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Do people understand they are becoming insane?

Posted , 4 users are following.

fedor
fedor

Hello, 

I have been very obsessed with fear that i am becoming insane due to my anxiety .. I guess . At least thats what doctors say , but my question is wether people understand they are becoming insane and if yes what are the first signs? I should add It feels like i am becoming insane because its becoming very hard to understand what people say and concentrate and i have strange strikes of fears and it always feels like i am about to start hearing voices but i never really did. but may be that is still just due to me dwelling on how i feel all the time , but nevertheless i am very afraid..  

1 like, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • michael98615
    michael98615 fedor

    Posted

    hi, unsure how to offer u any help or advice, as i suffer with the same symptons as urself, i regurly visit doctor myself, an glad u are too, i guess u cud just go along with everything ur doctor suggests,
  • BettyBlue168
    BettyBlue168 fedor

    Posted

    Right, first of all, your GP is using terms that they are under qualified to use. The 'sane/insane' binary is wildly outdated - it's 19th century!

    How I understand 'insanity' is this - if you think you're going insane, you aren't. If you are insane, you think you're sane and it's the rest of the world that is crazy. Delusional or psychotic is probably a more modern and less loaded term.

    It is ultimately ignorance and lack of compassion with hinders treatment of mental illness. Ultimately, this is an illness with symptoms. Symptoms - not character flaws. One thing I've come to realise in my journey with chronic mental illness is that it's no different to something like diabetes or any other brain illness. I wouldn't blame myself for Type I diabetes or even if I caught Meningitis (using this as an example as it attacks the brain). We are lacking in certain chemicals and rely on drugs to make up for that lack. Just like diabetics with insulin. It is nothing we've done, it's just how we are and thankfully there is help with drugs and other therapies. I know I need drugs forever because I still get ill when life circumstances are good.

    Anyway, what I can suggest is this - be kind to yourself. Use gentle and encouraging self-talk. Remember that you wouldn't talk to your best friend the way you talk to yourself sometimes - and ultimately your own best friend is YOU. People are fallible, you must never abandon yourself even if they do. Who you are is enough.

    I hope you're ok and that this message has helped somewhat.

    • betsy0603
      betsy0603 BettyBlue168

      Posted

      BettyBlue, I agree with much of what you wrote, but I'm sorry to say that you fallen for the fallacy that the psychiatric profession and drug manufacturers have been pushing for decades, but has never been proven scientifically, that mental illness is due to brain chemical imbalances.   And believe me, they've tried!  It is a convenient explanation to make drug use acceptable to the patient, however.  The fact of the matter is that the whole profession of psychiatry is based on a house of cards - they have absolutely no idea what causes mental illness.  They call it a disease, but they've never found the disease process!  In diabetes, it has been discovered/proven that the problem is not enough insulin or insulin resistance.  

      When the research studies are properly controled with a placebo that mimicks side effects of psych drugs, there is no difference between the drug's performance and placebo!  It has been shown that patients improve for the very fact that they are seeking help, another placebo affect.  It has also been shown that long-term use of these drugs actually makes people more prone to depression!

      Nowadays everyone is quick to throw a label on people, ie. mental illness, bi-polar, anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, etc., at which point that person defines with that label and becomes limited by it.

      It is the normal human condition to have fear and anxiety - it kept us alive at a time in our history where our existence was fraught with danger, such as being eaten by large predators.  Depression is a condition that comes about through poor coping skills.  Everyone is pursuing happiness as if it is something that can be had 24/7.  Ups and downs in life are the normal human condition, but it is dysfunctional thinking patterns that lead to the extremes that lead to suffering.

      Michael, I think awareness of one's suffering means they are not at the extreme end where they have lost touch with reality.

      As for genetics, relatives may be prone to depression or anxiety in light of the fact that they were never given good coping skills by parents who themselves didn't have the skills to give.  Every child in a family is different from their siblings, and some may be more sensitive than others (myself included).  Add to that poor coping skills and voila!

      I was on the medication mill for 20 years, having bought the imbalance explanation.  I can honestly say that they never made me feel just fine, but it's the old frog in a boiling pot of water deal, where I didn't realize that I was wasn't doing great while taking the drugs and that in fact the drugs were causing problems.  All it did was numb me, but it didn't fix the underlying problems, which I am finally working on by means outside of drugs.

      Michael, I think you might enjoy surfing around the site Mad In America.  Lots of discussions on there about the mental health industry, etc.

    • BettyBlue168
      BettyBlue168 betsy0603

      Posted

      Maybe so, maybe so. But for me, my symptoms aren't reflective of circumstances. For instance, a tragic event could cause someone to spiral into depression, which like you say, is a lack of coping skills.

      CBT has helped me a great deal to the point that I still carry out what I've learnt in CBT but there's something *beyond* that which affects me. Or at least that's how I feel anyway.

      I'm quite happy to take drugs but I'm really pleased for you that you don't feel you need them. Maybe one day they will find the true 'cause' of mental illness, who knows what it could be? For some people it is triggered by circumstances, for others it is triggered by something else. Ultimately though, you are right, coping skills need to be learnt - medication is not a means to an end.

    • BettyBlue168
      BettyBlue168

      Posted

      Just one thing regarding the labels idea - I do not feel limited by the name of my illness. I see it as a marker of difference - not that I'm better or worse than anyone else, just that my mind works differently. If anything, knowing that I have Bipolar/Borderline I know what I'm dealing with and it makes me want to strive more than ever before to be better than ever. I'm bloody minded too tho - if you tell me I am unable to do something, I will do my damnedest to prove over and over that I can!
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