The Paranormal and Schizophrenia

Featured, My Religion | 43 comments

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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43 Comments

  1. mediumshipandlifeafterdeath

    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

    Reply
  2. Rosemary Breen

    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.

    Reply
  3. Nettie

    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.

    Reply
  4. Nettie

    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.

    Reply
  5. Rosemary Breen

    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?

    Reply
  6. Nettie

    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. ??

    Reply
  7. Nettie

    Rosemary, I apologize for the “??” comment. When I followed your link to Dean Radin’s lecture, it was explained.

    Reply
  8. Rosemary Breen

    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?

    Reply
  9. Nettie

    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.

    Reply
  10. Rosemary Breen

    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.

    Reply
  11. Nettie

    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. 🙂

    Reply
  12. Rosemary Breen

    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!

    Reply
  13. Nicole

    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…

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      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

      Reply
  14. Devilwoman

    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.

    Reply
  15. Rosemary Breen

    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

    Reply
  16. Devilwoman

    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

    Reply
  17. Anne

    Hi Rosemary,

    Very interesting comments on mental illness. I have long thought that there is a fine line between clairvoyance and mental conditions diagnosed in people hearing voices and not aware of, or in control of spirit connections.

    I did a three month course in psychiatry as part of my nurse training, and later had a “friend” who claimed to be clairvoyant. She definitely had a mental condition caused by her lack of control of her contacts, which made her paranoid at times.

    It may also interest you that I sometimes pick up aches and pains from other people. I always know they are external to myself, though not always where they are coming from.

    Being a Pagan I ask the Goddess to take the problem and purify it and send healing and love to the source, after which the manifestation disappears. Perhaps this is the same as the Christian practice of “Let go and let God”

    Blessings, Anne.

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Anne

      The interface between mental illness and paranormal experiences is one that really needs to be taken seriously by the medical profession and formally studied. How ever will this come about though? Sure there are some inroads – near death experience research in cardiac wards; my research within the education faculty etc. But…… it is so slow and for those of us who find the paranormal normal it seems unnecessarily cautious.

      On your second point, I can say that I too pick up the pain of others – and it can be a pain at time 🙂 I now pick up more emotional and spiritual pain than physical pain but my mother first noticed that I took on her physical pain when she had an operation. I was 4 at the time. She and I still have this strong bond today, even though we live 1000 kms apart. And, I know for a fact that there has been some research done on mother/child symbiosis and how it manifests itself (eg in the let down mechanism in breast feeding).

      Sometimes the pain I pick up is so real I have to really look to see that its not obvious – because it sure looks obvious to me.

      Anne, did you ever have paanormal experiences while working in the hospital setting?

      Reply
      • Jen

        Hi Rosemary,

        I also have the ability to feel other’s pain, but not specifically as pain. I have always had the ability to soothe it, but discovered in my late teens that I took on other people’s negative energy and gave them my own positive energy.

        I learned to control it and to keep some positive energy for myself, as well as how to dispell the negative energy from my body after taking it in.

        In 1999 my mum had a serious injury – she shattered both bones in one lower leg, as well as breaking a couple of the smaller bones in her other foot, so she was laid up in quite a lot of pain for a while. She has always been a touching person and asked me to stroke her legs. I found that I could feel where the energy flows were blocked and concentrating my hands on those areas relieved a lot of her pain.

        She described it as like having heat and light flowing into her sore spots. Around 8 months after that she had further nasty breaks in her elbows and shoulder (she had been told that if she fell, she would snap her legs and was so paranoid about that idea, there was not a single scratch on either leg, but she shattered both elbows!)

        So, in all I spent well over a year stroking and adjusting her energy flow. She now has better movement in her arms than most young women and has no problems at all with her legs and puts that down to the treatment that I gave her.

        Since then, I have become involved with a man who has been involved in Martial Arts for well over 30 years and has had some serious injuries – I have been able to do the same for him as well. My hands always end up very swollen after doing this though – not sore exactly, but worn out.

        This is something else that I would love to receive training in, but I have absolutely no idea where to go or who to talk to about it.

        Cheers,
        Jen

        Reply
        • Rosemary Breen

          Wow Jen. This is fabulous that a) you have discovered your gift and b) you have been able to use it.

          And, as you have alluded to, you’d probably benefit from some advanced training and support. I know that spiritual healing ia available through the NHS in the UK but couldnt find the place I was thinking of when I Googled my enquiry.

