I am crazy.
Well, not completely crazy. Crazy people don’t usually have the ability or desire to tell people that they’re crazy. My type of crazy is a bit different than your usual run-of-the-mill crazy.
I like to say that my type of crazy is like Pac-Man. That probably needs further explaining.
Sanity, like all things, is a spectrum. There is no line that a person can cross to go from sane to insane. Some of the most interesting people I’ve met admit they have a “touch of crazy.” There is plenty of gray area.
What I’ve found is that the spectrum isn’t a line with opposite ends, in fact there is no end. When you go off the sides in Pac-Man, you disappear pop up on the opposite side. Sanity is like Pac-Man: once you go off the edge, you realize the different levels of crazy are just options, and your brain is free to pick your favorite types.
Thinking of someone as “insane” means they’re type of crazy isn’t seen as normal. The key difference between a “sane” and “insane” person is the ability to switch back to the popular type of crazy.
When you look at this view of sanity, it becomes much easier to understand people that you may have written off as crazy before. In fact, labeling someone as “crazy” is an easy to way to give up on trying to empathize with that person. A crazy person is one whose mind inherently works differently than everyone else’s, but I’d argue that there is always more than one point of view.
You might say that I suffer from insomnia; I say that I can stay productive while other people need to sleep.
You might say I show signs of multiple personality disorder; I say that I found a way to have riveting conversations with myself.
You might say I have obsessive compulsive disorder; I say that I’m good at making sure all the little details are in place.
You might say I have delusions of grandeur; I prefer to call them “goals.”
You could say that I have social anxiety disorder; I say that I’m very good at reading people and want to make sure to avoid as much social awkwardness as possible.
If you met me, you might mistake me for a sane person. I keep good hygiene and always remember my manners. The key difference between me and someone you’d call crazy is that I can choose to “turn off” my crazy to fit in with everyone else.
In fact, from a certain viewpoint, what many people consider to be “normal” is very crazy. A “normal” person might keep thoughts to themselves and avoid talking to strangers. A “normal” person might keep secrets they only share with close friends. A “normal” person might sleep every night and eat regular meals. A “normal” person might weigh the pros and cons of big decisions instead of making the choice on impulse alone.
It’s important to realize that “normal” doesn’t actually exist; it’s just a perspective. What is crazy to one person is normal to another and visa versa. In other words, everything is crazy and nothing is crazy, it just depends on what your used to.
When I switch my crazy back to the “normal” type, I think of it as adopting a more popular form of crazy As long as my actions blend in with everyone else’s, nobody will think I’m any crazier than perfect strangers we pass by everyday.
As I said earlier, the most fun people I’ve met have always been a little bit crazy. In fact, everyone in the world is a bit crazy because everyone in the world has a different brain than anyone else! I know you can think back to a time when something you did looked crazy to someone who didn’t know the context.
The easiest people to befriend are those who are open about their “touch of crazy.” From the moment I meet these people, they feel genuine and present. It feels as though we already know each other even though we’re only just meeting.
That familiar feeling makes sense, especially since “normal” people tend to only let their crazy out around close friends. The confidence that you won’t be judged let’s you feel comfortable enough to be yourself, crazy parts included. People who are open about their crazy skip the strangers step and start out as friends.
Try your best to redefine your idea of “crazy.” Instead of throwing up your hands and giving up on understanding a “crazy person,” try to empathize with them. Ask yourself, “what would lead a person to act the way this person is acting?” You might be surprised about how much sense they make based on their point of view.
Throughout our lives, we want to fit in and feel like we belong. Sometimes fitting in requires a bit of acting and we try to hide the parts of us we think are crazy. When we hide our crazy parts, we hide our true self.
The truth is that everybody is crazy. If we weren’t, the world would be a mighty boring place.
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