Why Do We Judge Normal According to What We Say, But Sanity According to What We Think? ($)

To create a sane society, take emotions seriously.

George C. Scott as Gen. Buck Turgidson, from Kubric’s Dr. Strangelove

“Whenever stress rises, the human brain switches to autopilot and has an inherent tendency to do more of the same, only harder. Which, more often than not, is precisely the wrong approach in today's world.”
— Robert K. Cooper, neuroscientist, leadership advisor

World Leaders

I suspect Vladimir Putin is insane, and I think the same of Stalin. Gorbachev opened the USSR and loosened Russia’s tyrant grip on its slave states. For this, he’s considered a pariah at home and seen with disinterest abroad.

Joseph McCarthy was then, and Donald Trump is now psychopathic. Let’s not mince words. To be fair and in the spirit of the day, race, religion, gender, and creed play no role. Psychopaths seem to be coming out of the woodwork.

These world leaders had no trouble appearing normal and being seen as normal. If you look human, dress in a suit, shake hands, make small talk, and smile, people think you’re normal. So it is today: everyone is surprised that gunman can be children and school shooters are regular people. At least they behaved regular, up to that point.

General Curtis LeMay

I’m reminded of George C. Scott, whose portrayal of General Buck Turgidson was based on the real-life, WWII, Air Force General Curtis LeMay (History on the Net, 2019). General LeMay is credited with killing a half-million Japanese civilians even before the atom bombs were dropped. LeMay had his finger on the nuclear weapons button, and he pressed it, but no one called LeMay emotionally unbalanced.

“I can’t get over the notion that when you stand up and act like a man, you win respect… though perhaps it is only a fearful respect which leads eventually to compliance with your wishes. It’s when you fall back, shaking with apprehension, that you’re apt to get into trouble.”
— Gen. Curtis LeMay, quoted in Curtis LeMay: Strategist and Tactician (Kozak, 2014)

But then, perhaps I’m being unfair, as almost everyone excuses murder as sane when in war.

“Sir, I’m not saying we won’t get our hair mussed, but [we’d lose] no more than 10–20 million killed tops. . . Uh, depending on the breaks.”
— General Buck Turgidson, in Stanley Kubrick’s film, Dr. Strangelove

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental illness, the DSM, identifies illnesses according to a person’s behavior and then ascribes it to their state of mind. Society doesn’t care what twisted things you think until you do something twisted. Many or most of the DSM diagnoses are based on behaviors. When you act normal, you are normal!

“In DSM-IV, each of the mental disorders is conceptualized as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated with present distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom.” (Stein, et al., 2010).

---

If you’d like to start your own exploration of emotion,
then book a free discovery call with me.

https://www.mindstrengthbalance.com/schedule15