          However, have you considered contacting somewhere like the College of Psychic Studies and seeing where your line of questioning takes you? Obviously there is a distance problem here but they may have a consultant or volunteer who can start to point you in the right direction.

          Hopefully others will offer ideas as well but in the meantime – what a lovely thought – to heal the world one person at a time.

          Cheers

          Rosemary

          Reply
  18. Anne

    Hello Rosemary,

    Thanks for the swift reply.

    With regards to paranormal experience while working in hospitals, I’m not sure.

    There were times when I just knew what I had to do instinctively before the analytical process took over. (I was in charge of a Gynae and Obstetrics theatre for many years, with regular emergency surgery).

    There were always tales in old hospitals of the ghosts of patients past, but I was never aware of any. Perhaps they were just stories to frighten rooky nurses alone on a ward at night, but I have always felt that my presence was somehow needed by dying souls who needed help to pass over.

    This was very evident with my mother who had been virtually unconscious for almost a week following a stroke, and at the last moment she opened her eyes, looked at me/or something behind me (not quite sure which) and reached out to me.

    I placed her hand on my head and silently told her that her parents were waiting for her as she breathed her last very peacefully.

    Hope this is of help to your researches.

    Blessed Be.

    Anne.

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Anne

      Even though we aren’t talking about schizophrenia at this precise moment, our conversation has led me to add to my ‘bucket list’ another to do.

      Interview a psychiatrist about the paranormal and mental illness.

      I hadn’t thought to do this myself. I had been thinking about returning to the books and journals – but an interview would be much, much more effective.

      Thanks for being my sounding board Anne 🙂

      Reply
  19. Courtney

    Hi there,

    My personal experience, well is from a viewer’s standpoint.

    I have a very good friend who is now a Christian, but grew up in a very Native Spiritual household. In this household it was customary when a new baby was born, to dedicate a dead person’s spirit to the the new spirit being born.

    In later years, all of these children were plagued with spirit hauntings and in particular one of these children was hospitalized and labeled as being Schizophrenic.

    My friend went to visit their sibling in the institution they were in, and while she was there the sibling was talking in multiple voices, including his own voice that was crying out to their sister, “Help me, sis! Help me”.

    Only to be drowned out again by a strange malevolent voice, swearing and making threats.

    Therefore, I do believe that there is a connection between mental disorders and the paranormal.

    It would be a worthwhile study, but of course if you were to bring it up to a medical professional, you would probably be deemed crazy and strongly suggested a rest in an institution.

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Courtney

      I’m pleased you can see the irony in your suggestion. I think in part that is what holds back major studies of this kind.

      If, as it has been suggested to me, paranormal studies are strictly end of career moves then research involving mental illness and the paranormal will probably be relegated to the post retirement period, unfortunately. The treatment of both areas of life are marginalized but one day, some brave professional soul will pick up the banner and champion the cause of those in mental institutions who have experiences or continue to overwhelmed by experiences of paranormal phenomena.

      It is a fine line, in my experience, that we all walk in every day life and living with the paranormal may be enough to push some people over the edge. Alas, I feel they need our help, not our pity or our blind eye.

      Thanks for contributing the experience of your friend and her family. I wonder if others have heard of similar experiences.

      Cheers

      Rosemary

      Reply
  20. Jennie

    Hi Rosemary
    I was so glad to read this and the comments made, as for years I have always thought this.

    I had suffered many moments of feeling that my mind was being some how inflenced by spirit, the ones that are out to play games with us.

    Over the years I have raised my energies to a level whereby these naughty spirits cannot reach me and have an effect. Their energies are just not strong enough.

    For some time, when I was younger I was being psychically attacked.

    I had to get help which came by the way of a lady doctor who was in to spiritual things. I was given a prayer to read every night until my spirit tormentor left. It took 3 nights but sure enough it worked for me.

    I really believe that my fear made this spirit more powerful, so I learnt very quickly to be fearless.

    I now think one of my own daughters may be going through the same thing as she has been ill for almost a year, and has just began to open herself up to spirit.

    For myself it was a learning proccess. How strong would I become, after all we are tested over and over again.

    I was on a very important road. Would I run away or stay the course. I stayed the course!

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Wow Jennie. I can almost feel what you went through.

      You say you stayed the course and Im wondering where you are now on your spiritual journey. It is probably no coincidence that your daughter has chosen to be with you as it seems her goals may align with yours, at least in part.

