Abnormal Psychology (09/22/2005)

[crazyvampchick]

Class Roster. Signups are now CLOSED.

The classroom is dark, with the shades pulled down and the windows underneath it painted black. The electric lights have not been turned on, but instead candelabras have been lit and placed throughout the classroom. On the desk sits a blonde, fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked porcelain doll in a black dress. The doll is missing its eyes. Behind the desk is a chalkboard that has been covered completely with scribbles of various colors of chalk.

Drusilla stands in the front of the room, waiting for her students to attend.

"Lesson one," she says simply as they walk in and take their seats. On each desk is a photocopy of a chapter of a psychology text on various psychological disorders and a sheet entitled "HOMEWORK: Find a picture of insanity."

"Understanding insanity. How do you understand it? How do you define it? Discuss. Ask questions of each other and of me. And remember--" She gestures to the doll and smiles. "Miss Edith will be watching for troublemakers. And I'm absolutely brutal about detentions."

Comments

[the4thsister.livejournal.com]

*Paige enters the classroom and begins to consider the question*

[medusae-x.livejournal.com]

Duce considers the question and asks, "Would you consider the side effects of long-term drug use to be a form of insanity, or merely a brain injury?"

[anextimeagent.livejournal.com]

*decides that holding a mirror up to reflect his teacher's face would be a bad idea for "picture of insanity"*

How would *you* define insanity, Professor?

[addams-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Insanity is nothing more than a mode of perception, isn't it?" Wednesday was frowning at the photocopy. "That what I see when I look at something is labeled as 'sane' until it deviates too far from the perceived normal."

She glanced up at Miss Edith. "I understand insanity as that unfortunate two months wherein my cousin Elberton took to wearing a suit with an orange tie and insisting that the family needed life insurance. Luckily, he recovered before Grandmother discovered that you aren't allowed to collect your own, even if you are clinically dead." Wednesday bit her lip, showing uncharacteristic indecision. "I am not certain how I would define insanity... because it would be different for everyone, wouldn't it?"

[crazyvampchick]

Drusilla giggles as she leans back on her desk. "Tsk, tsk," she says. "I said to ask questions. I didn't say to ask what I thought of insanity. Do your work like a good boy."

[crazyvampchick]

Drusilla tilts her head and looks at Duce curiously. "What side effects? What drugs?" She smiles. "But a good question."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_gottahavefaith/]

"Insanity is just behavior that doesn't match with what society accepts as normal. Now, this picture? Can it be of an insane individual around here?"

[persian-eunuch.livejournal.com]

*comes in* *stares at doll with a little unease*

[alchemy-4-arson.livejournal.com]

Roy takes a seat, thinks over the assignment.

"Why do some people become mad out of the blue one day, with no previous mental history?"



((OOC: just ignore that last comment, I had forgotten to log in))

[crazyvampchick]

"Are they sane before?" asks Drusilla. "Or did they simply hide it better then?"

[the4thsister.livejournal.com]

Insanity depends on various things such as culture and the age we live in. In some cultures for example witch doctors are the norm, but in the western world anyone claiming to be invlolved with things of that nature ie the paranormal in general would be considered to be insane, which I'm sure many of us know is just wrong

[alchemy-4-arson.livejournal.com]

"By all normal approximations, yes, they were sane before."

[crazyvampchick]

"But how do you know?" she asks. "You weren't inside their mind. You only know by their behavior."

[nightsmoonchild.livejournal.com]

Oz is looking forward to this class, thinks it will be interesting. Seeing Wednesday, he wanders over nad sits down near her with a nod of greeting, and agreement with her statement.

[alchemy-4-arson.livejournal.com]

"Okay, two questions then, to cover both possibilities:

a) Why would someone be sane one day and, without suffering any life-changing trauma, suddenly develop a mental illness?

b) Why would someone be able to successfully hide madness for their entire lives, then one day, without any life-changing trauma, suddenly be unable to fake it anymore?"

[cerulean--eyes.livejournal.com]

Boone recognises Paige from the Home Ec class, and gives a small wave as he wanders in to the classroom and takes a seat for Psychology.

[the4thsister.livejournal.com]

*Paige waves back and mouths "how spooky?" to him*

[aka-vala.livejournal.com]

*whispers* Pssst! Jack, don't taunt the teacher. *looks at her again and shudders* Just don't, o.k.?

[addams-daughter.livejournal.com]

Nodding in return, Wednesday took a note from her binder and passed it to him.

Oz -

Duce fed one of your socks to the gremlin. We're also having a Halloween Party at the Estate. Mother and Father had a seance, and Aunt Esmeralda suggested it then. It will mean boarding over the scorpion pit and making sure that the carniverous plants in the conservatory are fed really well... but Duce seems in favor. What do you think?

W

[cerulean--eyes.livejournal.com]

*Mouths back "I know!" to her with a litle grin*

[nightsmoonchild.livejournal.com]

Oz reads the note. They fed his sock to the gremlin? He scratches his head at that, because, well, he didn't expect that. Better the sock than his foot, though.

He scribbles a reply, after calculating that Halloween doesn't fall anywhere near the full moon-

W-
Sounds like fun. I'm in
-O

[aka-vala.livejournal.com]

*steps in hesitantly, eyeing the set-up*

*takes a seat a bit closer to time_agent than she might normally have*

Uh... insanity is when you do things that make no sense?

[medusae-x.livejournal.com]

Duce chews her lip for a moment, thinking about the answer to that question, "Drugs.. such as methamphetamines, hallucinogens, barbituates, opiates, or LSD, the ones known to have psychotropic reactions on both positive and negative scale, whose compounded use can lead to permanent psychological impairment. The side effects are normally paranoia, irrationality, excitability, image distortion, aggressive and violent behaviors, extreme anxiety, hallucinations, grandiose behavior.. "

Tilting her head thoughtfully, she says, "The side effects can mimic paranoid schizophrenia. Which tells us nothing, as we still haven't decided if that's a form of insanity, a form of brain injury, or simply an altered perception of reality."

Shrugging, she answers the question, "We try to understand it by attempting to see the same viewpoint as the person branded 'insane'. To date, we haven't been convinced there is such a thing as 'normal sanity'. Until we do, we can't give you our definition of it. Sorry."

[medusae-x.livejournal.com]

Duce waves, from a few seats over.

[nightsmoonchild.livejournal.com]

Catching her eye as he passes the note back to Wednesday, Oz smiles and waves. Oh, yes. Pyschology is going to be a fun class.