Are You MAD?

Hello, before I say anything let me ask you; What if you are? Mad, that is. What then? What will you do?

These questions play a special part, you see. For if you turn out to be mad, then the next step is very important. Seeing how you go about it, that is.

Before I make the questions that define your mental stability. You should understand what 'madness' is.

Madness is a state of mental illness, a severe one at that. Some call it a state of frenzied or chaotic activity. Which is quite correct for some point of views. The sane point of views, that is. How can a sane person determine what madness is if they are not themselves? But then again, how can madness determine its own madness? A brutally confusing paradox it is.

I will ask questions that will determine madness from your own point of view. The answers themselves will determine if you are mad or not.

Now lets begin: First question.

1. Is what I see real?

If you answer

A. Yes and continue without a second thought then you are off to a great start. Or not, being that you might just be denying it.

If you ask yourself

B. Is it? Or, "Of course it is." with hesitation and questioning.

Then you are experiencing the first stages of madness and insanity. Do not, I repeat do not, ever, confuse madness for insanity. They are complete opposites with slight comparisons.

What you should do is simple, accept it. If its not real then so be it. But don't be fooled by it. Be keen with sight and be sure that you are real and that is all that matters.

Which bring me to my next question.

2. Do you question your reality?

What I mean by this is, when you look at yourself in the mirror, do you question the possibility of this being you see is actually you? If you answer:

A. Yes, all the time. Or something along those lines.

Then you accept the suitable amount of madness a human should have. Or you have self confidence issues.

You see, everyone has a suitable amount of madness that most don't realize, and some accept it while others completely panic furthering into madness.

Madness can be a good thing if its the average amount. Seeing that madness is an endless stream of questions towards reality. It pushes you to question what, why, when, how and where. Madness is what pushes scientists to ask the question no one else will ask. Its what makes an athlete do the things that no others will do.

But if you answer

B. No, this is me. I know it is. Or something along those lines.

Then you have acknowledged your own madness in these thoughts. Or your really sure of it. But you could have denied it and are trying to suppress it, this alone is the worst possible action you could of made.

Madness cannot be controlled or suppressed, it can only spread if you let it. Sanity is not the answer, but a calm collective mind is. Its a start at least.

Moving on to our next and final question that will determine if you are irrationally mad. Or just an average Joe with an average amount of madness.

3. Do you recognize the voices in your head?

Before I give the answers, let me assure you that it is completely normal to have a little voice in your head. For example: whenever your conscience makes you think about what you've done, that's the voice of guilt. Or, when there's a problem of some sort and you decide on how to fix it instead of making it worse, that's the voice of reason.

Many don't give it a second thought but these voices guide your every day life. The decisions you make are based either by your subconscious and your conscience or you've done it so many times that it's a habit of life.

While in other cases, it's a voice in your mind that you converse with in everyday life.

The reason I ask this is, is because many do not realize that we talk to ourselves. Some of us know it's our own conscience we talk to while in other cases, it's a part of our own mind that try to break us into madness. Why? Because of guilt, sorrow, anger, envy, and especially solitude.

If you answer

A. Yes, and I know who they are. Or something along those lines.

Then you are a normal, yet unique healthy mind with a little bit more madness than usual. Which makes you special.

But, if you answer...

B. No... I don't.

The first thing you'll ask is, who are they, and what are they. To put it simply, they are you—pieces of your subconscious that has taken life of its own.

The easiest way to deal with it is simple. Accept them, they are a part of you and you'll never run away from them, don't try to ignore or suppress them or you'll just descend into madness.

First you listen to them, figure out what part of you they are. As you come to understand more about them, give them names if they don't already have one. Never do as they say but listen carefully to WHAT they say. Because while some try to distort your way of thinking, some might actually want to help you. Be logical, smart, wise and above all, patient and calm.

Soon you'll start to understand yourself better and be more at peace with your faults. You won't even realize that the voices that drove you once crazy are now your best of friends. If they haven't already faded away.

Now that you've acknowledged which one of the two you are. Understand that with madness comes wisdom, and wisdom leads to madness. They both go hand in hand. Don't believe me? Look it up for yourself.

Thank you for reading. I'm sorry if our points of view don't align. It just means you don't accept your own madness.