Some people come to the psychotherapy consultation explaining that The reason why they have gone to the psychologist is the fear of falling into madness.
Although the fact of experiencing this fear is not in itself proof that the person suffers from a psychiatric disorder, the truth is that it is almost always a valid reason for starting a psychotherapy process. Let’s see why.
People who report being afraid of going crazy often suffer from a great concern about hypothetical psychological alterations that they have noticed in themselves. These can be quite varied, but they normally have to do with having difficulties when controlling one’s own actions, understanding the intentions of other people, making decisions in an appropriate way, perceiving environmental stimuli in an undistorted way, remembering things well, or to concentrate on specific tasks.
In short, the fear of falling into madness affects these psychological areas:
These are very different mental processes, which already indicates one of the characteristics of this fear: they point towards an extremely diffuse problem, madness which makes it easier for us to continue feeding this fear out of pure confirmation bias.
And madness exists, but only insofar as the popular definition of madness exists. That is to say, madness is not a valid psychological construct, but rather an idea that can be approached from the social sciences; in the same way that according to the science of Biology there are no different races of Homo sapiens, but there is a concept of human races that can be approached from Sociology, Anthropology, etc.
This means, among other things, that people who fear going crazy do so by thinking through concepts inherited from previous generations and that, although they survive in popular culture, they do not explain anything from the point of view of health sciences.
What is traditionally considered a “crazy” person may show behaviors similar to the symptoms of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or may simply correspond to behaviors that do not fit with social conventions. All of us would have been considered crazy in other times, for example, just for the type of clothes we wear, or for our way of thinking adjusted to the 21st century.
With everything, The fear of losing your sanity is a form of psychological discomfort that should not be underestimated. In situations like this, the solidity of the concepts from which the fear arises is not so important, but rather the way in which that fear damages the person’s quality of life. Addressing the first by leading the person to question their fears (among other psychotherapeutic intervention measures) will be a way to solve the second.
Possible causes of fear of going crazy
Behind the fear of going crazy there may be very diverse causes, and these should be examined in therapy, through personalized attention. However, as a general description of this type of problem, we can say that the most frequent causes of this type of fear are the following.
1. Anxiety problems
Suffering from anxiety makes us more likely to feed fears that are not based on anything real. Since our nervous system is in “alert mode,” we easily fall into giving undeserved importance to signs that something is wrong with us (beyond the anxiety problem itself).
2. Tendency towards hypochondria
The tendency toward hypochondria occurs in people who tend to be apprehensive, easily embracing the belief that something bad will happen to them in the area of health. In this case, It would be to assume that a disease that affects the brain could be developing. It does not have to be a disorder, but it gives rise to distressing situations relatively frequently.
If this tendency towards hypochondria reaches psychopathological extremes (for example, it occurs in those who do not get rid of this fear even after going through several medical check-ups), a phenomenon known as illness anxiety disorder occurs. In this case we are not talking about madness either, among other things because the symptoms of this disorder affect a well-defined aspect of the person’s life, and They do not invalidate it or make it incapable of being functional in other contexts.
It is possible that the causes of the fear of going crazy are symptoms of a psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia, in which problems perceiving reality as it is intensify, sometimes endangering the person and others. However, The line between the symptoms associated with schizophrenia, on the one hand, and the mental processes of people without mental illness, on the other, is surprisingly blurry. in several aspects. For example, auditory hallucinations can occur relatively frequently in people who never end up developing psychopathology.
In any case, as we have seen, the concept “madness” does not fit the nature of psychiatric disorders either, and does not serve to describe or understand them. These health problems are very diverse and with correct treatment they often do not completely nullify the person’s ability to make decisions and adapt to the challenges of daily life, nor do they manage to “absorb” the person’s identity.
4. Life crises
Radical changes such as moving to another country, getting divorced or changing careers involve immersing yourself in a whole series of new experiences that arrive at the same time and that They can give the feeling that you are losing control over what you do.
The need to adapt to these new roles without having familiar references fuels the perception that everything is shaky around us.
5. Drug use
Addictions and abuse of psychoactive substances may also be behind this sensation. This is a serious health problem that must be treated as soon as possible with professional help. but luckily, it usually stops affecting perception and rational thinking once you have managed to stop using for several months (although the risk of relapse is still there).
Social pressure and contexts of psychological manipulation typical of harassment and abuse dynamics can lead the victim to believe that they are crazy. This is something that happens, for example, with gaslighting. a set of manipulation strategies sometimes used by abusers to make the victim believe that everything bad that happens to them is due to not being able to think well.
To do?
The fear of going crazy is, whether or not there is a diagnosable psychopathology, a reason to go to psychotherapy. Through psychological therapy it is possible not only to address the root of the problem that causes discomfort, but also to learn about what mental health is. and about how limiting are the labels historically used to stigmatize those who show abnormal ways of behaving and perceiving reality.
Thus, if there is a psychopathology to be treated, it will be addressed understanding that the problem lies in the concrete ways in which it compromises the person’s quality of life, and not in the mere existence of an ambiguous phenomenon called “madness.” ” which would theoretically be part of the person’s identity.
In the field of psychiatry and clinical psychology, essences do not exist, and this implies that no one is condemned to carry a certain “psychopathological” identity on their backs: both the behaviors that shape the disorder to be treated and the thought patterns. through which we perceive that psychopathology can be modified.
On the other hand, In the event that there is no psychological disorder, therapy will also be useful ; in this case, to clear up doubts, to improve self-esteem and to prevent possible stress and anxiety problems caused by these insecurities in oneself, for example.
