An auditor who does not understand the true character of neurosis and psychosis is likely to find himself trying to understand neurotics and psychotics and psychiatrists and to the degree of that un-understanding could become the effect of these.

If we examine the definition for operating thetan we find his highest capability is knowing and willing cause. This should tell us at once that the definition of neurosis and psychosis would be unknowing and unwilling effect, and this is the actual definition of either.

Neurosis and psychosis are different only in degree of singleness of effect. A neurotic is the subject of one or more unknown causes to which he is the unwilling effect – but he can still function to some degree, which is to say he can still be cause in other lines. A psychotic is the complete subject of one or more unknown causes to which he is the unwilling effect and any effort on his part to be cause is interfered with by the things to which he is the effect; in other words, a psychotic's outflow is cut to zero by the inflow.

Now let us examine the potential number of neuroses and psychoses in the light of the above definitions. How many aspects are there to a life unit, which is to say, a thetan? Perhaps the number is infinite but at least we can say the number of aspects is very large. There are no additional aspects in this or any other universe. In other words when you examine the aspects or abilities of a basic life unit you have examined all the aspects or abilities there are in a universe. There aren't any left over. Even if you include gods in every universe you will see that you have not escaped the potentialities of life units.

All the aspects and abilities there are are the aspects and abilities of a thetan. The only thing that can be done with these aspects or abilities is included, at least in this universe, in the formula of cause and effect. Take one ability and add to it the idea of cause and effect of the more simple variety Cause, Distance, Effect, fix it so it can never be flowed against by anything else and we have a source of neuroses. Now take a being at the effect point of this flow. If this being is the effect point of a flow he can never flow back against, we have here what we could carelessly call a neurosis. But there is no other qualification for this neurosis than that it be unwillingly received and unknown. Therefore a known "stuck flow" at a person which he is not unwilling to receive does not cause a neurosis. Now as we make this "stuck flow" unwillingly received, then unknown, and make it so that it bars out all back flows of whatever kind on any subject then we have psychosis.

As there are no other aspects than those of a thetan, we see at once that all neuroses and psychoses are exaggerated, concentrated abilities. The recipient, still trying to be cause, transfers himself to a false cause point. We call this dramatization. He seeks to do only the ability and no other. We have then a psychosis. As he can do no other thing, because he is really unwilling and unknowing effect seeking to be cause by dramatizing the effect, he loses all the abilities but this one ability. This makes a peculiar and lopsided personality. People object to it partially because it is false cause and partially because it denies society all the other social abilities of the person. The psychotic himself is insufficiently willing or knowing about it to object to it.

Thus we have the standard Scientology method of eradicating one of those psychoses or neuroses. Actually we don't even use these words or admit them as any kind of irreparable state. We are not in such a business. We say we must find something the preclear can do and then improve it. Let us say that we find something the preclear can do knowingly and willingly and have the preclear do it to improve it. All you have to do is get him to reach toward the source of the cause of his condition. The lowest level cause of any difficulty is MEST, therefore the objective processes of Trio, locational, 8C, etc, work uniformly well since anybody here is to some degree the unwilling and unknowing effect of this universe.

Now where does the psychiatrist come into this? And why is he a bad fellow to have around in the society? Well in the first place, he is cognizant only of insanities. As every insanity is only an exaggerated and concentrated ability the psychiatrist can see in every ability an insanity.

There are no other aspects or abilities than those of a thetan. Any one of these can pressure, as detailed above, into an insanity. A psychiatrist or any other person totally associated with insanity then sees all abilities as a parade of insanities. Only where abilities are several and performed socially, not anti-socially, do we have sanity. The psychiatrist never, or rarely, inspects the sphere of sanity. To him, all things then, add up to madness, since every madness is compounded of abilities (disarranged as above).

Let us see a good example of this. "A" is a fine statesman. He plays polo, has a satisfied wife, collects old cars, can do a good job of work as a carpenter, a fisherman and an ice skater. He reads detective stories and plays good poker. He is working on a plan privately to disentangle the Middle East and assist France. One day he is at his club and he is joined by "B". "B" is a political dilettante. He spends most of his money on maps and treatises about the Middle East. He cannot ride, sing or work and his family life is in ruins. He is obviously a neurotic at best. His ideas are disassociated, impractical but loud. Everyone at the club except "B" knows "B" is a poor risk.

"A", the sane, versatile man, hears "B", the neurotic, sounding off about the Middle East and saving France and how only "B" could accomplish this. "A", knowing "B's" character, begins to wonder if he is crazy because he is interested in the middle east. In such a way, and in any line, the psychotic or neurotic is a sort of mockery of the sane ability.

Now, as an authority on man and insanity (but not an authority on sanity as is a Scientologist) the psychiatrist, studying insane people runs across "B". He classifies "B" as a save-the-world type and notes that "B" is fixated on France and the Middle East. Shortly thereafter the psychiatrist is called upon to render a decision about "A". He looks in his book, finds "A" is trying to do something about France and the Middle East and, of course classifies "A" as insane.

Another case. George loves Norma. Norma is at first very impressed. George works hard, likes to hike, has some property he is fixing up at week-ends. Now along comes Oswald. Oswald says he loves Norma. Oswald says he is mad about Norma. This is, of course, the case. Oswald has big ideas but no job, wouldn't walk out of the building if it was on fire, gets rid of every piece of real or personal property that comes his way. George knows Oswald is "nutty". Oswald loves Norma. George begins to think he, George, must be crazy to love Norma because Oswald does.

As an authority on twisted and insane love, but not an authority on love, the psychiatrist examining Oswald finds he loves Norma's type of girl. Later, examining George, the psychiatrist finds that George is crazy because he loves the type of girl Norma is. Well, that's an exaggeration but you see where it goes. The psychiatrist, having noted that love was pretty well flung about in the insane wards, leaps to the conclusion that all love is insane because it is so common in the wards and founds in a flash of inspiration psychoanalysis which says all insanity derives from love.

We are held to mockery in all our loves and dreams by the neurotic and psychotic who specialize in mishandling these dreams and loves. And so the world goes mad.

It is not safe to have experts on insanity who are not also experts on sanity. Such persons as those who know only the insane eventually judge that everything man can do is insane and that all men are mad and then we get a society devoted entirely to the support of asylums until it is at last only an asylum itself.

The auditor should understand the mechanism behind neurosis and psychosis. He should draw it out for himself on a graph, showing cause and effect. He should understand that mechanism because it is the ONLY THING THERE IS TO UNDERSTAND about neurotics and psychotics, for all else they do is gibberish and un-understandable.

If he truly understands this mechanism in all its phases then neurosis and psychosis can never make him an effect point and he can audit them with ease when he has to step out of character that far.

If the Scientologist thoroughly understands that the downfall of psychiatry which is now occurring came about because the psychiatrist never understood sanity then we won't have any future specialists in insanity beyond these data.

Society has long suspected versatility and the man of many skills. We should have realized there was something right with him.

[PAB 144, Psychosis, Neurosis and Psychiatrists, 15 September 1958, is taken from this HCO B.]