A '''lunatic''' (colloquially: "'''loony'''") is commonly used term for a person who is [[mental illness|mentally ill]], dangerous, [[fool]]ish or unpredictable, a condition once called '''lunacy'''. The word is borrowed via [[French language|French]] from [[Latin]] "lunaticus", which gains its stem from "luna" for [[moon]], which denotes the traditional link made in [[folklore]] between [[lunar effect|madness and the phases of the moon]]. This probably refers to the [[symptom]]s of cyclic [[mood disorder|mood disorders]] such as [[bipolar disorder]] or [[cyclothymia]], the symptoms of which may also go through phases. As yet there is little evidence for any causal link between phases of the moon and the progression of mood disorder symptoms. In a [[1999]] paper, Raison et al. put forward the interesting hypothesis that the phase of the moon may in the past have had an effect on bipolar patients by providing light during nights which would otherwise have been dark, and affecting susceptible patients through the well-known route of sleep deprivation. With the introduction of [[electric light]], this effect would have gone away, as light would be available every night, explaining the negative results of modern studies. They suggest ways in which this hypothesis might be tested. [[Psychiatric hospital|Mental institutions]] used to be called "lunatic asylums" or colloquially, "loony bins" (the latter term is still occasionally used both humorously and insensitively). In [[Russian language|Russian]], a lunatic refers to a [[sleepwalker]], literally "one who walks under the moon" or "moonwalker". People can be offended by the terms 'loony' and 'lunatic', and euphemistic neologisms are often used instead. But it can also connote flamboyance and joviality, as in the popular image of [[Screaming Lord Sutch]] of the [[Official Monster Raving Loony Party]], who suffered from depressed mood [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/434561.stm] and committed [[suicide]] in 1999. ==Lunar Distance== The term ''lunatic'' was also used by supporters of [[John Harrison]] and his [[chronometer]] method of determining [[latitude]] to refer to proponents of the [[Method of Lunar Distances]], advanced by [[Astronomer Royal]] [[Nevil Maskelyne]]. Later, members of the [[Lunar Society]] of [[Birmingham]] called themselves ''lunaticks''. ==See also== * [[Bedlam]] * [[Loonie]], the [[nickname]] of the [[Canada|Canadian]] one-dollar coin. * [[Mental illness]] * [[Munchkin (RPG)]]; a loony is one of the other RPG stereotypes * [[Official Monster Raving Loony Party]] ==External links== * [http://www.mhsource.com/expert/exp1010504e.html Does the full moon have any effects on mood?] (cites research studies: 2 negative, 1 positive) * Raison CL, Klein HM, Steckler M. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10363673&dopt=Abstract The moon and madness reconsidered.] ''J Affect Disord.'' 1999 Apr;53(1):99-106 [[Category:Pejorative terms for people]] [[Category:Mental illness diagnosis by DSM and ICD]] [[ja:きちがい]] [[de:lunatic]]