Mental Stability

What makes someone "mentally stable"? First off, before anyone thinks that I'm pulling a Tom Cruise, I fully believe that such a thing as mental illness exists, and that there are chemical imbalances that can manifest in a person's mental state and well being, as well as environmental influences that can affect a person's outlook, behaviour and many other aspects of their life. No, I'm not questioning that, I'm questioning the other side of the scale, mental stability. What constitutes being sane? I think it was put very well in 12 Monkeys:

JEFFREY: You know what "crazy" is? "crazy" is "majority rules". Take germs for example.

COLE: Germs?!

JEFFREY: In the 18th century there was no such thing! Nobody'd ever imagined such a thing -- no sane person anyway. Along comes this doctor...Semmelweiss, I think. He tries to convince people... other doctors mostly...that there are these teeny tiny invisible "bad things" called germs that get into your body and make you...sick! He's trying to get doctors to wash their hands. What is this guy...crazy? Teeny tiny invisible whaddayou call 'em?..."germs"!

The same case can be made for a number of scientific beliefs, including a heliocentric solar system, the nature of atoms and atomic makeup, etc. Many of the people who first espoused these beliefs were considered, at the least, eccentric, and at the most, crazy and/or heretical.

Now, I'm not saying that everyone who's mentally ill is just misunderstood. I'm saying that it can happen to anyone at anytime, and it doesn't preclude that person from having valid views or opinions, necessarily. I read a blog written by a well-spoken, intelligent, funny guy who just happens to have crippling anxiety and depression. Does that make his thoughts or ideas any less valid? I don't think so.

I was writing this blog when the news came across the wire that Terell Owens supposedly tried to commit suicide by eating several(35) pain pills that he was taking for his current injury. Its completely out of character, and odd, given his previous self-aggrandization(is that a word?) and arrogance, as well as his worry-free lifestyle of fast cars, women, and all the gold he can carry. I was crass when I heard the news, saying "I wonder if he washed the pills down with Cristal?" It just goes to show you that it could happen to anyone, though, and no matter how perfect a life a person seems to have, they may have that voice inside of them that says they're not good enough to live, or that life is too difficult, or not worth continuing.

Now T.O.s publicist and friends(one of whom is noted coke-head Michael Irvin) are claiming that there's no way that he could have attempted suicide, and that the police must be wrong. The police are now starting to retract their statement, which, if you ask me, is only happening under threats of libel, slander, defamation of character, and other nasty sounding legal terms that would lead to the department and possibly the city getting sued.