Friday, January 18, 2013

Musings: The illusion of sanity

Illusions exist all around us. Creating images and giving impressions of normalcy and control.

These illusions tell us when someone is weird, or different, somehow unworthy of our attentions.

Everyone comes with illusions, and defeating them to move forward is something that many will never accomplish.

Sanity, just like insanity, is an illusion. Whether you are diagnosed with a mental illness or not, some people will think you sane, others will think you insane. In the grand scheme of the world, though, it doesn't matter.

By many circles, both societal and medical, I am considered insane or mentally unwell. Yet I function. I carry on a life, generally productively, despite this status.

Sanity is just a word, it describes variations without ever really laying a baseline.

Are those who suffer from mental illness really insane, or is their perspective on reality just different? And with the predominance of diagnosed and undiagnosed mental states, is "sanity" really the norm?


Peace, love, and imagine.

2 comments:

  1. Good points, Laura. I have been diagnosed with clinical depression, and my mother and sister (and sometimes father) insist I have bipolar disorder.

    I don't know if that second part is true, but I believe I have beaten the first part.

    I think it's better to have something like that. I wouldn't want to be normal. I believe that whatever it is I may or may not suffer from has made me a better writer, as well as a better person.

    I have been through some pretty crazy, intense stuff, and it has all helped me.

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    1. Well, as someone who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, very few people can tell, especially those closest to you. You are always cheerful when I talk to you, and that's great.

      Having something to beat or work through makes you a more open and understanding person, typically, so I wouldn't give my mental illness away either.

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