Charges expected to be filed

[mammaruss]

via CNN BREAKING NEWS

-- Sheriff: Charges are expected to be filed against Richard Heene, whose son was thought to be in runaway balloon Thursday.

 

I was expecting it......law enforcement will have to make an example of this family to HOPEFULLY avoid something else like this happening again in the near future......crazy stuff these days! :confused:

[Tree House Academy]

Yeah...cause this happens everyday. LOL

[EthiopianFood]

IMO, they deserve it. They need to get a life, you know?

[mom to 3 boys & 1 girl]

This whole incident has been so odd. I'm glad that the sheriff seems to have figured out what happened.

[Crissy]

via CNN BREAKING NEWS

-- Sheriff: Charges are expected to be filed against Richard Heene, whose son was thought to be in runaway balloon Thursday.

 

I was expecting it......law enforcement will have to make an example of this family to HOPEFULLY avoid something else like this happening again in the near future......crazy stuff these days! :confused:

 

I don't agree with the idea of anyone being made 'an example', but the consequences of this man's ridiculous stunt cost local taxpayers an enormous amount of money. He should be responsible for that.

[hsmom3tn]

I don't know how accurate this information is, but this article breaks down the costs of everything that this hoax was responsible for. There's even more that I never thought of. This is really terrible.

 

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/10/exclusive-balloon-boy-family-could-face-bill-six-figures

 

Does anyone know what made them believe it was a hoax? Last I had heard, the police believed the family.

[Cricket]

I don't know how accurate this information is, but this article breaks down the costs of everything that this hoax was responsible for. There's even more that I never thought of. This is really terrible.

 

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/10/exclusive-balloon-boy-family-could-face-bill-six-figures

 

Does anyone know what made them believe it was a hoax? Last I had heard, the police believed the family.

 

Some of those charges are rather silly. $15,000 in lost in people taking time off work to watch the incident? Who would the Heene family pay that too? And reimbursing the media??? The wheat damage I can understand. I don't know how they get the figures for police and fire crews either. Aren't those people already on duty and paid whether or not something happens? Genuinely curious as to how someone comes up with these figures.

[hsmom3tn]

Some of those charges are rather silly. $15,000 in lost in people taking time off work to watch the incident? Who would the Heene family pay that too? And reimbursing the media??? The wheat damage I can understand. I don't know how they get the figures for police and fire crews either. Aren't those people already on duty and paid whether or not something happens? Genuinely curious as to how someone comes up with these figures.

 

I don't know....

I think they should get more than just a slap on the wrist or a small fine. The $15,000 for people watching is crazy, I agree. I think so many people got emotionally involved while this was going on, they're thinking that they're owed something.

I'm really feeling badly for the wheat farmer.. :(

[Cricket]

I don't know....

I think they should get more than just a slap on the wrist or a small fine. The $15,000 for people watching is crazy, I agree. I think so many people got emotionally involved while this was going on, they're thinking that they're owed something.

I'm really feeling badly for the wheat farmer.. :(

 

I said this to dh last night. So many people were watching this story and got so involved. They feel angry and want this family to pay now. I agree that if it turns out this was setup then they should be in trouble. Some of those charges are puzzling though!

[Word Nerd]

 

Does anyone know what made them believe it was a hoax? Last I had heard, the police believed the family.

 

They did a second round of interviews with the parents today and made "significant progress" according to the sheriff.

[fshinkevich]

Some of those charges are rather silly. $15,000 in lost in people taking time off work to watch the incident? Who would the Heene family pay that too? And reimbursing the media??? The wheat damage I can understand. I don't know how they get the figures for police and fire crews either. Aren't those people already on duty and paid whether or not something happens? Genuinely curious as to how someone comes up with these figures.

 

While I agree that people taking time off work charge is silly (even though I understand the emotions involved), I think the police and fire should absolutely be reimbursed. In addition to the physical and emotional stress they go through trying to save lives, they wasted time chasing what they thought to be a child when they could have been helping someone else who really needed it.