      Im a great believer in the child choosing the parent 🙂

      Thanks for sharing your experience Jennie.

      Cheers

      Rosemary

      Reply
  21. Dave "Felbain" K.

    Before I read anyone else’s commentary, I’d like to add that my wife and have discussed this at length with other mediums, paranormal psychics and even many paranormal investigators. It does indeed seem that one of two conditions apply for most:

    1. A traumatic birth event (TBE) such as near death or medical intervention
    2. Some form of mental “illness”, usually in the border line ranges but can be in the fully diagnosed realms as well

    My wife and I both fall into the first category, had it not been for medical advancements just shortly before our births, we wouldn’t be here today.

    This is why we feel the medical and academic communities need to “catch up” to what many here know…just because something appears to be one thing, does not necessarily mean it IS.

    Frankly, Rosemary, I think this would be a great topic for in-depth discussion on the boards here!! (If it already is, please link it, thank you)

    Blessings of Peace,
    “Fel”

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Hi Felbain

      Working backwards (Irish descent!) through your post, the answer is no there isn’t a discussion thread, other than this one started by Stephanie. I do agree with you about the magnitude of the topic though. This is certainly one of the main themes that flows through the private emails I receive from readers. And, it bemuses me why seemingly no academics have tackled this issue.

      The link between mental illness and the paranormal is ripe for investigation and yet, I haven’t come across any formal research on it. From my experience with my thesis, I would expect the research, if it does exist, to be cloaked in metaphors and euphemisms so as not to upset the sensibilities of the academic review panels etc.

      I must confess that I haven’t ever read nor given any thought about a connection between traumatic birth events, including medical intervention and paranormal abilities.

      Id be interested to know more about what you mean by point 2); how you came to develop your line of reasoning about point 1: and, of course, any literature links would be gratefully received too.

      Wouldn’t it be great to run a poll with one question that runs along the lines: are you both psychic and in possession of a medical certificate that reports you as suffering from mental illness?

      Somehow I don’t think that Poll would fly. In fact, it would probably turn people away from the site. The stigma around mental illness is nearly as great as that which still surrounds the paranormal today. Sigh! So far to go, so much to do!

      Cheers Dave

      Rosemary

      Reply
      • Dave "Felbain" K.

        Id be interested to know more about what you mean by point 2); how you came to develop your line of reasoning about point 1: and, of course, any literature links would be gratefully received too.

        Just in conversation with like minded and ability individuals. It seems to be a prevailing event in many, if not most we’ve personally talked to.

        I can not find any research or literature on this topic either, thus why I thought it would be a great one to start here, hopefully by someone far more “expert” than myself.

        If there is any truth to the line of thought that many folks have; that we do plan our birth/parents for the experiences we’ll have, then it would follow that we’d “know” about the death or near death at birth and the effect it will have on our lives.

        My personal opinion is it one of the things that instills that “I know that I know, but I don’t know how I know, but I know!!” feeling so many paranormalists have about things of the supernatural and paranormal.

        Blessings of Peace,
        “Fel”

        Reply
        • Rosemary Breen

          Dave

          Ive just completed the backlog of email postings and here is your response to my earlier post.

          Maybe medical intervention or birth trauma does somehow puncture the veil between world? Ive certainly never thought about it. Ill keep this in the back of my mind re my first born. Hers was certainly an eventful pregnancy and birth. My second born waited 11 days to experience her trauma.

          Neither of the girls are openly psychic. They ‘know’ through me but,as they are both steadfastly in their rebel against the parents phase, I suspect it will be many years before they choose to open up to paranormal possibilities. On the other hand, ‘fate’ may intervene early!

          I was hoping that you would put a smiley face after ‘I thought it would be a great one to start here, hopefully by someone far more “expert” than myself. But alas, Im still searching for it. Perhaps it was hijacked by a higher force? No matter, Im sure you know and I hope others reading this blog feel the same that I am only a facilitator and ‘first among equals’.

          Cheers

          Rosemary

          Reply
  22. Jen

    What a wonderful question. That had honestly never occurred to me, but now that I think about it, it definitely makes a lot of sense. I think that people with mental illness have different parts of their brain open and active than people who do not suffer. That’s not to say that you HAVE to have a mental illness to experience the paranormal, but perhaps you might be more open to and aware of it.

