Crazy Zone

A place into which normally sane, clear headed people, especially but not exclusively women, find themselves during a domestic argument. Once in this state of mind, the subject becomes completely irrational and unable even to recognize logical thought. This is accompanied by a marked increase in the appetite for heated argument. Therefore the subject will actually prolong a five-alarm argument--even if it starts over nothing--out of a sudden inexplicable love of, and obvious craving for, domestic strife. The term "crazy zone" is to be used primarily to distinguish between people who are genuinely crazy, i.e., those from whom crazy behavior is to be expected, and people who are not crazy and yet who occasionally indulge in the crazy. Thus it is permissible, but not recommended during the course of a domestic argument's escalation, to point out that a spouse has slipped into the crazy zone, and for no apparent reason. This is preferable to stating simply that one's spouse is crazy, which observation ascribes a much more serious, pervasive and irreversible condition. Visits to the crazy zone may be mercifully fleeting, if recognized by the visitor, or they may vary between several minutes to a couple of hours. Although generally harmless, such visits may lead to an Argument Hangover, q.v.