 

Thats a very big deal to me. It's one thing if the parents actually thought their child was in that balloon but were mistaken, and quite another if they planned this whole scheme.

[Terabith]

I just can't imagine it being a hoax. Especially with the experts in nonverbal body language and stuff saying they looked genuine. The kid's statement doesn't seem like definitive proof of a hoax; I can imagine a six year old getting a lot of things confused, esp with cameras around. (The kid asks Dad what the cameras are for, or why they have to go to the attic, etc.)

[mom31257]

If it turns out the kids did it as a joke or whatever, I'd hate to think that I could face criminal charges for that. Kids would not realize the importance that something like that could mean. If the parents planned it, they should have to do something.

 

I don't think the media should have to be reimbursed. The media is why hoaxes happen in the first place. They cover any little story and blow most of them out of proportion (IMHO). That's what 24 hour news has done for us. Years ago, we would have just read a short blurb in the paper after it was all said and done, and that would have been it.

 

I definitely don't think people watching should be reimbursed. The only time I can remember work stopping for something happening (in my work history experience) was 9/11. That was decided on by my boss at the time. If she hadn't, I would have kept right on working.

[mammaruss]

If it turns out the kids did it as a joke or whatever, I'd hate to think that I could face criminal charges for that. Kids would not realize the importance that something like that could mean. If the parents planned it, they should have to do something.

 

 

 

:iagree: If it was the kids playing a joke I agree that would be scary to face criminal charges for that!

[mammaruss]

I just received another email from CNN breaking news.

 

"County sheriff in Colorado says "balloon boy" incident was a "hoax" and a "publicity stunt."

[Nicole M]

I just can't imagine it being a hoax. Especially with the experts in nonverbal body language and stuff saying they looked genuine.

 

It's interesting that some folks found the parents to seem genuine. My parents are both mentally ill, and for me, I could not even watch the interview. I clicked away from the screen when the dad broke down. It was too close to what I experienced growing up, with parents whose idea of reality was so clearly different from actual reality, and whose whole lives were "hoaxes" in a sense, who were constantly manipulating others into accepting their world. I don't think I was projecting when I watched that interview. My sense is that the parents are not stable, that there is some kind of personality disorder or other illness manifesting here.

 

I don't think I expressed that well.

[Mrs Mungo]

Some of those charges are rather silly. $15,000 in lost in people taking time off work to watch the incident? Who would the Heene family pay that too? And reimbursing the media??? The wheat damage I can understand. I don't know how they get the figures for police and fire crews either. Aren't those people already on duty and paid whether or not something happens? Genuinely curious as to how someone comes up with these figures.

 

I agree that adding in charges for lost work or the media is ridiculous. However, it's expensive to mount that sort of search. You can probably guarantee that some of the rescue workers were not on duty at the time and were called in. Operating military helicopters is expensive and there were 2 of them (one a Kiowa, which is really expensive to operate) on this rescue mission. I don't know how much it cost to re-route planes but it certainly seems like a lot of trouble for a publicity stunt. The wheat crop is definitely a legitimate cost.

 

Does anyone remember that "runaway bride"? She was charged with making false statements to the police, which is a felony. They also wanted restitution of almost $45,000. She wound up making a deal, pleading to a misdemeanor, paying restitution of less than $2,500 and doing community service.

 

I don't think it was the kids playing a joke. He called the news stations before calling 911, doesn't that say it all?

[mammaruss]

It's interesting that some folks found the parents to seem genuine. My parents are both mentally ill, and for me, I could not even watch the interview. I clicked away from the screen when the dad broke down. It was too close to what I experienced growing up, with parents whose idea of reality was so clearly different from actual reality, and whose whole lives were "hoaxes" in a sense, who were constantly manipulating others into accepting their world. I don't think I was projecting when I watched that interview. My sense is that the parents are not stable, that there is some kind of personality disorder or other illness manifesting here.

