by Valerie Preston

Created on: August 19, 2008   Last Updated: February 20, 2012

As far back as written history, we have evidence that there has always been a segment of the population that has been labeled as "crazy", both deserved and undeserved. Think of the "witches" burned at the stake. The extent that a person is crazy can be plotted on a bell-shaped curve, in the same way all human attributes and failings can be determined, albeit loosely. At the very top of the curve, we have the "normal" people. At the left is the measure of saneness from mild to so severe the person may function without emotion at all, perhaps like a Doctor Spock from Star Trek. At the right of the curve proceeding from to the end, is the measure of craziness, from harmless idiosyncrasy to complete and dangerous madness. How crazy or sane one may be is measured against the norm, but often those in the very middle are a combination of both craziness and saneness. I believe all of us are. The determining factor then becomes how well we fit in.

I have worked in mental health with people who were on the far right side of the curve. I've seen those who exhibit unusual or peculiar behavior all the way down to where the curve flattens out and we find the most insane, those who are not able to function at all in the outside world and therefore must be kept under lock and key, often requiring almost total physical care as well.

However, what I learned is that no matter how "crazy" a person may be purported to be, they have feelings, desires, likes and dislikes, and dreams just like all of us. They may want a better life, even if it to them means a better dorm in the facility where they live. They may want visits from family, or something as simple as a coke with lunch instead of milk, when instead they are given the milk. Many live with horrible fears that are very real to them but to us are inconceivable. Additionally, in my work I have met some mentally ill, institutionally housed persons who were a barrel of fun and many, many who touched my heart. I have memories of some, still, following my retirement, who I will never forget, not because their behaviors were out in left field, but because I knew their soft spots, accepted them as they were, and learned to interact with them in ways that were enjoyable and safe for both of us, and I showed them respect, something almost all people want, irregardless of their diagnosis.

In one of the most severe of facility settings for the insane, I saw patients who could be dangerous at any given moment, and you dare not turn your

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