Reclaiming "Crazy" by Finding the Hidden Blessings in Psychosis - by Meli G
Some things that are labeled crazy or insane are actually considered amazing. Like a mansion with an infinity pool. Watch any real estate reality show and you’ll hear these words tossed around a lot.
Many times, however, being “crazy” is termed as the following in our society:
She’s off her rocker. He’s nuts. He’s losing his grip. She’s got a few loose screws. He’s lost his marbles. She went off the deep end. They snapped. She’s out of her mind. Unhinged. A maniac.
I can’t blame people for using these expressions, even though I’ve felt the awful experience of actual psychosis. Such idioms are ubiquitous for a reason. It’s pretty easy nowadays to go “crazy” - or have a breakdown/meltdown/crisis - or even have a psychotic break.
In fact, an estimated 415 million people across the globe will experience psychosis at some point in their life.
It’s easy to see why. Our modern world shifts so quickly with exponentially-growing technology. And most of us are disconnected from nature. Our dopamine, neurotransmitters, and nervous systems can be hijacked by about a 1,000 different things in our environment. Uncertainty about the future is high, especially with AI. So is mistrust of governments, corporations, and institutions. Mass disclosure of corruption, abuse, and covert programs/ops are also rapidly surfacing.
Even psychosis can be powerfully transformative if we actually examine the content of a person’s delusions and hallucinations. It’s actually a psychoanalytical treasure trove. That’s if healthcare professionals ever care to ask us about our delusions and hallucinations, which they rarely do. Major props to those who do.
Furthermore, any kind of surface-level internet research on psychosis indicates that all delusions and hallucinations are false - even though mystics, psychics, artists, shamans, psychonauts, prophets, mediums, and drug trippers have had them forever.
Thankfully there are other terms and concepts that shine a flattering light on “craziness” like:
> The idea of the “mad genius.” I like this quote by Aristotle, “No great genius has ever existed without a strain of madness.” Also consider this statement from the psychologist J. Herman Kleiger:
“Shakespeare wrote, ‘the lunatic, the lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact,’ and Edgar Allan Poe said, ‘Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence.’ Surrealistic painter Salvador Dali merged incompatible images to create disturbing, dreamlike scenes. Dali referred to himself as a ‘paranoiac’ and believed he possessed the capacity to recognize double images because he felt his disturbed mind was hypersensitive to hidden appearances that were real or imagined. More contemporary artists like Joni Mitchell have said, ‘An artist needs a certain amout of turmoil and confusion.’”
“Many religious and folk traditions honor the figure of the holy fool – someone whose apparent madness or simplicity masks a deeper sanctity or insight. In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, for example, there is the concept of ‘foolishness for Christ.’ The Russian yurodivy or holy fool would intentionally behave in eccentric, absurd ways as a form of ascetic practice. By feigning insanity – dressing in rags, speaking in riddles, disrupting social norms – these holy fools aimed to humble themselves and provoke spiritual reflection in others. Their folly was ‘deliberate, irritating, even provocative,’ serving to upend worldly pride and hypocrisy. Notably, the Eastern Orthodox Church canonized several of these fools-for-Christ as saints (such as St. Basil ‘the Blessed,’ after whom St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow is named). The idea is that by abandoning all pretensions to worldly wisdom – by being content to be despised as a madman – the holy fool achieves a radical purity of faith and a closeness to God. This archetype isn’t limited to Christianity; we see similar ‘divine madmen’ in Sufi Islam (e.g. the mad dervish or the Mulla Nasruddin stories), in Hinduism (the avadhuta ascetics who act crazy to show their enlightenment), and in Buddhism (the ‘Crazy Wisdom’ teachers of Tibet who use eccentric behavior to teach). In all these, foolish behavior becomes a sacred teaching tool.”
> This also makes me think of court jesters, clowns, and comedians - who often have a streak of madness. I did stand-up comedy when I lived in Brooklyn. Sometimes comedians speak truths that most of the population are afraid to broach. Comedians are willing to act a fool - and can transmute their insecurities and humiliation into creative gold. And some of them don’t have to worry about being fired for their opinions - or missing out on a promotion, losing their medical license, losing advertising money, or losing academic grant funding from pharmaceutical companies, for instance. The purest truths can come from so-called fools - and also artists, who can veil harsh truths behind fictional storytelling, lyrics, and images.
> Other concepts that shine a brighter light on madness include: “post-traumatic growth,” shamanic crises, and spiritual crises. I encourage readers to learn more about these topics if they resonate.
It’s also not to say that psychosis isn’t difficult. It can be an absolute nightmare for individuals and their families and loved ones. I can personally attest to this.
But I want to emphasize that psychosis can also be transformative and profound. It can feel like an adventure into another dimension or the spirit world. It's dream-like, surreal, trippy. Time seems to stop. It's like an accelerated mythical "hero's journey" on steroids. It can be cathartic. Sometimes the "crazy" person on the street is verbalizing collective pain that's going largely unaddressed. Even the humiliation and desparation - and resulting ego dissolution - can bring us closer to God.
Many people also have powerful spiritual experiences during psychosis - that are promptly dismissed by nearly everyone in the fields of medicine, psychiatry, psychology, and academia. I explore this more here: "The Unconscious Mind, Mysticism & Madness."
It’s dehumanizing, frankly. We can absolutely recognize that psychiatric symptoms can be very challenging - and treat them accordingly, with methods that actually work. But the current model of defining “delusions and hallucinations” as completely false, and then labeling someone with a “lifelong” “brain disorder” is simply bad science and does a disservice to the many millions of people who experience delusions and hallucinations each year.