 

I don't think I expressed that well.

:iagree: Very good observation! That is what I was thinking--I just could not get my thoughts out as eloquently as you!

[elizabeth]

 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/colorado.balloon.investigation/index.html The video on body language is also very interesting. As a person who spends hours each week listening to people" tell their side," of a story it was very obvious to me that the affects of both mom and dad were really off and they were lying. Sick , sick people.

[NorthwestMom]

I have not seen the Wife Swap shows, but the father did seem off to me as he did his interviews. I can believe a personality disorder.

[fshinkevich]

Mental illness for sure. A normal brain would not come up with this plan, put it into action, and carry it out as long as they did.

 

There were previous 911 calls to the home for domestic abuse against the wife, so it's very possible she and the children were forced into the situation.

 

Hopefully she will get some help.

[Crissy]

I don't know how accurate this information is, but this article breaks down the costs of everything that this hoax was responsible for.

 

In this morning's press conference the sheriff said they'd not even begun to tally the costs and that they had only just made the request for the other towns involved to begin doing so. I can't imagine that the Radar Online list is accurate.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Crissy

[Nicole M]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/colorado.balloon.investigation/index.html The video on body language is also very interesting. As a person who spends hours each week listening to people" tell their side," of a story it was very obvious to me that the affects of both mom and dad were really off and they were lying. Sick , sick people.

 

I tried to watch that video on body language, but again, couldn't go there.

 

It really concerns me that mental illness is so rampant in our culture. Well, I don't know that mental illness is any more or less common, in terms of actual numbers, but it is frightening that it is so easy now, given our electronic media, etc., for these people to suck others into their snare.

[mammaruss]

Mental illness for sure. A normal brain would not come up with this plan, put it into action, and carry it out as long as they did.

 

:iagree:

[Murphy101]

Some of those charges are rather silly. $15,000 in lost in people taking time off work to watch the incident? Who would the Heene family pay that too? And reimbursing the media??? The wheat damage I can understand. I don't know how they get the figures for police and fire crews either. Aren't those people already on duty and paid whether or not something happens? Genuinely curious as to how someone comes up with these figures.

 

I thought everything except the wheat cost and the nat'l guard helicopter fuel expenses were silly at best and madeup inflation at worst. I think the couple should have to pay that plus court/legal expenses. Really that's a big deal to most, well it would wipe ME out for sure. I'm thinking that's modestly approx 25k, not a small sum IMHO. esp as I'm not sure either of these parents will be able to keep a job for a very long time. Talk about a black spot on a background check!

 

I'd say they should each do hours per week of community service equal to the time spent searching for the kid for the next year in addition to that fine or the parents face equal hours of jail time per week. So they looked for what 6 hours? They should each do 6 hours of comunity service per week or face 6 hours in jail that week for the parent(s). But really who'd want to trust to work with this people or have these people helping at a charity? Not me. So while I think that is a just punishment for the parents and maybe a very possitive thing for the kids, I don't think they'd be able to do it b/c no chairtable/community organization would take them.:001_unsure:

 

Media, emergency services.. all those are paid whether used or not. And no, people who really need the service got it. If a person is bleeding, they leave the search to go help the bleeding person. There is or should be a set protocol for priority of care. For example, in my county, firefighters/police/ambulances might be called in to help each other, but it's limited help unless it's really major.

 

For example, x town might have 3 firetrucks. y town might need some backup for a big fire. x town will never send more than 2 of their trucks b/c they are required to always be able to assist their local area first. If they sent 2 trucks out and something more urgent happened local that was needed, those trucks helping in y town would be called back to x town. Is this not the policy everywhere? The reason being that the local taxpayers tend to pay the majority of the needs of the local crews and thus rightly expect that when they need the service it is available to them not off in another town that isn't paying to upkeep it. That and the theory that one should tend their own yard before worrying about the neighbors yard.:)

[tdeveson]

I don't agree with the idea of anyone being made 'an example', but the consequences of this man's ridiculous stunt cost local taxpayers an enormous amount of money. He should be responsible for that.

