02/26/2011

I was reading some old notes and came across one that I wanted to develop a bit more here. I had been thinking about insanity, and had come to the conclusion that there are three basic types of insanity.

The first is the insanity associated with psychic immaturity. This is not actually insanity at all, but can at times manifest itself in similar fashions. The nature of this psychic state is such that an unusual probability or propensity toward insanity is the case. Usually this is due to a specific deficit in the psychic development, and as such, can only be realized upon exposure to a specific psychic dilemma. If this is the case, the exposure will often catapult the individual into the third tier of insanity, or at least endanger them unto that end. An analogy can be made between this case and a person who has not been vaccinated against a common ailment. The mind is healthy enough until it is met with an affliction that is has no means to combat. What makes this mind different from a healthy mind is that a healthy mind would have already created antibodies, so to speak, to combat the disease. Rarely, this first type of insanity can be a more general probability or propensity toward insanity, in such cases often due to an inherited predisposition, whether it be genetic/neurological or learned behavior. In this case, the individual in question will often regularly exhibit symptoms of the second tier of insanity, often obsessing over the question of whether or not they are "insane" and what specifically is the definition of their mental deficit. An analogy here could be that the mind is similar to a body suffering from an immunodeficiency disorder. The problem is not that the mind is afflicted, but rather that it is afflicted because it lacks the regular means of combating such affliction. An attempt to cure the affliction will only clear the way for other, potentially more serious afflictions. The root issue must be dealt with instead. In either case, this type of insanity is best described as a potential for insanity.

The second type of insanity is that of manifestation. This is a sporadic occurrence characterized by a momentary loss of psychic control. This type of insanity is extremely common and occurs in the vast majority of the population, and is often overlooked as an insignificant event. Circumstantial causalities are often associated with such manifestations, and their actualization is often a signifier of the extent of the individual's potential unto insanity. An increasing rate of these manifestations is often a signifier of a decline in psychic health that could lead to the third type of insanity.

The third type of insanity is affliction. This is a state of constant loss of psychic control, often diagnosed as schizophrenia or delusional disorder. In this state, the psyche has fully succumbed to the psychological disease, and this disease, whatever its nature, often functions as a parasitic organism, a completely independent psychic structure that by merit of its destruction of the healthy psyche increases its own vitality.