Has anyone ever returned to sanity?

[WolfThomas]

To be fair insanity is pretty much only a legal term these days. People with a psychotic, mood or personality disorder can be treated back to a normal or "pre-morbid" level in many cases.

As for someone like a serial killer whose been institutionalized rather than imprisoned they'd need a willing psychiatrist to say there's no chance of them re-offending, which is pretty unlikely as Doctors need to watch their arses in legal matters.

 

[vrbtny]

Well, there is Autism, then there is Autism

One is the sort where plastic water bottles have to be in the right order, and the towels on the rail have to be in a particular order, and conversations with people are difficult and awkward for both concerned. They don't get hints easy, or get suggestion or emotions particularly well. They don't mix well, but they can to a degree. This autism can be coped with, compensated, and treated so well that it almost appears cured.

Then there is the other kind. This is when each day has a routine. A exact routine. Monday is shopping day. Tuesday is Wash-day. Wednesday is play-day. This is a routine which cannot be changed for anything at all. Parents die, funeral won't be attended unless forced because of the routine. I know this, as I have seen it happen. Nothing can interrupt the routine, and they won't mix at all. With anyone. This form of autism is extremely difficult to treat.

I know this, mainly because both me and my brother have been diagnosed with Autism. Luckily I was the former. Unluckily my brother was the latter, and I feel sorry for him every day of week.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Every single medicated schizophrenic. In fact, there are lots of mental conditions that can be treated with medications and would otherwise leave the person mentally ill. Also, you don't "grow out" of Asperger's, (sorry, you can't rewire your brain) you learn to cope with it and deal with it.

This is not entirely correct.

With Schizophrenia, you divide the symptoms up in two groups - Positive symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and negative symptoms, such as asociality and lack of motivation.

Positive symptoms generally responds well to medication, but this is not the case with the negative symptoms.

Fair enough, but it does does demonstrate that medical conditions that make one "insane" can be treated and thus someone can come back from being insane. Hell even clinical depression was once a reason to throw you into a mental institution and now that's perfectly treatable.

 

[Nouw]

Sanity? Pfft, SANITY IS FOR THE WEAK!
Now if you'll excuse me, I have people to do
and things to kill.

 

[80Maxwell08]

Ok I would remove the Asperger part from your opening post since it kinda does imply that you meant that when saying insane. Granted I know what you went through since Asperger's Syndrome runs pretty strongly in my family too with my cousin having blackouts from too much noise and myself suffering panic attacks from noise which makes those forced high school assemblies nightmares for me unless my parents let me stay home from them. Still haven't gotten to the part where I learn to live with it yet though. Though back on topic it seems a lot of people have answered that already. My one experience with someone who lost their grip on reality was in the worst mental hospital in existence with a mentally retarded homosexual. That is a interesting story to tell if anyone cares for it.

 

[Sandjube]

Sanity? Pfft, SANITY IS FOR THE WEAK!
Now if you'll excuse me, I have people to do
and things to kill.

Aww you mean 'ol ninja, you. Now what do I write instead? Umm... *twiddles thumbs*

I'm just going to say yes.

Yes.

 

[Nouw]

snip

Do I notice a Kultist-chan ? Or it could be one of the thousands that have purple hair and a freaky smile .

 

[Sandjube]

snip

Do I notice a Kultist-chan ? Or it could be one of the thousands that have purple hair and a freaky smile .

Aye, 'tis a Cultist-chan! It's just a somewhat different and stylised version, since my friend drew it for me and now iluvhimso.

 

[ezaviel]

A good place to start, is that the term insane is not used anymore. No one is clinically diagnosed as "insane", so no one "comes back to sanity" as they are not insane in the first place. I question the professionalism of any mental health professional who uses the term.

I assume you mean "do people recover from serious mental illness?". The answer to that is, "sometimes", and that answer does depend on your definition of "recover".

I have personally treated many people with a variety of disorders, and many of them have been able to improve their quality of life (through a combination of medications, behaviour modification and cognitive therapy) to a degree where they could be said to be coping as well as any other person on the street. If this meets your bar of "returning to sanity". Then yes, it happens all the time.

If you mean "they get better, and will never ever have ay problems with mental illness again", then I would say, yes, sometimes. To take depression as an example, if memory serves, 50% of people who recover from major depression will develop it again later. Of those 50%, something like 75% will develop it again, and so on, and so on.

So yeah, there isn't a good solid answer to your question really.

 

[iLikeHippos]

I knew someone from my former class (which was specialized in small numbers but remaining exclusive to us with mental disorders such as Aspergers, Autism and other traits) who was quite insane.

First day of school, he didn't show up to class; he was quite shy.
Day two, same thing.
Day three, he was introduced to our many computers we were permitted access to at recess.
Day four and up, he would sit at the fuckin' computer through ALL the classes and recesses. Once he chose a specific computer, its monitor would serve no other mortal being. Even at lunch breaks, he wouldn't give his playing a rest until after three hours or so (which was the time he needed to prepare I guess) and show up to the nearby table to digest his now-cold food. But nothing ketchup can't solve!

To this day, I'm not entirely sure he has gotten anywhere in life, or if he even graduated from school. He's maybe sitting at home, slowly turning into those weird, mythical lifeforms on the Internet that somehow tops the scoreboard of flash-games with extreme talent and dedication, never to embrace the touch of a woman but left to his own right-handed demises.
Teacher taught me that most people in this exclusive class included more than mere Aspergers and Autism; perhaps he had additional disabilities, but it is quite interesting non-the-less.
Sometimes, it's treatable. Sometimes, it's untreatable. Sometimes, the person in question will refuse treatment and go on their lives as they see fit. Which is exactly what the person in question chose, the latter. (Even though it's not explained at all in this post)

 

[lacktheknack]

I was going to post something about neuroplasticity, but I get the terrible feeling that it would get me set on fire.

 

[Googooguru]

From my experience.. kind of.. My aunt went bad S&^t crazy.. few years back and was jumping out in front of cars on the high street with a crucifix, butt naked screaming Jesus is coming.. she was locked up for 5 years.. is very heavily medicated and is now behaviorally acceptable by societies standards, although a little peculiar and eccentric.

 

[Verzin]

'Returned to Sanity" may not be the best way to state it.
can someone who suffers from schizophrenia or who has experienced a horrible debilitating depression or a psychotic break 'get better' and return to a functional life? yes, but in my experience though, those people will never be the same: that kind of experience will deeply change people.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I have aspergers myself and no I have not been able to get rid of it. I suppose if you can count clinical depression then yes, but I doubt anyone would consider that a disorder.

I have learned to cope with my disorder. To not put up walls when people start getting emotional around me. To do everything in my power during social settings that I am the weak one here and need to work extra hard for it to work.

I still appear weird, creepy, or awkward. I still tend not to look into the persons eyes when I'm talking to them. But not as much as I used to.