They say food regulates emotion and vice versa.  From Dartmouth College:

The past 80 years have seen immense progress in research, primarily short-term human trials and animal studies, showing how certain foods change brain structure, chemistry, and physiology thus affecting mood and performance. These studies suggest that foods directly influencing brain neurotransmitter systems have the greatest effects on mood, at least temporarily. In turn, mood can also influence our food choices and expectations on the effects of certain foods can influence our perception.

Which explains why Phreaky Phil Brenchley acts like a hairy cunt two hours after having her Americano and muffin for breakfast; why Marla gets so much shit done after starting her morning with a kale smoothie and an avocado salad.  Why Chelsea gorges on donuts when Francisco’s wee wee malfunctions from eating and drinking only pizza and beer for an entire week.
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Point is, the proper balance of nutrients is crucial to our emotional well-being.  Pick the wrong diet and you’ll become batshit crazy. We’ll discuss more about the link between diet and emotional health later.  First, let’s figure out what it means to be “batshit crazy.”
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Quiz time!  Pick:
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1. Who is most likely batshit crazy?
   a. Trust fund kid slumming it with the hobos
   b. White trash who knows she’s White trash
   c. Middle class who thinks she’s high society.
   .
2. Who will most likely become batshit crazy?
   a. Asian kid who gets bitch slapped for getting a “B” because “B” is for bitch.
   b. Black kid molested by his football coach
   c. Middle-class White kid who gets to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants.
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3. Who will most likely become batshit crazy?
   a. Kid living in Syrian war zone
   b. Middle-class White kid
   c. Bill Gates’s kids
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4. Who is most likely batshit crazy?
   a. Psychology major
   b. Sociology major
   c. Math major
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5. Who is most likely batshit crazy?
   a.Tiffany
   b.Olga
   c.Phuc-Dat
   .
6. Who is most likely batshit crazy?
   a. Grocery store cashier, enjoys reading Cosmo
   b. Therapist, reads New York Times everyday
   c. Juice bar owner writing a porn novel
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7. Who is most likely batshit crazy?
   a. Carmela, she’s a prostitute
   b. Jimmy, he’s a social justice activist
   c. Tyrone, he’s in jail
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From Steven Seibold, a former professional tennis player and a performance coach to professional athletes:

In 20 years of competing, coaching and working with performers from various fields, I’ve discovered most amateurs suffer from mild to severe delusion in relation to their efforts and competencies. In other words, most people delude themselves into thinking they are working harder then they are, and that they are more competent than they actually are. Of the five major levels of conscious awareness, (poverty, working, middle, upper, and world) my experience has been that performers at the middle-class levels of consciousness suffer the grandest delusions. The poverty level is barely surviving and living in a very harsh set of circumstances. The working class is punching a mental time clock and counting the days until retirement. They’re usually not expecting much, and no one around them expects much, either. They are typically not concerned about climbing any higher.

Being poor doesn’t make one batshit crazy. Not knowing one’s place, not having an accurate sense of reality about oneself and others is what makes one batshit crazy.  Siebold on why the middle-class is batshit crazy:

It’s the middle class that is most incongruent with reality. They are operating at a high enough level to understand that higher levels exist. Although they don’t expect to get there, the thought crosses their minds from time to time. Because of their low expectations, their actions are incongruent with their desires. In other words, they want to live the life of the world class, but are unwilling to pay the price. Since this reality is too harsh to bear, they delude themselves into thinking they are doing everything in their power to get ahead. Of course, they’re not. They’ll tell you they’re putting in far more time than they are. They’ll swear they are thinking about their vision all the time, but they’re not. The world class is brutally honest with themselves, and they tend to look reality in the face. They err on the side of over-practicing and over-preparing. Champions know that, to ascend to the top, you must first be operating from a mindset of objective reality. Self-deception and delusion have no place in the professional performer’s consciousness.

The lifeline of the middle-class delusions are its lame excuses for why they can’t get to the next level: the teacher is racist, the test is sexist, the boss is culturally biased, the game is rigged, but but but…   Siebold on the mismatch between middle-class mindset and their aspirations.

Amateur performers operate from delusion, pros operate from objective reality. The great ones’ habits, actions, and behaviors are totally congruent with the size and scope of their ultimate vision. That’s why we call them champions.

Keep in mind that being middle-class doesn’t make one batshit crazy.  It’s the pairing of middle-class mindset with championship aspirations that makes one batshit crazy. A middle-class person who is comfortable and satisfied with middle-class life isn’t batshit crazy.  Middle class guy with middle-class habits and middling results who is waiting to be discovered by Snoop Dog and win his Grammy is going to be batshit crazy.
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Are you batshit crazy?  Take the test, part I!

