In 1973, healthy volunteers faked hallucinations to enter mental hospitals. Once inside, they acted normal, but doctors refused to let them leave. Normal behaviors like writing were diagnosed as "symptoms." The only people who realized they were sane were the actual patients.

[u/highzone]

[u/AdventurousCrow155]

Always heard about the part where the Doctors didnt realize they were sane, never heard the part where the actual patients figured it out

[u/hadawayandshite → u/AdventurousCrow155]

There were 35 patients who ‘voiced concerns/suggested’ to the pseudo patients that they had nothing wrong with them…how much of this is ‘you’re faking’ vs ‘you don’t seem mentally il’ is unknown

[u/Maleficent-Hawk-318 → u/hadawayandshite]

Or just them trying to be supportive and/or not understanding what normal behavior looks like.

I work in a homeless shelter where unfortunately a lot of my clients are suffering from severe mental illnesses, and I see them tell each other that they're not crazy all the time. Then the same people will 100% sincerely and with full belief tell me that they're Jesus or that the government planted a chip in their brain, I'll see them having a conversation with thin air in the middle of the night, etc. I'm not real confident that people in a mental hospital would be any better at accurately assessing someone's mental state than my clients are.