Ok, sometimes you really can't prevent craziness, but this is my eccentric prevention list for all things crazy, emotionally, spiritually and mentally.

1. Return to your ancestral roots and spend time outside with nature and animals. I was just reading this article about an autistic boy's healing visit to Mongolia, which just reiterates what I read in The Continuum Concept. There are many other books that follow the same lines.

2. It's all in your head. I'm sure many of us have read The Power of Positive Thinking and heard the positive thinking rhetoric. I like to think that's it more than just positive thinking. I just read an article the other day about how aging may possibly be all in our heads. After reading about the great success stories of our time, I believe that most of what we perceive as negative is caused by own thinking or state of mind, whether it is failure, illness, relationship problems, etc. Having an attitude that is absent of fear, paranoia, hypochondria, and all that negative stuff, really does work.

3. Nothing is black and white. Every issue has a grey area, and this especially applies to religion and moral dilemmas. Denmark is supposed to be the happiest country in the world, but has a marked absence of religion, with the third highest proportion of atheist and agnostics in the world. BUT, 82% of these people belong to the Lutheran church and go for baptisms and weddings and things of that nature. The general attitude is that it doesn't really matter either way.... and I believe that letting go of that stress has made them happier. When its not black and white, because you can't really know until you die, then you have let go of the judgements and guilt of the alternative.

4. That being said, it is important to acknowledge a higher power. Humans tend to be a bit egotistical in the position in the universe, and acknowledging our smallness and being able to pray has proven results in our own psychological health. Dismissing the awe of the universe is just not good for us. I believe it is also important to have a spiritual role model, of which there are many to choose from, some better than others, but without using that role model to justify bad behavior.

5. Disregard societies assumptions, and then once you have acquired new ideologies, disregard them as well. Humans are sheep. The ones that choose to question the basic cultural memes (go to school, get good grades, get a good job), often choose a new one from somewhere else (drop out, protest, eat organic!). Very little of what we do is an individual choice and we function unaware that we are following a herd, even if that herd is smaller. It is important to learn to stop wondering what others are thinking, and delve into your own beliefs and dreams.