rdfs:comment
| - It may be some quirky ideas, the meddling of a Corrupt Corporate Executive or other villain, having noticed something Invisible to Normals, an attempt to dodge jail by getting a jury to call Insanity Defense, or just a good old fashioned screw-up, but somehow a reasonably sane character undergoes severe therapy, often in an asylum. Despite their relative normality, they struggle to convince the therapists of the fact. And the more they struggle, the closer they get to lunacy itself, sometimes becoming indistinguishable from the others around them. See also Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook.
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abstract
| - It may be some quirky ideas, the meddling of a Corrupt Corporate Executive or other villain, having noticed something Invisible to Normals, an attempt to dodge jail by getting a jury to call Insanity Defense, or just a good old fashioned screw-up, but somehow a reasonably sane character undergoes severe therapy, often in an asylum. Despite their relative normality, they struggle to convince the therapists of the fact. And the more they struggle, the closer they get to lunacy itself, sometimes becoming indistinguishable from the others around them. This can be a one-off, or a background for a villain (and in some cases may cause Motive Decay), or a normal who's cut through the Masquerade. If it's a main character, it's a good reason for writers to examine their motives through the critical psychiatrist's eyes, and see what makes them tick. If a character undergoes this long enough, they may be "cured" of their "delusions" rendering them useless or troublesome until their friends can bring them back, or they may revel in their madness while doing what they did before, possibly with psychobabble. Or they may just end up Ax Crazy. Different from a Cuckoo Nest plot, as the asylum reality is emphatically real, and not in conflict with anything else that happens. Can be combined with Through the Eyes of Madness. See also Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook. Examples of Go Among Mad People include:
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