how do you feel about the word crazy?

[mopinko]

i often use the word crazy to describe both myself and my family members. in part i see it in the same light as the way people embrace slurs like queer. in part i think it reflects the imprecise and inadequate science of psychiatry. it just feel right to me. how do you all feel about it?

[Droopy]

1. I wear it like a badge of honor

[TrogL]

2. Crazy is a complement around here

eg. "you have to crazy to work here".

[knowbody0]

3. reality is for those who cannot handle drugs

just kidding. it's what we used to say back in the day. how could any one be sane today? i sometimes envy the blissfully ignorant.

[bling bling]

4. In college I learned that it's totally inappropriate to use the word crazy

in jest or any other context. This was in a disability rehab class.

I personally don't have a problem with it in most cases. I think Bush is crazy, for example. I think spending $2000 on a pair of shoes is crazy, for another hypothetical example.

On the other hand, in the past my husband called me "crazy" if we got into an argument as a way to make me feel like my side of the argument was "crazy" and it reeeaaaaalllly pissed me off and has become a "button" with me that he's no longer allowed to push.

In general I think it depends on what context you use the word crazy. I don't think it's appropriate to call someone "crazy" who is sensitive about it or who may take it seriously, like someone who's in therapy/takes medication, etc.

[Sgent]

5. In the hospital

we constantly referred to the nut farm and used crazy a lot.

I personally like self deprecating humor, some don't.

[undergroundpanther]

6. Idunno

I feel like Us "crazy people" can use whatever term we want to describe ourselves,,kinda like reclaiming the slur witch..by pagans or fag by some gays.

As for society out there.. They don't have a clue what SANITY is . So until I can get a real definition of sanity,instead of all the things that it is not..then what purpose does this label game serve? I think labels like crazy are ways to discount others and delegitamize our unconventional POV and silence us so that society at large never takes our experiences with this fucked up culture and how it HURTS people seriously enough to do anything about the inequality,abuses and bullshit that hurts people to make things better for us all.Crazy is a very self serving label to throw around when you want to shut someone else up and get other people to not hear them seriously or their complaints.

Authoritarians ,bullies and the greedy don't want to share any power and wealth with'crazies' because it might mean they will not control so much what others do with their lives and how society shapes itself without their control leading it.

[EFerrari]

8. Context, then.

Doug and I call ourselves and each other "wackos" affectionately all the time. And, lol, worked on Stella's stigma busters campaign with NAMI.

[no name no slogan]

13. Absolutely

I also use terms like "wacko" and "nutsoid" too with other brain disease survivors-- it really is all about context in so many ways.

In fact, the journal I started when I was in the psych ward in May has LOONS on the cover-- worse yet, I bought it in the hospital gift shop. Entirely appropriate IMHO. :D

[undergroundpanther]

20. One of the folks in a disability group

I know he has a freind named Bonnie.. She calls herself "Brain Tumor Bonnie" ..She cracks me up!

[stillcool]

7. descriptive....

of those times that defy explanation. i refer to myself as crazy only when the shoe fits snugly.

[Lilith Velkor]

9. I'm used to it

I know it has good and bad connotations, so I embrace the good ones.

[DemExpat]

10. My kids and I use the word "psycho" a lot, I've noticed....

describing irrational and over-emotional outbursts that occur from time to time...:D

DemEx

[NMMNG]

11. It doesn't bother me, and I use it all the time with my friends.

I would never use the term at work though-it just seems like one of those words that seem to carry a stigma.

If I need to describe freepers or other right-wing extremists I'll usually use "whackjob", which is not a term I've ever heard used to describe mentally ill people, merely people with extremist ideas.

[no name no slogan]

14. "Apeshit" also has its moments

As in, "wow, did you read that crazy crap over at Freeperville? Those people are absolutely apeshit!".

[Kire]

12. up to a point

but, lately, it has been used by some family members to discredit every statement I make...

also, they have been interfering with my recovery by defaming me to my friends and other family members (and doctors) with that word.

[mopinko]

16. it is hurtful in your situation, kire

i know. sometimes family members use it because they can't find a more accurate word. if there is a dx, and everyone accepts it, then a more accurate and less emotional word can be used. but when the situation is in flux, the open endedness of it can make it pretty irresistible.

i'm sorry for your struggles with your family. i cannot judge them from here, but i do know that my daughter shares a lot of the feelings that you have expressed about your mom. and i know that i really do love her, and want to help her. she just can't feel it. i hope that you can find some peace, dear kire.

[Tallison]

15. There's some real humor potential in the term, but...

when you're serious about getting down to work, I think there are far more accurate and constructive frameworks within which to examine the mental dynamics that interfere with a person's ability to function in the "real world." Especially when there's a history of hurt feelings between to people, use of the term may only further estrange relations. In such instances the term has more cruelty and ostracization potential than any beneficial one.

Edit for my bad, bad grammar

[mopinko]

17. it can be quite a weapon

no doubt. it just seems so useful to me. if i say i think my hubby is suffering from depression, that is just my uneducated guess, and i am attacked for thinking i am a doctor. if i say he is acting crazy, it actually seems to be a little more useful in the situation.
and it does sort of transcend the boxes of this illness, that illness. it says a little more about how it feels to family.
you are right that if you have a clear dx, and a more informative word, it leads to better responses and actions.

[TrogL]

18. personally I use "barking mad"

[mopinko]

19. i like that one, too. bat shit crazy has been bouncing

around in my head lately. i think i caught that from modem butterfly.