Monday, November 15, 2010

Humoring Delusions is a Valid Form of Mental Health Treatment Monday!

I do these posts a day in advance, and trying to get out of the office in anticipation of a four-day weekend is no easy feat, so here are some panels from our pal Robert Gillis!

First off, Robert notices a theme developing here.  Check out Lois Lane #1:


Okay, Lois has lost her marbles for some reason, and we can't confront her with reality or that will really jack her up for some reason.  Got it?  Good.  Three months later in the same title:


So, if comics are to be believed (and I have no reason to think they aren't), the best thing to do for someone who has a loose grip on reality is to go to any lengths to humor their delusion.

Apparently, it isn't just a woman-thing.  Cue Adventure Comics #224:


See?  You can inconvenience an entire town for this.

And I realize doctors tend to have a God complex, but ol' Doc Greene is pretty dang bossy, from where I'm sitting.

But if it's for Pa Kent, you may want to give him a pass.  He's apparently a very good assistant.  Cue Adventure Comics #251:



My son is dying and everything, but I have a task to do, dammit!  If Clark wanted me to stay with him at his death-bed, he would have specified that!

And of course, no look at Superman would be complete without further proof that he is a complete tool.  Cue Lois Lane #28!:


... if I do say so myself.  And apparently, I do.

Thanks for getting me out of here, Robert!

See you tomorrow!

5 comments:

D.B. Echo said...

"Dad...! Your tie...made of Kryptoarrgghh..."

Justin Garrett Blum said...

I wonder if there's any scientific justification at all for humoring deluded people. Given how frequently this plot line was used, you would think it must be at least vaguely based in reality.

Elizabeth said...

Justin, I'm not sure, because in these cases aren't we dealing with a person whose beliefs are grounded in some form of reality? If Lois isn't a witch, she's still turning into a hag for real, and I'm sure a couple other things happened to contribute to the hilarious misunderstanding. She could probably tolerate a different explanation, as long as it acknowledges the reality of her experience.

MarvelX42 said...

Not to far back you had a post about how Pa Kent bumped his head and thought he was a matador and they humored him on that one too.

Adam Barnett said...

True that, Marv! I remember it now.

I find that folks should always humor me and pretend that everything I say is factually accurate. It makes me much easier to live with.