Sue Shellenbarger was 49, living in Oregon and writing her "Work & Family" column for the Wall Street Journal, when in the space of two years she got divorced, lost her father, drained her bank account and developed a taste for wilderness camping and ATV riding that left her crumpled up on an emergency-room gurney. "People around me thought I'd taken leave of my senses," she says.

One of the great difficulties associated with the adoption of organic or, perhaps more appropriately, sustainable principles at the time I started turned out to be convincing others that you had not taken complete leave of your senses.

It seems to me that whoever at the Department of Transport or the train operating companies, or both, is specifying the standard of seats these days has taken leave of their senses and opted for cheapness over comfort.

Take leave of one's senses

Meaning

Verb