Eccentric People

What is the difference between eccentric and crazy?

I know a person who most people think is just crazy but i know he is a very creative person with a little OCD issue and i just think he is eccentric. How can you tell the difference and when does a person need help, this person is functional in living.

Public Comments

Money.
well the words are pretty much interchangeable depending on the scale of your situation, i mean- i call my friends crazy, but i don't necessarily mean it! i think that the actual meaning of crazy is bordering insane, and eccentric is quirky? I'm sure if this person needed people, they would have been helped out by now. For example, parents, teachers... x
The difference between eccentric and crazy, in a person or a situation, is the degree of success. A person with unusual antics that work for them is considered to be eccentric, while if those same antics do not work the person would be considered crazy.
This is his personality- he is not crazy. Crazy is when you are psychotic and unaware of your reality. Your friend is aware of reality, but functions within it- slightly different to the norm. He will have various rituals and compulsive behaviour. It is up to the person to seek help when they believe they are no longer functioning . People can have OCD's and function at a higher level than people with no behavioural problems. It is therefore an individual matter. You could say he has an eccentric and superficial personality disorder, but he is not crazy. The only problem you will have as a friend is he will be demanding and possibly too much for you to cope with eventually. I would recommend you watch Monk and then perhaps watch it with your friend. The popular TV detective Monk has the disorder. While Monk is fictional he has over 120 phobias and is severely OCD. Traditionally poor people were crazy and rich people were eccentric. But one is personality and psychology; the other is psychiatric.
To answer the title: Poor folk who behave outside the norm are: crazy. Rich folk who behave outside the norm are: eccentric. If he handles his business and is indeed functional then it shouldn't matter that he's a bit quirky. After all, we each have our strange idiosyncrasies. This question begs some contextualizing for a more complete answer to be offered in your aid.