[CrackMonkey] [mailman-owner@zork.net: CrackMonkey Unsubscribe Notification]

[Bob Bernstein]

On Wed, Jul 05, 2000 at 08:48:14AM -0700, Monkey Master wrote:

> All the real crackpot paranoids would tell me all about how the
> government agencies and alien spy drones were after them, and how you
> CANNOT TELL a normal person from an evil clone.

Yup. A standard mental status interview includes a question such as, "Do you
ever have the feeling that people are getting together behind your back to
make things hard for you?", and, far from wishing to conceal these thoughts,
paranoids often react as if they've finally found someone who truly
understands them. (Such as you!)

Bona fide paranoid _personalities_ are fairly rare. Psychotics of many
flavors display paranoid features, but the 'paranoid personality' is not
technically psychotic. Hallucinations are absent and the character of the
delusional world is different. They often get misdiagnosed as schizophrenic,
because the latter are far more common and this is an easy out for the
diagnostician. On close inspection though they are if anything more
frightening than schizphrenics simply because apart from their incredibly
elaborate delusional world view, they do not appear to be "crazy." And,
taken piecemeal, every element of their delusional scheme is *plausible*!
Very creepy stuff.

In three year's work at an albeit small pyschiatric hospital I came across
one of these. By the time his inpatient stay of about two weeks came to an
end I was truly terrified of this man, more so than of any other patient I
ever encountered.

> 	It never occurred to them that *I* may have been one of these
> Bad People. 

Exactly. On the other hand, what was slowly dawning on me with the
abovementioned patient is that that sooner or later he would place me in the
'Bad People' category. One would not wish to be there.

> I should have said something like "Thank you, subject
> 345-1 subsection 6.  Your report has been filed.  We will be
> contacting you when phase four is prepared.  Do not have any dental
> work done in the meantime." to most of those guys.

And, "Stock up on aluminum foil; they're engineering a shortage of
protective beanies."