If a person were actually going insane, would they be able to tell? Although it may be easily visible for a person with a trained eye and years of experience in the field of psychology to identify it, would it be possible for the person at hand to realize it? If so, what are some of the most basic signs (or symptoms) to look for?

Im going to quote Elizabeth Wurztel to whom quoted a man i cant remember the name.

"When asked about how he came to have depression the man replied.. Gradually then Suddenly"

I beleive thats the same, youll spend a great deal of time assuming you may be, noticing little signs etc and then bam your diagnosed and in a crazy house.

I wonder if those that are insane get off on it, and the thought of being cured scares them for without insanity what are they? normal lifeless souls.

Go to the video store and rent "A Beautiful Mind".

My father suffered from schizophrenia his entire adult life. Sometimes he was aware of his illness and other times he was not.

Wasn't that a movie about a guy named John Nash? I found this link about him here http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Nash.html

sometimes it's an inbalance in the blood, a person might be aware there is something wrong but they don't really know what to do or how to act. I know folks that have panic attacks and it is scary. They feel like their world is closing in and that they are sure to die. There is something that makes them feel like the world is upside down but at the same time they also know nothing is happening. Take someone that has a fear of caves{small spaces} they can stand on the outside and swear up and down nothing will happen, but as soon as they step in they'll swear that they are being crushed even though they know they aren't

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dunkirk101
[B] If so, what are some of the most basic signs (or symptoms) to look for?
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Dunkirk, are you having problems?

Would an insane person be insane if the whole world was the same way, or they were with a group of insane people?

Originally posted by Dan Fussell
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dunkirk101
[B] If so, what are some of the most basic signs (or symptoms) to look for?
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Dunkirk, are you having problems?

No.. not at all!!

I was just sitting here reading a statament made by John Nash where he once said that "Sanity is just a form of Conformity. Behaving in a sane way is not a natural state, its just something we all do in order to fit in with the world around us"

That statement started me thinking.....

What if a person were not able to "fit in" with the world around him/her. Say for instance a person thats in prison. I do believe that a persons enviroment does play a major role in ones behavior, but if a person were not able to control their enviroment and lacked the ability to "fit in' as John Nash would put it, how would that person be able to survive without going insane, and if they were slowly starting to go insane, how would they know?

Originally posted by Dunkirk101
No.. not at all!!

I was just sitting here reading a statament made by John Nash where he once said that "Sanity is just a form of Conformity. Behaving in a sane way is not a natural state, its just something we all do in order to fit in with the world around us"

That statement started me thinking.....

What if a person were not able to "fit in" with the world around him/her. Say for instance a person thats in prison. I do believe that a persons enviroment does play a major role in ones behavior, but if a person were not able to control their enviroment and lacked the ability to "fit in' as John Nash would put it, how would that person be able to survive without going insane, and if they were slowly starting to go insane, how would they know?
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To conform is sanity!

The "norm" appears to be that which is behavior or expressed thought that is accepted by those around you.
A person that had information that went against "accepted principals" would be considered insane, even if the information was true.
If you were and an person that had experienced the world and lived with a younger group of people in a shelter, that had only known its confines, you would be considered insane when you spoke of the outside world. For all "knew" that only the shelter existed.
Most people act differently when alone than when around others.
Usually from a fear of not fitting in, or being viewed as different.

I believe to be a little crazy is to think outside the relm of accepted principals. This is the relm of which inventions of new thought and products originate.
Far thinking people tend to distance themselves from the crowd.
The sheep like, singleminded thinking, of the average person bores them.
True insanity probably comes on so slowly that to the insane person the insanity is the norm and not noticed.
Some people that I have seen that were considered "crazy" were some of the happiest people I have ever seen.
Makes one wonder who is better off in the long run.

You've given me a lot to ponder Dan...Thanks!! :)

Dunkirk, you might be interested in an older book, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. It is a novel that deals with many things, including a man slowly going insane. I think you'd enjoy it.

There are so many ways of being "insane" it is very hard to give a general answer to your question. But in fact many people with psychological problems are absolutely aware of it.