Isn't it odd that....

[Stan]

Isn't it odd that.... that most people view them selves as being balanced? Theologically and Socially?

[Stan]

Was thinking about this.

I read once that 90% of people view themself in the top 10% of safe drivers.. when really, only 10% are there.

[LynnDel]

I'm unbalanced compared to other people, but balanced within myself.

[Stan]

LD

I, and others have met you, you are more than normal, you are exceptional.

PLUS you can understand my typos!!

[John317]

And the mental hospitals are filled with people who think they're perfectly sane and it's all the staff and the rest of the world who are nuts.

[Woody]

And the mental hospitals are filled with people who think they're perfectly sane and it's all the staff and the rest of the world who are nuts.

Yeah. I've been there done that. Ok. I was in there as a staff member and not as a patient. You can rest now.

I know. For awhile you thought I was nuts.

[Planey]

I, on the other hand, am perfectly balanced.

The large chip on my right shoulder is symmetrically balanced by the large chip on my left shoulder.

Graeme

[Nan]

Originally Posted By: John317

And the mental hospitals are filled with people who think they're perfectly sane and it's all the staff and the rest of the world who are nuts.

Yeah. I've been there done that. Ok. I was in there as a staff member and not as a patient. You can rest now.

I know. For awhile you thought I was nuts.

This is totally off topic, but did anyone ever read of that social psychology experiment years ago when some sane people got themselves admitted to a mental hospital to see what would happen? I remember reading that many of the patients picked the truth very quickly but none of the staff did. Who was balanced in there?

And maybe I should just claim to be unbalanced and then I do not have to worry what people think!!!!

[Stan]

I remember that. That was too funny...

[Nan]

Another thought, it is very hard to stay balanced when you have your nose to the grindstone and your shoulder to the wheel.

[cricket]

And the mental hospitals are filled with people who think they're perfectly sane and it's all the staff and the rest of the world who are nuts.

And they would be right!

Woman gets no help, dies on floor of hospital ER

Video

[John317]

Yes, there are certainly problems in the mental hospitals-- there always have been-- and your example shows the tragic neglect and indifference that all-too-often happens there, but that doesn't translate to the staff being insane and the patients sane. On the other hand, most of those negligent staff would also probably say they are good staff, maybe even better than average.

[Jeannieb43]

Another thought, it is very hard to stay balanced when you have your nose to the grindstone and your shoulder to the wheel.

... and your ear to the ground...?

[Nan]

Yes, there are certainly problems in the mental hospitals-- there always have been-- and your example shows the tragic neglect and indifference that all-too-often happens there, but that doesn't translate to the staff being insane and the patients sane. On the other hand, most of those negligent staff would also probably say they are good staff, maybe even better than average.

From memory the point of that study was to show how labels affected people, how the staff were so concentrated on their job that they did not make individual assessments of those in their care. The routines were there and they were followed. The inference was not that the staff were insane - but that the inmates were often much more perceptive than they were given credit for. The staff members following the routines and protocols diligently would certainly consider themselves to be good workers.

I should look it up again, it is almost 20 years since I read it - I think one of the authors was Rosen-something. Does anyone remember?

[doctorj]

Isn't it odd that.... that most people view them selves as being balanced? Theologically and Socially?

Being balanced is just a social myth or a cognitive construct if you please. This is so subjective that it is not a surprise to know that 90% of people consider themselves balanced. Being balanced is a figment of the imagination. Need a better measure, if measuring is what we are on about.

[Gerr]

Quote:

Yeah. I've been there done that. Ok. I was in there as a staff member and not as a patient. You can rest now.

I know. For awhile you thought I was nuts.

I still do.

Gerry

[Woody]

Thanks for that warm fuzzy Gerry. What a delightful way to start my mornin.

[John317]

Originally Posted By: John317

Yes, there are certainly problems in the mental hospitals-- there always have been-- and your example shows the tragic neglect and indifference that all-too-often happens there, but that doesn't translate to the staff being insane and the patients sane. On the other hand, most of those negligent staff would also probably say they are good staff, maybe even better than average.

From memory the point of that study was to show how labels affected people, how the staff were so concentrated on their job that they did not make individual assessments of those in their care. The routines were there and they were followed. The inference was not that the staff were insane - but that the inmates were often much more perceptive than they were given credit for. The staff members following the routines and protocols diligently would certainly consider themselves to be good workers.

I should look it up again, it is almost 20 years since I read it - I think one of the authors was Rosen-something. Does anyone remember?

Yes, you are right about the study.

I was talking originally about the fact that there are many patients in mental hospitals that will tell you they are perfectly normal. At Patton State Hospital for the criminally insane, for instance, it was common to hear "patients" say, "Please help me. There's really nothing wrong with me." Then you would read their records and find that they'd killed several people. These kind of patients were very good at manipulating staff into trusting them because they can be so convincing and persuasive. They are insane-- not stupid. In fact, what made them especially dangerous even though locked up was that they were often more intelligent than the staff. Strange as it may seem, it was their insanity that made them hypersensitive to their environment so that they would observe things about other patients that the staff might not.