1. Do you believe in self-love?
   a) No, only those who are chronically unhappy and deeply troubled believe and need that shit.
   b) Yes, in this time of hate, we all need to love ourselves more so we can love others more.
   c) No, self-love is a moral flaw, like vanity and selfishness
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2. How many of your close friends routinely preach “self-love” philosophy?
   a) 0
   b) 1-5
   c) 6 or more
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3. Do you consciously practice self-love each day?
   a) Yes, of course!
   b) Nah, don’t have time for that, got better things to do.
   c) I jerk off every day, does that count?
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4. Why are you so stupid?
   a) I’m lazy and obedient, so I don’t ask enough questions.
   b) I’m confused and bored, I don’t see the point.
   c) I’m not stupid, I’m brilliant!
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5. Why are you so smart?
   a)I’m not smart, only stupid people think they’re smart
   b)I’ve always worked hard and set the highest standards for myself. I took the most challenging courses and tasks and wouldn’t accept anything less than an “A” at school and at work.
   c) I’m naturally smart, it’s God given.
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6. How often do you screw up?
   a) Rarely, and when I do, it’s someone else’s fault.
   b) Never.
   c) All the time, I’m such a fuck up.
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7. Why are you so lazy?
   a) I daydream a lot.
   b) I’m not lazy.
   c) I make excuses and blame others when something goes wrong.
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8. Why are you so stupid?
   a)I don’t know what I don’t know.
   b) For the last time, I’m not stupid, I’m brilliant!
   c) You’re the dumbass for asking this dumbass question for the third time.  This is some fucked up shit, I’m out, motherfucker.
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9. What’s Plato’s Republic about?
   a) Why we’re all dumbasses
   b) The meaning of life
   c) How to be happy
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Take another one, Part II!
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1. What happens when school district gives middle-class high school students their own laptops?
   a) Playing field is leveled, they perform almost as well as those rich privileged kids at elite private school like Lakeside.
   b) They use it to watch movies and play games, no change in academic performance.
   c) They perform worse, laptops make people stupid.
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2. Your 8 year old is new at school.  He gets shoved out of lunch line and is told to get to the back.  He responds by beating the shit out of the kid who bullied him.  What’s your response?
   a) Ground him and make him apologize to kid he beat up.
   b) Tell him he did the right thing and to never worry about lawsuits, you’ll take care of those if they come up.
   c) Have your kid apologize to the kid he beat up and have them talk it out.  End with hug.
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3. Your daughter loves gymnastics and is about to enter her first meet.  She’s confident about winning and even thought about the perfect place to hang her blue ribbon.  While she did well, she didn’t medal, and was devastated.  What do you, as a parent, tell her?
   a) Tell her you thought she was the best
   b) Tell her she has the ability and will surely win next time.
   c) Tell her she doesn’t deserve to win because she didn’t work hard enough.
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4. How do you get someone to love you? 
   a) Go out of your way to do things for that person.
   b) Get them to do something for you.
   c) Hire a witch and cast a spell.
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5. How many hours a week does the CEO of Walmart work?
   a)100
   b)70
   c)40
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6. How many hours a week does Eminem work?
   a) 100
   b)70
   c)40
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7. How many hours a week does 50 Cent work?
   a) 100
   b) 70
   c) 40
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8. What was Eminem likely doing on random date, 2003?
   a) Getting high and smacking his hoes
   b) Working alone in recording studio, repeating same three lines over and over again because he demands perfection from himself.
   c) Getting his dick licked by two of his dancers.
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9. What does the CEO of Walmart do all day?
   a)Figures out new ways to exploit hard workers like me.
   b)Sets strategy and vision, negotiates partnerships, builds company culture, and manages supply chains to ensure consumers get what they want when they want it.
   c)Recording himself banging his hot secretary.
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10. What was Tupac Shakur most likely doing during a typical evening?
    a) Reading Machiavelli’s The Prince.
    b) Drinking his 40 and smacking his hoes
    c) Having a threesome and some cocaine.
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11. What was 50 Cent doing on a random Saturday night, 2006?
    a) Getting fucked up his ass by his trainer, who resembles Justin Bieber
    b) Working out, writing songs and negotiating business contracts.
    c) Sucking your mom’s big black dick, what the fuck does this have to do with my mental health?
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12. Earthquake during math class! Big enough to topple bookshelves. Nobody is hurt, everyone is okay, just jittery. What do you, as teacher, do?
    a) Stop class, act jittery and anxious because that’s how you feel.
    b) Have students clean up mess and continue class as if nothing happened. Assign double amount of homework and quizzes for rest of the week.
    c) Stop class, bring in school psychologist to discuss how everyone is handling the event and “post-traumatic stress disorder.”
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13. Who is most likely to describe oneself as “brilliant?”
    a. Bill Gates
    b. Psychology major in community college
    c. Justin Bieber
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14. Who is most likely to describe himself as a “genius?”
    a. White kid majoring in  Social Justice at University of Washington
    b. Asian kid majoring in Computer Science at Harvard
    c. Mexican working in kitchen.
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15. You move to another city and your child enrolls in another school. He was a B and C student at his previous school, he’s now a straight A student.  What do you do?
    a. Congratulate him for being so smart and working so hard.
    b. Tell him that the school must suck and put him in another school.
    c. Tell him teachers are previous school were idiots, this is much better school.
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16. Your partner tells you you’re lazy.  How do you respond?
    a) Takes one to know one, asshole.
    b) Why am I lazy?
    c) You never see all the things I do for you.
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No answers yet.  We’ll provide them in Part II: Why You’re Batshit Crazy.  In the meantime, show your friends, see if they answer as you would.  Emotional states are contagious.