 

I have to disagree. This guy does need to be made an example of. As Crissy correctly states, this guy's stunt cost the local taxpayers a lot of money. Let's say (and I'm just making up this number) the taxpayers end up with a $150,000 bill. Let's say the guy has to pay that amount. He's just earned millions of dollars in publicity. Why wouldn't he do it again?

 

This guy needs to have very harsh consequences. He didn't just do something illegal, he spread his bad karma all over the place. Many, many people were upset yesterday. I did not need to go around all morning with a sinking feeling in my stomach just so this guy could shamelessly self-promote.

 

Put him in the can, and somebody better intervene with the kids. That is NOT a healthy environment for them.

[tdeveson]

I just can't imagine it being a hoax. Especially with the experts in nonverbal body language and stuff saying they looked genuine.

 

An actor can fool a body language expert. This guy has acting experience -- they both do. I don't think they're sick. I think they're egomaniacs who will do anything for camera time. That's not a pathology. It's a character flaw. These people are broken.

[Murphy101]

hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about presuming mental illness here.

I think people claim and call things mental illness far to often these days b/c that's somehow easier to accept or makes something they can't understand more understandable to them. (I'm not talking diagnosed people you actually know - I'm talking presuming it with those one does not know.)

 

But fact is, some folks are just manipulitve selfish jerks because that's who they are.

 

I don't think that is a mental illness.

 

I guess it could be.

 

But I think it's just a sad segment of humanity giving into their less desirable human tendancies.

 

I don't think there's anymore mental illness than there used to be.

Just more things are called mental illness these days.

[hsmom3tn]

hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about presuming mental illness here.

I think people claim and call things mental illness far to often these days b/c that's somehow easier to accept or makes something they can't understand more understandable to them. (I'm not talking diagnosed people you actually know - I'm talking presuming it with those one does not know.)

 

But fact is, some folks are just manipulitve selfish jerks because that's who they are.

 

I don't think that is a mental illness.

 

I guess it could be.

 

But I think it's just a sad segment of humanity giving into their less desirable human tendancies.

 

I don't think there's anymore mental illness than there used to be.

Just more things are called mental illness these days.

 

:iagree:

[Nicole M]

An actor can fool a body language expert. This guy has acting experience -- they both do. I don't think they're sick. I think they're egomaniacs who will do anything for camera time. That's not a pathology. It's a character flaw. These people are broken.

 

Not to split hairs or anything, but don't personality disorders fall into the pathology spectrum? I don't actually know.

 

I am not a mental health professional, nor have I played one one TV (and I don't even own a tv, for that matter), but I want to clarify that while although they strike me as being ill (broken, whatever), based on my experience, I still think they should absolutely be held accountable.

[Luanne]

(said in my most sarcastic tone of voice) ... nice of them to put Fort Collins on the map that way. :001_huh:

[elizabeth]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/personality-disorders/DS00562/DSECTION=symptoms

http://psyweb.com/Mdisord/DSM_IV/jsp/Axis_II.jsp These links provide a tidy picture for the layperson to understand the Axis II DSM manual approach for categorizing personality disorders that are almost always comorbid with another type of mental illness. I observed earlier yesterday that the woman was overly submissive and cowering. What a mess and I hope that SOB is kept as far away as possible from these children and his spouse. The odd thing is that my bf ,who is a psychologist practicing in Madison WI ,noted that while watching the children with their mother that the mother was so fearful it pained her to watch the news conference. In essence her demeanor was what made it obvious that there was something terribly wrong. The perp Mr Heene is so good at manipulating and lying with controlling others with his rage that he could do this with little effort. Scary indeed. I have had limited contact with BPD's and Sociopaths but that experience taught me well to trust that gut instinct far more than any other indicator regarding truthfulness and risk of harm. A professor of mine once said that one of the best indicators of personality disorders was his feeling of profound discomfort when being alone with the individual in question. An unease, a feeling of being on edge... Evolutionary psychology link here for those interested in the subject http://www.epjournal.net/

[mammaruss]

(said in my most sarcastic tone of voice) ... nice of them to put Fort Collins on the map that way. :001_huh:

:lol:

One should always look for a positive in every situation!LOL!