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Isn’t it great when a new thought or question blows through your mind Jen? I just love having something new in there – doesnt matter what it is really, but when it is a new big thought I can feel my mental connections breaking and reconnecting in a different way. It’s like a spring clean!

      Cheers

      Rosemary

      Reply
      • Julie-Ann Blackmore

        Having worked with people with varying degrees of mental ill health through out my professional life first as a volunteer in an old people’s home, then a trained nurse on a psychiatric unit, now as an entrepreneur guiding others to improve their health I have always had a fascination about the labels put on individuals. I agree some people have serious issues that create mental ill health, yet how many are actually ‘normal’ and are discovering their own paranormal skills and being misunderstood by the medical professions lack of ability to treat people as individuals? One word could kill or cure a person if they trust the one who diagnosed them. I personally feel that a type of schizophrenia can be simply (I say that very loosely) too many false identities trapped inside the person’s head. They have in effect lost their own personality, perhaps from the belief they are not good enough and are being other people they cannot be or would prefer to be. Again everyone is different and there are always exceptions to any rule. A complicated yet fascinating subject as are most things regarding human beings. The positive thing to come is the more people whom are willing to open their minds to the unknown and explore more the more peoples ill health can be understood and appropriately respected and treated. I’m all for that

        Reply
  23. Bill Sweet

    Oh, such a hot topic! This qestion happens to be a “major theme and investigation of the Spindrift Team.”

    Unfortunately, with exceptions of course, it seems that the person who is involved deeply into psychic and religious inquiry have mental health problems in degrees. Why is this the apparent case? Chiefly because of these three factors below.

    1. 1. is the most obvious–social pressure and a modern culture that likes to suppress the paranormal. This suppression can be consistently seen in kids. Some children are born spiritual active and psychic and lose it later. (A sidenote from my Christian Science training. Christian Scienitsts often speak of children they know who are natural spiritual healers and give examples of the healing performed by children. Funny thing, why do these same children later stop being healers and even deny what they did earlier in life when they reach adulthood? Easy. The forces of suppression and cutural comformity took the them over. It was too much mental strain.

    2. The Trickster Effect. Anytime someone gets into practitices directly related and contiuing basis that crosses over into occult, religious, and psychic areas, the Trickster enters in and tries to mess life up. I can give an example I heard just last Saturday morning. Some megachurch in the South with a charismatic preacher who drew thousands was found tied up by himself in some extreme sexual attempt that resulted in his death. The details were as Trickstered out as they could get. The point is, one has to be aware of the dark forces that come after people, as a rule, who really go deeply into the paranormal which includes religion.

    The most excellent book I know on the subject is by parapsychology educated George Hansen. George’s book is “The Trickster and the Paranormal.” The book is unpleasant reading and mental illness is covered in many sections of the book.

    3. Our own Defense Mechanisms work against a normal healthy life when it comes to the paranormal. Along with culture and the Trickster doing any kind of perversion or relationshiop problem or illness to thwart our interest in the paranormal, we also have the darn interrior thoughts of our own sub-mind’s Defense Mechanisms to contend with as regards understanding things of paranormal.

    I would have you see the work on this topic by going to the first question on the FAQ page and also the Theory page found at http://www.SpindriftResearch.org or .com.

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Hi Bill

      While I agree that the paranormal is more evident in children Im not sure I agree with the statement “The forces of suppression and cultural conformity took them over. It was too much mental strain.” It may be the particular case of the Christian Scientists but, in the wider community, it is only one of the reasons. Im sure religion has also played a big part in its suppression to quash it for economic reasons.

      And who is the Trickster that you refer to Bill? Obviously it is connected to the book you’ve cited (thank you) but, for those who havent rushed to Amazon… could you elaborate a bit please?

      Regarding point 3, I wonder how many people here would protest that the opposite is true. In times of need perhaps there are many who turn inward with the hope that ultimately they will connect/reconnect with a part of them long forgotten.

      For some reason, this response has taken me soooo long Bill. Not sure why but probably because a logical post requires a logical response and that part of my brain is out to lunch. Hopefully the other parts have stepped in adequately 🙂

      Cheers

      Rosemary

      Reply
  24. Bill Sweet

    Editor wrote: “While I agree that the paranormal is more evident in children Im not sure I agree with the statement “The forces of suppression and cultural conformity took them over. It was too much mental strain…. only one of the reasons.”