Psychosis can also be caused by myriad factors in our environment, not to mention stress and trauma. I delve into this in my piece “Delulu and Beyond - Understanding the Nature of Delusions.” Drug-induced psychosis is also incredibly common. There are also no biomarkers to determine if someone has bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or even depression. There are no blood tests. And when was the last time doctors tested your dopamine or serotonin levels? They don’t. There’s no baseline “normal” value for these neurotransmitters. Do things like dopamine affect psychosis? No doubt. But dopamine levels are affected by numerous external factors, including: food, technology, addictions, EMFs, recreational/street drugs, and a long list of prescription medications.
This of course also means more lifelong patients secured for the drug companies, hospitals, psych wards and the like. I know I’m blunt, but I’m fine with that. Like Kendrick Lamar says, somebody gotta do it. And actually the smartest psychiatrists in the field are saying this too. Including doctors from Ivy League universities like Harvard.
Labels and diagnoses can be helpful sometimes. But mostly it just stigmatizes a person and makes them feel like they’ll be forever defective. And that they’ll never be able to heal. And that they’ll have to take meds forever. Also that society is scared of people like us. This isn’t just me saying this: a lot of people who’ve endured psychosis feel like this is how they’re portrayed. Sometimes the media portrays us as dangerous, when the overwhelming majority of people who’ve had psychosis are more likely to be victims of crime.
There’s also the issue of the “weaponization of the crazy label.” This has happened for millenia. When someone steps out of line, or challenges power in any significant way, or bucks the status quo, or exposes truth or corruption - what do the “powers that be” call them? Crazy. Unhinged. Conspiracy theorists.
By the way, do you know where the term conspiracy theory originated from?
It was coined by the CIA. To discredit people who questioned the JFK assasination.
This disparaging label has really come in handy over the past several years to keep people from questioning too much. Yes, some theories are far out and some turn out to be wrong. But everyone is entitled to their opinion and theories, and freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy and a free society, which we claim to love in the U.S. And most of the time, so-called crazy conspiracy theorists are months/years/decades ahead of the general population in terms of predicting and understanding global affairs. The smartest writers, academics, doctors, and journalists that I respect have been called conspiracy theorists.
So if you’ve been called crazy or a conspiracy theorist, rejoice! You’re in good company :)
Also of growing concern is the rise in “involuntary psychiatric commitments.” I’ve been involuntarily committed a few times. They can help in one sense during the acute phase, but it’s mostly just traumatic. This feeling is shared among so many people who’ve been committed. It’s often done through police involvement as well. Involuntary commitments are on the rise for children as well. I could write more about children being committed against their will and given antipsychotics, but it breaks my heart.
Psych meds are no joke. This is not controversial to say. Anyone who’s reading this who’s been on psych meds, including SSRIs, and especially antipsychotics, understands this deeply. I can’t list all the side effects here (my post is getting long enough). Even withdrawal can be agonizing and sometimes take years to safely taper off. I respect each person’s decision to take meds or not. But I also note that we ALL have a right to informed consent, and to ask questions about side effects. And to raise concerns with physicians and healthcare professionals. We’re not told this, nearly enough.
Involuntary commitments are used by well-meaning people who don’t know what else to do with an unruly student or a loved one who’s in pain. They’re also used heavily by schools, universities, long-term nursing homes, workplaces for conflict resolution, child protective services, shelters, guardianships, and places that experience difficult customers like banks, airports, tax authorities, and government agencies.
Quotes directly from the WHO:
“Forcibly restraining or secluding someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis can lead to severe physical injury and even death. People who have experienced these coercive measures say that they are traumatic, detrimental to recovery and engender mistrust in mental health services. They are systemic failures of care, and health-care staff may feel that using them violates their own values and morals. It has long been WHO’s position that these interventions – in addition to not being therapeutic – are violations of human rights under all international instruments, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
They also state:
“Reports from around the world highlight that severe human rights abuses and coercive practices are still far too common in countries of all income levels. Examples include forced admission and forced treatment; manual, physical and chemical restraint; unsanitary living conditions; and physical and verbal abuse.”
Unfortunately involuntary commitments are also being threatened and weaponized by the following: abusive parents/caregivers, vengeful ex’s in custody battles, abusive group home managers, and even gang members who are trying to intimidate people (this actually happened to me).
Can involuntary commitments help on occasion? Yes. And there are so many amazing people working in these facilities, who are trying their best to help people in a broken system (and are definitely helping some people). But we need a major overhaul of treatment options, especially in the U.S. The way it is, it’s not helping mental health. Suicides have skyrocketed 32% since 2000 and ⅕ of all Americans are on psych drugs. Mental health has been significantly declining in recent decades - despite all the new diagnoses, labels, and host of “wonder drugs.”
And where’s the progress? Why have mental health outcomes been so poor all these years?
Some people really don't like change. Or ceding control. Or losing money. Or admitting they were wrong or misled. It’s understandable and it’s human nature. We’re also a herd species, so people try their best to conform for fear of being cast out. Not to mention the many billions of dollars made from mental health, especially by the trillion dollar pharmaceutical industry.
But there’s a better way.
Open minds and open hearts foster greater wisdom. So does listening.
And finally, I’ll leave you with a quote by the wonderful shamanistic practitioner, Paul Chek, who also founded the CHEK Institute and Spirit Gym, who said:
“Carl Jung learned a lot from people in psych wards. A lot. They were spewing deep wisdom. And people called them crazy.”
Thank you for reading and much love and blessings to you! :)
Photos in order of appearance: Sean, Ali Atyabi, Rachel Brooks, Boris Hamer, Pixel Senses, Rola B, Towfiqu Barbhuiya, and Fatih Berat Örer
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