Am I going insane?

Whenever i think about this, i think of the Black Sabbath song haha...

Well anyways, i have been frequenting ATS for a few years now before i registered. Now that i have registered i have become more active and reading in different forums and even keep 4 RSS feeds up on my bookmark toolbar in Firefox. I read all the stories that up there and i enjoy everyone here. But, what has gotten to me in the idea of insanity or schizophrenia. Is it even possible or plausible in the slightest bit that all/most of the people here have some sort of problem with society and themselves? I have been thinking that maybe the people here have

1. A problem with authority
   
2. A mild personality disorder
   
3. Or some other kind of disability
   

I say this because it is very quite common for people to live everyday lives and still have a high level of paranoia. I read in the DSM-IV-TR that people with mild or paranoid schizophrenia have a tendency to love conspiracy theories. And about 1% of the American population has schizophrenia, which means there are about 3 million people in America with Schizophrenia, and that doesnt include other countries of people who frequent ATS.

The reason why i say this is because I have noticed of late that my family has become very skeptical of me. I have tried to tell my sisters about this site and about how the U.S. is falling and they just dont see it at all. What really scared me is that i had a conversation with a now-former friend about this. I tried telling him that Obama has been ruining this country(my opinion) and started stating sources and different ideas of what is happening and what is about to happen. Eventually when the conversation was through, we were no longer on speaking terms because he felt so firmly that there is nothing wrong with the country and that we were heading in the right direction. Almost everyone around me who i have tried to explain this to, they just seem to think i am insane. So my question to you is, do you think that this site is full of schemers, conspiracy theorists, people who may have a problem with their perception on reality? Or do you think it is me who is taking it too far and is insane? I have always had a feeling of someone out to get me



Good day

You're not insane from what was gathered in your OP.

People not only don't care what is going on in the world, but they are in a extreme denial about it.

We've all heard that person say, "I don't watch the news, it's too depressing".

They don't care, they are not interested, and they think the opposite for it's convienence.

Their are thinkers, and freethinkers. I consider myself a freethinker, I think for myself, I formulate my own opinions, on people, places and things.

If someone walks up and says that girl over their is very sweet and nice, I don't believe them, that's their opinion, it's not mine, I have nothing other to go on, except for your bias, I do not have my own bias, or two sides. Or own experience.

It's why I questioned Mother teresa, and got slammed for it lol. I just wanted my own opinion on her, not the general consensus from a group of people, that I believe are delusional themselves lol.

You're not crazy, just a free thinker.

Thanks for the reply Republican! You are correct i definitely like to formulate my own opinions about things but i am often unsure as to whether they hold any truth. Lets say hypothetically, everyone on Earth thinks we are all going to die tomorrow except me, I would feel very alone. That is how i feel. I need to find more people like myself, or like us here at ATS in real life, because it is very lonely to think about certain ideas but have no one else to believe them with you

there is nothing wrong with you, and everything wrong with those who bring their heads above the sand only to bury them again, deeper.

I, too, have lost friends, and many think that I read too much. Can you believe that? Nothing about the fact that I kicked the TV habit for over 4 years now, thank you very much. No, I question things and bring up interesting topics of conversation, but no, all would rather talk about things that happen on TV, which I dont watch and know nothing about new shows or anything, or sports.

Nah, in my opinion you are just fine, that is unless im in the boat next to you. At least our boat is going somewhere. And we can change direction at anytime and go anywhere.

reply to post by scghst1


-sigh-

I'm two for three on your list, though my wife would say three for three.

You're not crazy. But we are.

reply to post by scghst1


yeah being lonely. that sucks. I have my brother to talk to, but he is not anywhere near my level (of sanity or insanity) so other than him, Alone.

Ah, but if you dont make good company for yourself, then you cant be good company with others. I could be with a group of people or alone. Id rather be alone, but I like people, and it helps to talk to others, sane or not.

