Paranormal Experiences and Mental Illness From Stephanie: Schizophrenia runs in my family, I believe that if doctors would study the spiritual aspects of schizoprenia they would find a cure. I know people need meds also. What do you think?
Great question Stephanie! Throughout history, many brilliant minds have had one form of mental illness or another and some of them have also been intimately involved in the study of the paranormal. Even today, I know of at least one very high functioning parapsychologist who has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.
As far as the medical fraternity is concerned there is still along way to go before we will see the study of paranormal experiences being included in the curriculum. Having said that, however, inroads are being made in this area. One hundred years ago psychology was regarded with deep suspicion – today it is totally mainstream.
Change takes time – lots of time! From the encounters I had during my paranormal studies with eminent academics (including senior post holders in the medical faculties), parapsychological studies are usually regarded as something to be undertaken in the twilight years. This has its good and bad points. On the plus side, there are well credentialed academics such as Dean Radin who have made a name for themselves in the so-called hard sciences before turning to studying psi. The fact that they have established credibility in another field adds to the credibility of their paranormal work. The downside is that it takes decades to become credentialed elsewhere!
Every academic study that adds to the database of knowledge on the paranormal helps move psi towards becoming mainstream. The current study being carried out by Sam Parnia in the UK, while not directly linked to mental illness, is another example of how credible medicos are bridging the gap between mainstream medicine and non-traditional approaches.
So, I guess that’s my long answer Stephanie. My short answer is it will happen. Indirectly, it is happening already. It is just that the nature of science requires that progress be made in a careful and measured manner.
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Rosemary I agree entirely with your comments.
Hopefully you can look at my site http://www.leo-bonomo.com I personally think that 90% of the "mental problems" are because of spirit interference. As we begin to develop we become open and then we are approached. It is a fine line between hearing voices as a medium and hearing them in an untrained way and being labelled as a mental patient. God knows if I told my doctor I heard voices she would be calling an ambulance. What would certainly help many is the knowledge that comes with development training so people understand that what is experienced is "normal" but needs to be understood. It needs to be understood from the point of view that "people are people" and there are those who are bad and would influence us and this is of course exactly the same when we are talking contact with Spirit. There are now far many more people in this world who are sensitive. They need training. I can give you an example that has been given to me by my guides. Road rage! What happens is that people are picking up from each other and when there is a strong negative energy from one it irritates the other and is reflected this becomes a vicious circle whereby something has to give. I am not condoning this at all you understand but it is an explanation of what occurs. This can also be reflected in those situations when you walk into a bar and you know something is going to go off. It feeds itself and those who are weakest the problems begin. Our world is becoming regrettably violent and there needs to be a true understanding of what is causing it. We need to show what causes it, and how it can be restrained. Until this subject is more accepted and understood progress will be slow on tackling these many problems. If you look at Victor Zammits site there is something about this subject on there too and I cannot remember who it is but a famous investigator and psychiatrist, who stated much the same that "mental illness in very many cases is caused by misunderstanding the initial spiritual cause rather than a true mental illness" Hope this helps. Just found your blog, like it and will continue to attend. Much light,
Leo
Hi Leo I can follow what you're saying and think there is more to this picking up people's thoughts, energies, emotions than we give credit to. I for one am often doing this and generally when I fee sad I find myself asking myself 'is this mine'? Usually it's not – and I release the mood. Am I the only one who does this I wonder?
Cheers
Rosemary
PS I am familiar with some of Victor's work.
Someone who once worked with psychotics told me that some of the things they predicted to her from their psychosis actually came true. I have wondered if the spiritual realm steps in to keep us company when we, for whatever reason, loose contact with the realm in which we live. It seems to happen in mental illness, brain injury, trama and even lonliness, as with children’s invisible friends.
Rosemary, I totally relate to your post. I spent most of my life thinking there was something wrong with me, maybe I didn’t have a personality of my own because I take on the emotions of others so strongly. It took a long time but I finally figured out what was happening when I found myself in tears over a very clear memory, then realized that it wasn’t my memory at all and even if it had been I wouldn’t have been upset about it based on the single scene I saw. When I stepped back from it, I realized whose memory I was tuning into. You’re not the only one. Like you, I’m learning to release ownership of the emotions that don’t belong to me.
Undoubtedly, mental illness is still stigmatized in society, but it is an interesting thought to consider that maybe, in times of mental illness, personal isolation or extreme stress, a veil is lifted between our worlds and some of us do slip into another state of being. Should, then, parapsychologists consider mental illness as an opening (albeit an imperfect one) into the paranormal realm? Indeed, would they be permitted to study such possibities in clinical settings or would the authorities regard this as a bit like putting a “lunatic in charge of the asylum”? Many people who suffer psychotic attacks have clear memories of their episodes and can offer insights into the drivers behind them and how they even rationalise their actions during these altered states of consciousness. They may be ideal subjects for parapsychologists to study but would they be allowed to? Probably not.
