Madness as religious experience: The case of Allen Ginsberg.
Journal of Religion and Health June 1, 1982 M Wasserman
Madness can be understood as a religious experience that unfolds through four developmental stages: the hurt-and-be-hurt state, a self-induced psychedelic experience, a confusion-and-dread reaction, and a reconstruction-with-insight worldview. This argument is based on existing literature and conversations with psychiatric patients. The poet Allen Ginsberg's psychotic episode is used to illustrate each stage.