Dont worry about being alone. Things change, and one day you will say something, somewhere, and you will meet a fellow who thinks like you. But my experience in this, it usually ends up being a dud, meaning someone who thinks they are awakened but are actually a programmed rumor spreader, who understands the topics, but does not believe in them, so mixes facts and stuff.

reply to post by scghst1

A problem with authority

A mild personality disorder

Or some other kind of disability

I am sure it is possible some members may fall into one or all of those categories, here and other online communities. Me personally, I just have a problem with lies, ignorance, and the concealment of truth. That and I like the intelligent (for the most part ) conversations that go on here.

"sanity is not statistical."


that being said...yes, you're completely insane. because the very concept of sanity is, in fact, based on statistics. sorry, george orwell was wrong.

i'll not sugar-coat it...there really is no way to comfort yourself with the understanding that you believe/know a few bits of information that the majority of america is against. someone could say that columbus was once thought insane because he believed the earth to be round...but was later heralded as a visionary. but the truth of the matter is, if you believe something that most people are firmly against...and especially if you're particularly vocal about it all...you're going to go through some hell.

i think we just have to decide for ourselves whether or not we're willing to struggle for what we believe to be true...and it's a dificult question, especially when you consider that what comes to be true may not necessarily be known to be true in the future, no matter how widely acclaimed it may have been in the past.

are you okay with being wrong? does what you believe hold enough importance to allow you to feel good about being wrong?

it sounds like a contradiction, possibly, but i really think that it's an important ideology to have.
being wrong doesn't make you crazy, just misinformed. but, you're miles ahead of the rest if you even question for yourself in the first place

Originally posted by scghst1
Thanks for the reply Republican! You are correct i definitely like to formulate my own opinions about things but i am often unsure as to whether they hold any truth. Lets say hypothetically, everyone on Earth thinks we are all going to die tomorrow except me, I would feel very alone. That is how i feel. I need to find more people like myself, or like us here at ATS in real life, because it is very lonely to think about certain ideas but have no one else to believe them with you

I'm in a town with the intellectual value rivalled only by the humble town of South Park...

It's very disheartening, the Preachers here, I swear they found them out of cracker jack boxes.

You gotta go elsewhere, and search for smart people, their few and far between. Especially in this day and age.

Originally posted by Le Colonel
I, too, have lost friends, and many think that I read too much. Can you believe that? Nothing about the fact that I kicked the TV habit for over 4 years now, thank you very much.

It's funny, I was having a conversation with my sister and my dad earlier today and my sister made the comment because she's still in high school and likes living in a bubble, which is fine by me, I didn't get into any of this conspiracy stuff until about 6 months ago anyway. So we were talking and my sister keeps telling me I'm wasting my time with all this stuff and that all of it is just made up nonsense because it's on the internet. I told her that I read a lot of stuff on here and that what I actually bring up in conversations is the stuff that I'm really looking into at the moment, and I sort through what I think is junk. She went on to say, "well, I think it's stupid you read up on all this pointless stuff because none of it is real, and reading any of it is stupid because it's on the internet and not published in a book". I told her that I'm sorry I don't waste my time on the internet commenting on people's pictures on facebook or constantly looking at people's status updates. I've had a few conversations with my family usually around the dinner table and I bring this stuff up, but usually it just turns into them all thinking I'm crazy. Another time, I was explaining the timewave zero theory and how it works and how it relates to 2012 because someone brought up 2012 at a graduation party. After I explained it, I just got blank stares followed by my dad holding a fake joint and taking a puff from it after saying "smoke another one". I don't really mind though, I don't really look for people's approval on any of these subjects and if they're curious and want to know more, I'm more than happy to let them know what I've learned and what I get out of this stuff, and if they want to bury their head in the sand, let them. There's times where I even question my own sanity, but once again, I don't care, it's all a game to me. I do have some friends that I can discuss this stuff with and a great girlfriend who also believes in a lot of the stuff I do, so it's good to be able to bounce ideas off of people one on one.

My suggestion to you OP if you don't have anyone in your everyday life that you can bounce these ideas off of, go online and try to create friendships with people who do have some of the same interests and just start emailing them or any of the other ways of communicating on here one on one. Best of luck to you and I hope they don't put you in an insane asylum for having an open mind.