In the meantime, the parapsychologist Dean Radin has suggested that we look, not at how seepage occurs between our worlds but rather, at what the mechanism is that allows the majority of people to block out other realms completely. Interesting idea I think. How do most of us keep a lid on the paranormal? Any ideas?
You are likely right about the resistance to such a study from the field. After hearing the comment of the practitioner I mentioned, I scanned the internet for similar reports. The most promising was a society in the UK composed of both people who “heard voices” and people who worked with them: psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, etc. The society didn’t advise patients to toss meds or miss counseling sessions. But it did recognize the possibility that some or all of a schizophrenic’s “delusions” could actually be of psychic origin and offered ways to deal with them. Instead of assuming a voice was a delusion and trying to ignore it, the advice was to recognize and address the voice. If the voice made them uncomfortable by demeaning them or urging them to harm themselves or others, the advice was to order it to go away. If the voice was congenial and reasonably rational, the advice was to talk with it, keeping in mind the same personal boundaries that we would set with anyone else. Blog reports seemed to indicate that the strategy was helpful. It didn’t mend the tear in the veil but it did give the schizophrenic control over who passed through. Not all schizophrenic delusions are psychic experiences, of course. But the ability to control those that seem to be was said to leave more energy for addressing problems that can’t be controlled so easily. I can’t find that group on the internet now. Did the professionals in it succumb to the resistance you mentioned?
I also like Dean Radin’s goal. It could be that ongoing studies to try to understand how schizophrenia and/or psychic abilities come about will lead to an understanding of how most of us keep our veils intact. I don’t have any ideas for how we could work on it from the other direction. ??
Rosemary, I apologize for the “??” comment. When I followed your link to Dean Radin’s lecture, it was explained.
Nettie, Im wondering whether you are interested in this area from a personal, professional viewpoint or an academic viewpoint. Not that it matters.
I think the important thing is to continue to entertain the idea and to encourage the professionals to pursue study in this area. Im not familiar with the group youve mentioned, that is no longer showing up on the internet. Certainly the advice they are giving their clients is good clinical practice. Perhaps one of our readers can enlighten us?
My interest is personal but not from experience with schizophrenia. My own “paranormal” experiences from childhood have left me with the conviction that there is a realm of existence that is much more real than the one we see. Circumstances in my mid-30’s made understanding more about that realm seem very important but most library books on the subject sounded sensationalistic and my attempts to talk with others about it were met with mild curiosity or warnings about Satan. I couldn’t accept that the profound peace that accompanied even dire warnings was of demonic origin. It was a confusing and frustrating period.
That was before the internet became useful to the general public. I am so very grateful to you and other researchers who are seriously studying paranormal experiences and sharing your findings with the public. Because of you, others will not experience the confusion and frustration that I did–or at least will not have to experience it alone.
Nettie
In spite of all that Ive read in the online survey that I have running , my overwhelming impression is that experiencing the paranormal is such a personal thing, with the exception of some experiences such as ghosts. For some reason these encounters are widely broadcast but when it comes to as you say the splitting of the veil most experients go quiet or at least become anonymous.
The paranormal is such an emotive issue and so for that matter is mental illness. Individually, they are no go areas for so many people; collectively, I suspect, they will only attract those professionals who are at their ends of their careers, with nothing to lose. Sad proposition. I hope Im proved wrong.
Question about, “In spite of all that Ive read in the online survey….” Were people more open in the survey, where they could relate experiences anonymously?
There may be multiple reasons that people are reluctant to talk about the paranormal on a personal level. I suspect the most common is that most of us are so involved with the interests and responsibilities of everyday life that there just isn’t a lot of time to dwell on it. The natural tendency, especially in western societies, is to either try to ignore such experiences or to file them away as curiosities to be explored when there aren’t more important things to do. When does that time come?
If the experiences, for whatever reason, can’t be ignored or filed away in the back of the mind, who do you talk with about them? Many medical practitioners would respond to that kind of inquiry with a prescription. Inquiries to theologians can be met with scriptural warnings to avoid the subject. Friends tend to be more approachable but the range of experiences is so broad that it can be hard to find a friend who has shared and can give another perspective on the particular experience you are questioning. It is, indeed, a personal quest and it doesn’t take long to realize that you need to be very careful about what you say to others.
The paranormal is a popular subject for the media now. Productions that capitalize on using it to frighten people concern me. I’m not convinced that we are completely in control of our lives but we do frequently get what we are expecting. On the other hand, there is also some constructive information coming through, both from professional media and from individuals online. Maybe the generation that grows up in this climate won’t feel so obligated to dismiss the subject in their professional careers, especially as the sciences draw nearer to closing the gap between the ‘para’ and the ‘normal.’ Or, maybe we’ll just have to hope for a big surge in intrigued retired scientists.
I think your last wry comment may be right Nettie – unfortunately. There are some fabulous scientists dedicating their time and efforts to researching the paranormal but as I was advised, and as I have advised others myself, pursuing the unseen is a career limiting move.
