When Good People Go Bonkers

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Title: When Good People Go Bonkers

Word Count: 762

Author: Mark Meshulam

Email: mmmesh@...

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When Good People Go Bonkers

Copyright 2005 Mark Meshulam

We all go nuts sometimes. Even someone as sublimely well

balanced as myself goes off the deep end once in a while.

When this happens, the bizarre behavior of the suddenly

wacko can bring damage to themselves, their business

relationships, and yes, even their furniture.

Why do we go bananas? Sometimes we allow frustrations to

accumulate without releases such as " talking it through " ,

physical activity or masturbation until we boil over.

Sometimes a situation pushes a button in our psyche which

releases a gusher of emotion stored from long-ago pain.

This eruption can come seemingly from nowhere and usually

scares the piss out of everyone in range including the

eruptor himself.

At ton(IL) Hospital Outpatient Psychiatry, where I

spent a six month internship bringing better mental health

to scores of afflicted suburbanites, it was openly

discussed that more people would flip out during the full

moon. I believe the term they used was " we have more

patients in crisis " . Is this human response to the 28 day

lunar cycle the etymology of " looney " ?

Perhaps not so coincidently, another 28 day cycle which can

bring occasional bouts of wackiness is the so-called female

cycle, which is not to be confused with a Vespa motor

scooter. This caused some UFO theorists to opine that women

might actually be aliens not from Venus as originally

believed, but rather from the Moon, come to disrupt the

football games and bank accounts of men.

Some say that men have a similar cycle - not to be confused

with a Harley son - but men are either too complex, or

more likely far too simple and random for a true pattern to

emerge.

Whatever the reason, when someone you know goes apeshit, do

the following:

1. Get the hell away. People in the throes of a psychotic

episode can have superhuman strength. They experience

something similar to the legendary adrenalin rush which

allows animal activists to lift cars off pinned-down pussy

cats, a frequent sight in my neighborhood. Nutcases in full

bloom can easily turn your head all the way around -

remember Blair in The Exorcist? - by grasping it

lightly between thumb and forefinger.

2. Stay the hell away. When a person goes beserk, it can

last a few days. During that time he will be manically

obsessing about whatever insult or injury they perceived to

have happened. He is not negotiable yet; don't even try

unless your idea of fun is bashing your head repeatedly

into masonry.

3. Watch (from under the desk if necessary) for the real

person to return. After such an intense outpouring, Dr.

Jekyll will crash from exhaustion. When he emerges, he

might be in the sheepish, " What happened? " mode. That is

the time for love and support. Try saying, " Wow, you really

went through something there, didn't you? " If he says

something normal, like " yes " , you are making progress. If

he snarls or throws his mouse at you, revert to #2 above.

4. Have some sympathy. Remember, you have gone daffy

yourself. Remember what it was like. It came from pain,

didn't it? That's what happened to your psycho, he had a

tsunami of pain. Remembering this will help you be

sympathetic. You might need this help if el loco stabbed

you in the eye yesterday with a letter opener.

5. Let him talk and offer only gentle guidance. If a person

talks enough, he will eventually realize that they got " out

of line " , but he will need some space in order to realize

this. If you offer this insight yourself, especially too

early, you might get your hand stapled to your ear.

6. Listening is key. Here's how you do it: Look into the

person's eyes with a slightly sad frown. Nod slowly and

knowingly after they say each sentence. Resist the urge to

offer your wonderful opinion - this part is called

" shutting up " . Wait until he stops talking. Count to 10.

Then say one carefully chosen sentence which is either

insightful or encouraging. Repeat until cool.

7. To take lunatic handling to the state of the art, try to

get him to analyze the triggering event and why it was so

extroardinarily evocative.

8. To really bring it on home, get your nutcase to commit

to monitoring his reactions, so that if another triggering

event occurs in the future, he will be ready with a better,

more adaptive behavior. This might include removing himself

from the situation with a planned excuse like, " Pardon me

but I must leave this meeting unexpectedly because my dry

cleaning is ready. "

About the Author:

Mark Meshulam designs productivity software, owns a

construction company and holds a masters in Group Dynamics.

His articles draw upon 27 years in business. Topics revolve

around people and technology

at work.

Blog: http://www.poingology.com

Try his software for free at http://www.poingo.com