Article on "How to Stay Sane"

[mizhowlinmad]

Found this at the Drudge Report site:

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/mental_health/article4988978.ece

In short, here are the 5 steps they suggest to "stay sane."

Connect
Developing relationships with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours will enrich your life and bring you support

(Well, Murdock does spend a lot of time by himself at the VA, they say, but he also gets along well with the Team, and even makes an effort to reach out to B.A. most of the time! Plus he's got Billy.) ;D

Be active
Sports, hobbies such as gardening or dancing, or just a daily stroll will make you feel good and maintain mobility and fitness

(If being a member of the A-Team isn't what we call staying active, I don't have any earthly idea what is. And we know he likes to paint once in a while!)

Be curious
Noting the beauty of everyday moments as well as the unusual and reflecting on them helps you to appreciate what matters to you.

(This one really made me smile. An almost perfect description for Murdock.)

Learn
Fixing a bike, learning an instrument, cooking – the challenge and satisfaction brings fun and confidence.

(Heck, he's always wanting to learn new things!)

Give
Helping friends and strangers links your happiness to a wider community and is very rewarding

(Again, a nice description. So really, he's running a perfect 5 for 5. Give the man a break! Just because he's got an invisible dog...) ;D

[amyk]

We all know he is really completely sane and just faking it! Or do we?

[mizhowlinmad]

Another thing I like so much about TAT...the ongoing ambiguity of HM Murdock's sanity/insanity. I don't even think he knows for sure...

[amyk]

Dr. Richter implied strongly that Murdock was a fraud....but then again, Dr. Richter was a bit of a fraud himself, so who knows if what he was thinking was right?

[mizhowlinmad]

Then there was the other psychiatrist who released Murdock in BEAST FROM THE BELLY OF A BOEING...remember him? ;D

And our dear friend Col. Lynch, who once said "I have the sneaky suspicion you're faking all this?"

[amyk]

And I think Decker probably thought Murdock was faking too. But then sometimes it seemed like Hannibal did truly believe Murdock was insane, and of course B.A. thought he was....and they were the ones who knew him best (and Face). I think Murdock just has intermittent sanity....that's my diagnosis....but as one of the nurses said once....."he's usually a lot of fun" !

[mizhowlinmad]

Oct 23, 2008 16:00:38 GMT -5 amyk said:

But then sometimes it seemed like Hannibal did truly believe Murdock was insane...and of course B.A. thought he was....and they were the ones who knew him best (and Face). I think Murdock just has intermittent sanity....that's my diagnosis....but as one of the nurses said once....."he's usually a lot of fun" !

I truly love that moment in the Pilot when Amy asks Hannibal if he (Murdock) is insane, to which Hannibal replies "We think so" with a degree of pride.

And Face's line in HOLIDAY IN THE HILLS about "a good kind of crazy" is so apropos for Murdock. He's not the serial murderer kind of nuts, just the kind that talks to socks and plays with an invisible dog. ;D

[amyk]

And I think something Face meant by that is that if Murdock wasn't this good kind of crazy, where would the team be? I mean if he was completely sane he would never attempt to fly all the crazy types of aircraft that he flies and he would probably never attempt a lot of the things he does. (Of course, the whole team has to be a bit crazy to pull off all the stunts they do....except maybe B.A. because he just is who he is....but by putting up with all those crazy stunts I think he is a bit crazy by association.)

[mizhowlinmad]

Good points, Amy...after all, at the end of HOLIDAY IN THE HILLS, Hannibal admits "sometimes I am!", when Face says "sometimes I think you're crazier than Murdock." ;D

(If there were a little more plot-wise to that ep, I think it would make my top 10.)

[HoudiniDerek]

I think they are all crazy at times, but in their own ways and each in a way that benefits the functioning of the team. I am told I am crazy too, but in that good way. ;D

[mosame]

Oct 23, 2008 17:09:46 GMT -5 HoudiniDerek said:

I am told I am crazy too, but in that good way. ;D

I remember Face saying the same thing about Murdock ;D

[mizhowlinmad]

Let's just admit it...all of us who are fans of TAT are crazy in a good way. It helps us appreciate the show better, and especially when the purple wobblies start to wobble. ;D

[mosame]

In my opinion, Murdock is sane simply because of the fact that he often says that he isn't

[amyk]

I like that one time (I think maybe in WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE) when Face is telling the girl of the week that sometimes he thinks Murdock is the one who is in reality or something to that effect.

[mizhowlinmad]

To paraphrase Hannibal in the Pilot...Murdock is a knight-errant in a world full of dragons...and windmills. (Doesn't he remind you a little of Don Quixote, even?)