- can a person make a choice to lose their own mind? imagine you were predisposed to grandiosity, and could not imagine a life without greatness. in this instance, could greatness (adventure, meaning) be had by intentionally casting off your sanity? how do you choose madness? what should a person do to drive themselves into a state of religious insanity?
heroic doses of psychedelics is the obvious shortcut, especially if you’re predisposed to a messiah complex. but insanity by definition is a lack of understanding, and the “adventure” of it will grow tiresome quickly.
Of course a person can choose to lose their mind or to "become mad". Contemporary psychology has taken all agency out of mental illness and left us with biological predetermination, so it's no wonder we have left neither the language nor mental framework for choosing to be crazy.