods are mentally throwing us into walls, you are still not crazy. You are unbalanced and you will soon be well.

Let language like that bypass you completely, dust in the wind, or get a little pissed off and write something like the content in this blog: confront the language that does not define you. Find your own.