The mind commands the mind to will, and yet, though it be itself, it minds not. What is this monstrous thing? And why is it?

Today I had a strange warning. I felt the wind of insanity brush my mind.

Most sane people think that no insane person can reason logically. But this is not so.

Not a few patients, however, suffering from certain forms of mental disorder, regain a high degree of insight into their mental condition in what might be termed a flash of divine enlightenment.

To be on the safe and humane side, let every relative and friend ... remember the golden rule, which has never been suspended with respect to the insane. Go to see them, treat them sanely, write to them, keep them informed about the home circle; let not your devotion flag, nor accept any repulse.

To leave behind what was in reality a hell, and immediately have this good green earth revealed in more glory than most men ever see it, was one of the compensating privileges which make me feel that my suffering was worthwhile.

Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.

All of us get depressed, and to some extent we all entertain peculiar thoughts, fears, and fantasies. It is when they get out of proportion, become distorted and highly magnified, and push aside the rational conscious mind that one is mentally ill.

If I were sick-for instance, if I had cancer-I would still be myself. How are we going to find the self that was me?

In an effort to understand my illness, I have come to know more about myself than I might have otherwise.