 

Also, ds did learn a little geography while we were watching the balloon fly over the fields! Ds commented he was expecting to see more mountains! ;)

[mammaruss]

A professor of mine once said that one of the best indicators of personality disorders was his feeling of profound discomfort when being alone with the individual in question. An unease, a feeling of being on edge...

 

 

Wow! That is very interesting to know!

[Nicole M]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/personality-disorders/DS00562/DSECTION=symptoms

http://psyweb.com/Mdisord/DSM_IV/jsp/Axis_II.jsp These links provide a tidy picture for the layperson to understand the Axis II DSM manual approach for categorizing personality disorders that are almost always comorbid with another type of mental illness. I observed earlier yesterday that the woman was overly submissive and cowering. What a mess and I hope that SOB is kept as far away as possible from these children and his spouse. The odd thing is that my bf ,who is a psychologist practicing in Madison WI ,noted that while watching the children with their mother that the mother was so fearful it pained her to watch the news conference. In essence her demeanor was what made it obvious that there was something terribly wrong. The perp Mr Heene is so good at manipulating and lying with controlling others with his rage that he could do this with little effort. Scary indeed. I have had limited contact with BPD's and Sociopaths but that experience taught me well to trust that gut instinct far more than any other indicator regarding truthfulness and risk of harm. A professor of mine once said that one of the best indicators of personality disorders was his feeling of profound discomfort when being alone with the individual in question. An unease, a feeling of being on edge... Evolutionary psychology link here for those interested in the subject http://www.epjournal.net/

 

Thanks for those links. Very interesting. I was also relieved to read the part about your professor. My gut feeling about the guy, and I only watched, really, probably less than a minute of the interview, was really not good, and I could not watch.

[Luanne]

:lol:

One should always look for a positive in every situation!LOL!

 

Also, ds did learn a little geography while we were watching the balloon fly over the fields! Ds commented he was expecting to see more mountains! ;)

 

 

... to see the mountains. Fort Collins is just east of the foothills (smaller mountains). Colorado is about half mountains and half plains.

[Marylou]

My gut feeling about the guy, and I only watched, really, probably less than a minute of the interview, was really not good, and I could not watch.

 

If you watch the Wife Swap show on YouTube you will see that the mom says she and Richard "honestly" believe they are descendants of aliens.

[mammaruss]

If you watch the Wife Swap show on YouTube you will see that the mom says she and Richard "honestly" believe they are descendants of aliens.

 

Aaaaaaaaackkkk!! :confused:

[mammaruss]

... to see the mountains. Fort Collins is just east of the foothills (smaller mountains). Colorado is about half mountains and half plains.

 

Thank you Luanne for that info! I am currently rounding up some materials so that we can do a study on Colorado! :)

[Erica in PA]

It's interesting that some folks found the parents to seem genuine. My parents are both mentally ill, and for me, I could not even watch the interview. I clicked away from the screen when the dad broke down. It was too close to what I experienced growing up, with parents whose idea of reality was so clearly different from actual reality, and whose whole lives were "hoaxes" in a sense, who were constantly manipulating others into accepting their world. I don't think I was projecting when I watched that interview. My sense is that the parents are not stable, that there is some kind of personality disorder or other illness manifesting here.

 

I don't think I expressed that well.

 

No, I agree with you. I grew up with some very dysfunctional family members, and I also think it has given me some insight into reading people. I too recognized this behavior as abnormal right away.

