# Do crazy people really not know they are crazy?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crazy-people-really-not-know-they-are-crazy/359564
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 6, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crazy-people-really-not-know-they-are-crazy/359564 "2006-06-06T01:39:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Surbey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surbey)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crazy-people-really-not-know-they-are-crazy/359564/1 "2006-06-06T01:39:59Z")
I’ve heard somewhere that people who are crazy, never think and wonder if they are crazy. Is that true? If I ask myself, “Am I crazy?”, does this automatically disqualify me to be admitted to the seventh floor of the hospital?
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### Author:  [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2006, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crazy-people-really-not-know-they-are-crazy/359564/2 "2006-06-06T01:42:42Z")
of course we do.
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### Author:  [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2006, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crazy-people-really-not-know-they-are-crazy/359564/3 "2006-06-06T01:45:35Z")
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people _aren’t_ plotting against you…
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### Author:  [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crazy-people-really-not-know-they-are-crazy/359564/4 "2006-06-06T01:53:56Z")
Some yes, some no. There’s certain mental disorders in which an inability to recognise you have it is one of the defining characteristics, such as schizophrenia (in which one’s mind loses contact with reality) and body dysmorphic disorder (in which one sees their body as being too thin/too fat/too wrong no matter what they actually look like).
And there are disorders which you can be perfectly aware you have a problem; People with obsessive compulsive disorder or drug addictions, for example, may be quite aware that they have something wrong with them but feel unable to do anything about it.
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-crazy-people-really-not-know-they-are-crazy/359564/5 "2006-06-06T02:52:12Z")
I think that came from the ‘catch 22’, an excuse to get out of military service. Basically if you were crazy you could get out - but you would have to let someone know, however if you actually said you were crazy you couldn’t be crazy so you stay in.