Wow thank you all for all the great comments! I feel much better knowing that i am not as long as i thought i was. I think what i might do is put up some flyers or even start a club at school if i can get enough people to sign up. People who live truth, and discussing, intelligently, different ways we could make our world a better place

Don't think your insane, but as you explore choose wisely, and use your discretion in the information that you come accross. Of cause there will be some stories that feed into delusion. I simply choose to seek what "resonates" with me, and move on from something that dosen't.
S & F to you and your adventures on ATS>



[edit on 14-8-2009 by catalyst2466]

Yes you are abit insane...but then again arent we all?
deffinately agree with republican, you just sound like a freethinker to me who will accept possibilities and think about all scenarios instead of agreeing with the "acceptable" your entitled to your own opinion.
id only start to get worried if you started to truly believe in some of the more "out there beliefs" that are present on this site and began handing out flyers in your local town centre about aliens taking over the earth in 2012 by travelling through stargates and destroying humanity using telekenisis

and also agreeing again with an earlier comment, just be careful about what you say and who you say it to. Not because there is anything wrong with what you believe but because people who dont have the same kind of drive as we do to learn about "unusual" subjects and think for themselves seem to be intimidated by these thoughts.
I have friends who just dont like hearing about what i have to say because i tend to have ideas and then am able to back them up which puts them outside thier comfort zones because they just dont want to believe it could be true.

Well for the most part I think you are just as normal as any of us, whatever that means. I don't think you are insane, but if you ever become one ATS is definitely the place that is going to drive your hallucinations and delusions if you ever get any. Whatever it is that is currently in your life at that moment, will.

Anyway, I recommend for you to read some actual science books about sociology, economy and stuff like that, so that you will have a solid knowledge about what works and what doesn't. That way, it becomes a lot easier to spot things that seem a bit out of ordinary. Otherwise, you propably can't do it and you end up reading only what others have discovered. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with that, but it is always nice to discover something yourself. It is englightening.

Contrary to what many people believe, reputable actualy science books are full of facts, even if a tiny fraction of their theories don't hold water ever so tightly. To emphasize, theory about speed of light is about 1/1000 of physics, and rest is propably true. Don't concentrate on that tiny aspect alone, learn everything that we DO know.

There is a fine line between insanity and genius called success.

Fail in your endeavor and what you preach you are insane.

Succeed in your endeavor and you preach and you are a genius.

Needless to say there are far more insane people than geniuses but as my dearly departed maternal grandmother was oft fond of saying: “The whole world is queer but me and thee and sometimes I wonder about thee.”

People are nothing but a product of their experiences and circumstances. We are all very similar and we are all very different.

Having a critical mind though is prerequisite to success in life. There is a difference between having a skeptical mind and a critical mind. Skeptics dismiss often out of hand wholesale any notion or inference that does not fit the narrow programming of their world view. A critical mind is an introspective and retrospective and probing mind. There is the world as it appears, there is a world that lies beneath that veneer and a world that lies beneath that, and beneath that. Life is a many layered multi-faceted one.

Back to my dearly departed grandmother for a moment if I may, she was always chipper and bright eyed, always a kind word, never seemed distressed or perplexed or troubled by anything in the world, always a smile, always a song. Yet I knew even as a small boy that her life had had its fair share of tragedies and all was not as perfect in her world as she cheerfully seemed to make it appear. One day when reading the Reader’s Digest I stumbled upon and read a short anecdote that said “If you wonder why women are always so smiling and full of love during the day, it’s because they silently shed their tears alone upon their pillows at night”. So I asked my grandmother if this was true and she smiled a knowing smile and said “Yes that’s my secret, that’s what I do”.

There is always that veneer and most people are happy to leave things at face value.

Yet the reality is things are seldom if ever what they appear to be.

Having a critical mind leads to a universe of knowledge and understanding and the more critical your mind the more knowledge and understanding you will amass. Today in our current world people aspire to the lowest possible common denominator. Those with critical minds aspire to the highest possible common denominator.

People who are stuck in their complacent, well ordered, narrow little worlds are going to think you are strange.

If you think you are strange too this means you are not crazy but working towards genius.
If you think you are normal…you had better see a doctor because the whole world is queer but me and thee my friend and sometimes I wonder about thee!