[Murphy101]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/personality-disorders/DS00562/DSECTION=symptoms

http://psyweb.com/Mdisord/DSM_IV/jsp/Axis_II.jsp These links provide a tidy picture for the layperson to understand the Axis II DSM manual approach for categorizing personality disorders that are almost always comorbid with another type of mental illness. I observed earlier yesterday that the woman was overly submissive and cowering. What a mess and I hope that SOB is kept as far away as possible from these children and his spouse. The odd thing is that my bf ,who is a psychologist practicing in Madison WI ,noted that while watching the children with their mother that the mother was so fearful it pained her to watch the news conference. In essence her demeanor was what made it obvious that there was something terribly wrong. The perp Mr Heene is so good at manipulating and lying with controlling others with his rage that he could do this with little effort. Scary indeed. I have had limited contact with BPD's and Sociopaths but that experience taught me well to trust that gut instinct far more than any other indicator regarding truthfulness and risk of harm. A professor of mine once said that one of the best indicators of personality disorders was his feeling of profound discomfort when being alone with the individual in question. An unease, a feeling of being on edge... Evolutionary psychology link here for those interested in the subject http://www.epjournal.net/

 

ug. Why do we always presume the little woman is some kind of victim to the guy? More often than not, like tend to find like, kwim? Not always of course, but often enough for the term "birds of a feather flock together" to be a common saying. I have to say I don't have much sympathy for her. It's just as likely that she has found herself in deep poo ans is more than willing to cower in a corner while he goes down the drain.

 

I also don't have much respect for any medical professional (mental health or otherwise) who would claim to make a diagnoses because he gets a weird feeling from someone.

 

I'd totally agree we should listen to our gut, but I would never go so far as to claim it an effective tool towards making a diagnoses of someone's mental health!

 

If you watch the Wife Swap show on YouTube you will see that the mom says she and Richard "honestly" believe they are descendants of aliens.

 

So what? I believe all of mankind is descended from Adam, who was created with by a supreme being (God) who breathed life into dust and that that supreme being also created Eve from one of Adam's ribs. :confused:

 

The alien theory has been around for a VERY long time. Many non christian people have posed that humans are alien colonist on earth. In other words, at some point in history, they believe our ancestors came from another planet to inhabit earth. They believe this explains why early egypt, mayans, and so forth had such an amazing grasp of math and astronomy.

 

Really, it isn't any more far-fetched to me than saying we came from apes.

 

Are we really going to say that people who believe what others find unbelievable about the origins of mankind is a qualifier for mental illness?:001_huh:

 

This is annoying and really lowers my respect for supposed mental health professionals.

 

I think this guy/couple are grade A something-somethings.

I don't like them much at this point, but I don't think anything said or seen so far means they have a mental illness.

I think an actual professional in mental illness who is actually working with them in person MIGHT be able to say one way or the other.

 

Just saying..

the conversation this couple are sprouting here is interesting to contemplate...:D

[Murphy101]

I guess I need to clarify...

 

I totally agree this couple are an *issue* and I don't like them or what they have done by those boys of theirs.

 

But I'm not going to do armchair mental evaluations of them either. I too grew up with a very odd family. Some were/are probably mental issues, but honestly I think some people are just something-somethings (for lack of a nicer term) and idiots, not neccessarily mentally ill.

 

And what people say and what they think/believe are far too often distantly removed from each other for me to presume anything I saw on tv is defining of what is going on in their little heads.

 

I listen to my gut a LOT. I really do understand that survival instinct is there for a good reason.

 

It's occurred to me after reading my just previous post that it sounded abrassive and I didn't intend to offend, simply to discuss some interesting comments. I'm just in a hurry and typing with 1 hand.:D

[Elaine]

ug. Why do we always presume the little woman is some kind of victim to the guy? More often than not, like tend to find like, kwim? Not always of course, but often enough for the term "birds of a feather flock together" to be a common saying. I have to say I don't have much sympathy for her. It's just as likely that she has found herself in deep poo ans is more than willing to cower in a corner while he goes down the drain.

 

I also don't have much respect for any medical professional (mental health or otherwise) who would claim to make a diagnoses because he gets a weird feeling from someone.