With regards your earlier question about the survey answers, research indicates that people are no more likely to lie or exaggerate in an online survey than in a survey conducted face to face. So, thats good news
Studies have also shown that respondents tend to be more open about subjects that are less mainstream or sensitive (eg sexuality). I think paranormal experiences fall into this category and therefore I suspect that people have been more open in my survey than they might have otherwise been.
The media tends to latch onto the ‘sexier’ side of the paranormal – Im thinking ghosts in particular. I tend to think that anything that raises the paranormal profile is a good thing and maybe the movie makers will one day move on to other aspects of psi. Maybe!
I was so excited to run across this site!! I have long suspected that there is a connection between mental illness and the paranormal, because of my childhood experiences with my grandmother. She was an extraordinary woman with (at one time) the highest I.Q. in Bristol, Tennesee. But she had a chemical imbalance which caused a mental breakdown in her late 20s. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and was subjected to shock treatment, as well as experimental drugs. (We’re talkin’ the 60s here…they just didn’t know as much as they do now) ANYWAY… by the time I came along in 1969, granny was considered by everyone in the family as just totally coo coo. She was a very sweet and loving woman though, and completely harmless. My grandfather was usually around to watch after both of us, (my mother worked a lot, and so I spent a lot of time with my grandparents) but many times he would have to go out and work as well (he was a part time plumber) and since even at the young age of four, I was aware of granny’s “problem” I was allowed to stay home with her when grandaddy had to go out and fix a toilet or deal with a clogged drain. It was on one of his work days when granny and I experienced something that I will never forget…35 years later, I still remember it like it was yesterday…….Grandaddy had gone out on a plumbing emergency one day, leaving granny and I on the sofa watching Hee Haw. (She always loved that show) So anyway, we’re just sittin’ there listenin’ to Buck Owens and Roy Clark a pickin’ & a grinnin’, when all the sudden, from the back room…we hear…MY GRANDPA’S VOICE!!?!? It called my granny’s name plain as day! “PAT?” I looked at granny with wide eyes, and she had a very disturbed look on her face. She knew that even though the voice we’d just heard sounded JUST LIKE my grandpa’s voice, there was NO WAY it could be him, because he was miles away from home at the time!! Not wanting to scare me more, she just patted the couch for me to slide closer to her, and said “It’ll be alright”. And it was. We never saw a ghost, and nothing ever harmed us. But I never felt quite the same in that house again. When my grandfather returned, I told him what happened. He just shook his head and said somethin’ along the lines of “You’re BOTH crazy!” Well…perhaps we were. Perhaps my grandmother had a psychotic episode and I somehow?? picked up on it. OR…maybe we really did have a ghost in the house. I guess I’ll never know…but the experience left me wondering if schizophrenia and the paranormal go hand in hand? It’s an interesting concept, and one I sincerely hope will be answered one of these days…
Hi Nicole Its funny how those moments in childhood stay with us. I dont think we ever forget our first paranormal encounters – unless perhaps they are so bad that we suppress them?
Currently, I am searching the research, trying to establish what studies have been done within academia on the link between mental illness and paranormal encounters. It probably won’t surprise you to know that the literature is dotted with euphemisms and dead ends. There is talk of belief in the paranormal …. but how can something that supposedly doesn’t exist be investigated academically!
We live in hope Nicole!
Rosemary
We have a site and we discuss this specifically, Paranormal, Spirituality, and many other related topics to do with this. We invite you all to come share and learn with us as well.
Our name stems not from Vampires, but energy, psychic, constantly changing energy, and how we reflect and take in energies from here and beyond.
Come journey with us at the Metrou, all people from all walks of life are welcomed.
Thank you.
Hi Devilwoman! Thanks for dropping by. Interesting site. Perhaps you’d like to write a guest post for Psychic Revolution about what you do over there? Ciao Rosemary
I myself I am a solitary witch, a Empath and a PSI Vamp. We discuss all these things and more on our site. We are a site basically open to discussion on anything, you dont have to be a witch, or a empath or a Psi Vamp, but you find out anyone can be these things, witches are about belief is what is power, we discuss law of attraction and the mental components, of wishing or making changes and believing in changes…We have discussed is there a possible link between mental illness and paranormal activity, and we discuss and have a discussion group on paranormal activity.
As far as a PSI Vamp, that is a person who understands we are a energy creatures, our forms change, but that is what we are, we use energy and give energy.
Empathic is where you can pick up on energy, you home in on peoples energy, moods, etc, its like being able to feel static electricity with someone and tell what kind of energy it is.
Come and Join us at the Metrou
http://thevampirmetrou.ning.com
All people from all walks of life are welcomed there, from dick and jane, to religious people to pagans, we are a discussion site that is respectful to tolerant to all people as are our members.
http://thevampirmetrou.ning.com
Thanks Devilwoman