 

I'd totally agree we should listen to our gut, but I would never go so far as to claim it an effective tool towards making a diagnoses of someone's mental health!

 

 

 

So what? I believe all of mankind is descended from Adam, who was created with by a supreme being (God) who breathed life into dust and that that supreme being also created Eve from one of Adam's ribs. :confused:

 

The alien theory has been around for a VERY long time. Many non christian people have posed that humans are alien colonist on earth. In other words, at some point in history, they believe our ancestors came from another planet to inhabit earth. They believe this explains why early egypt, mayans, and so forth had such an amazing grasp of math and astronomy.

 

Really, it isn't any more far-fetched to me than saying we came from apes.

 

Are we really going to say that people who believe what others find unbelievable about the origins of mankind is a qualifier for mental illness?:001_huh:

 

This is annoying and really lowers my respect for supposed mental health professionals.

 

I think this guy/couple are grade A something-somethings.

I don't like them much at this point, but I don't think anything said or seen so far means they have a mental illness.

I think an actual professional in mental illness who is actually working with them in person MIGHT be able to say one way or the other.

 

Just saying..

the conversation this couple are sprouting here is interesting to contemplate...:D

 

Glad I got to this post so I can just say :iagree:.

[elizabeth]

The Prof certainly went beyond a "gut" feeling but when it comes down to brass tacks many, many mental health professionals and those of us who work in the field whether law or social work can absolutely say that the feeling of profound discomfort and fear as to the uncertainty and lack of predictability with BDP is consistent with the dx. It might surprise you to hear this but once other things have been ruled out what is left is often an instinctual feeling of primal fear of the patient/client that points clearly to a personality disorder usually BPD or Narcissistic Personality Disorder. I use my gut a great deal when interviewing clients and hostile witnesses. It has not failed to protect me or my clients yet....I trust my instincts far more after reading an interesting book that posits that much of what we call [/u instinct is actually our immediate reaction to thousands of stored information from previous encounters with similar persons, places and events. In the moment it seems like it is instinct but further examination reveals a thought process that Gladwell terms "thin slicing" in his fascinating book titled [u]Blink[U][/u] link here critical of his ideas http://www.atypon-link.com/AMA/doi/pdf/10.1509/jppm.25.1.127?cookieSet=1 but it provides for interesting speculation. My point is not that gut instinct should supplant and or replace thorough analysis but rather that it is underutilized especially in clearly threatening situations by otherwise intelligent people who wait so long to act that they nearly invite harm by inaction or passivity.

[joannqn]

A professor of mine once said that one of the best indicators of personality disorders was his feeling of profound discomfort when being alone with the individual in question.

 

The first thing this sentence made me think of is what people have told me is "discernment". I think that the profound discomfort that he may be referring to is not a minor thing that can easily be pushed aside. I've felt a PROFOUND discomfort towards individuals before. It wasn't just "oh I think this guy is icky" its more of a scared the living daylights out of me even though the person hasn't so much as looked my way kind of feeling. Personally, if I have that kind of reaction towards someone, I'm not sticking around to ask questions; I'm going with my gut and hightailing it out of there.

[Murphy101]

I would totally agree with that sentiment and action to a person I might meet in the flesh.

 

{ETA: I also totally agree that very often "instinct" is found to be the mind working faster than we can process at the time.}

 

I would not agree that it is rational or sensible to act that way about who we see on tv.

 

I would wager that getting that icky instinctual subconscious knowledge/feeling is more about personal self-preservation than an accurate indicator of mental illness in the threat? Are you posing that if there is not a mental illness you wouldn't have that gut feeling? Surely not?

 

One can say a person makes them feel creepy and have valid point.

But a mental diagnoses (or any health diagnoses for that matter) is usually based on factual supporting data, not an instinctive feeling. At least I would certainly hope so? I would also think that while I would not ignore my gut, neither would I presume to count on it to save my backside either.