    I agree there are other reasons. The main one, as I see it, is a gathering material exposure and education that covers-up and confuses the natural spiritual and psychic abilities that some children exhibit. The abilities go away or are dimished. A loss of some dimension of innocence is a contributor, too. I saw a couple of neighborhood peers who were pretty special, then they got into drugs and lost all of the abilities they had.

    Editor: in reference to my comment about Defense Mechanisms. Editor wrote: “I wonder how many people here would protest that the opposite is true. In times of need perhaps there are many who turn inward with the hope that ultimately they will connect/reconnect with a part of them long forgotten.”

    It’s not that we don’t have these paranormal experiences and connect.

    There are always exceptions, but in the general observation of people who have paranormal experiences, from those experiences “that are deeply gone into,” mental illness arises or at least people see experiencers as nut-cases. Not making too much of an experience keeps the Trickster and our Defense Mechanisms at a distance.

    A poster also mentioned, sometimes we appear to others as mentally ill when we are experiencing the paranormal realm. That others don’t understand us is “exactly right.”

    About the Trickster and its effects on those who experience the paranormal, here is a fantastic source. See http://tricksterbook.com/

    Reply
  25. Amy

    I moved in to an apartment where a woman had died two months prior to me moving in.

    I lived there for one year, during that time my husband died and I’ve been sick. By sick I mean, stomach problems, chronic fatigue, colds, sore throats and pain beyond belief! Now a good majority of the pain is from my arthritis and back injuries.

    Interestingly too is that my friend and neighbor has the SAME physical problems that I do!!

    I moved to a different apartment and these problems continue. I’m very sensitive to the paranormal and I did see what may have been shadow people there, hear noises and smells, same goes for my former neighbor.

    After my husband died I’ve seen him and felt his presence numerous times, however the other things have nothing to do with him. Please help me with this situation!!

    Many Thanks, Amy

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Hi Amy.

      I’m sorry to hear about your ailments and the death of your husband. I hope it’s a comfort to you that he pops in from time to time.

      My first instinct is to say that I think there are some coincidences happening here. This is just my initial gut reaction Amy and, if I’m right, your physician is the best person for you to be consulting at this time. If I’m wrong then a cleansing of your new home may be the next best thing.

      Out of curiosity, Amy, I’m wondering why you and your husband chose to move into that first apartment, knowing what had transpired. Were you psychically more confident and protected before you moved in?

      Cheers

      Rosemary

      Reply
    • Anne Morgan

      Hi Amy, you don’t say how old the apartment building is, whether it’s a new build, old standard housing or perhaps a conversion of an old factory etc.

      As you are not the only person affected with poor health whilst living in your apartment and others close by having the same symptoms, I was wondering if you are all suffering from sick building syndrome.

      Over the last decades there have been several incidences of this syndrome with some people being unable to work in new office blocks for example.

      This is just my suggestion and perhaps you could research sick building syndrome for yourself and see if any thing makes sense for you. In the meantime, protect yourself psychically at all times and see your family doctor for physical problems. Blessed Be. Anne.

      Reply
  26. Kathy

    As a RN in an Emergency Department, I come in contact with many people either diagnosed with Schizophrenia or about to be, because of psychosis episode. As I witness these psychosis episodes I wonder if Schizophrenia is just a cover up from perhaps being possessed by demons/ or some type of paranormal activity. Your thoughts?

    Reply
    • Rosemary Breen

      Hi Kathy

      My thoughts are that it’s a very fine line (veil?) between the paranormal and mental illness, and even between religion and the paranormal. When someone sees a ghost and another person sees a Saint, surely the difference is only one so semantics? The Bible and other sacred text are filled with paranormal accounts.

      In some ways mental illness and the paranormal are a little harder to differentiate. It seems to me there are many areas of grey – mental health and illness are part of the same continuum.

      Sane people experience the paranormal; insane people do too….and they also experience things that don’t exist, even in the paranormal realms.

      The key is to know when they are encountering parapsychological phenomena and when they are hallucinating, and as far as I know no one has developed a test for this.

      I hope Im making some sense here Kathy.

      Let me know if what Ive said resonated with you please.

      Ciao

      Rosemary

      Reply
    • Anne Morgan

      Hi Kathy, I agree with Rosemary about the fine line between mental illness and experience of the paranormal.

      I don’t know how aware you are of our “other bodies”. By this I mean our more subtle astral/etheric body where I believe our mind is to be found as opposed to our physical body where the brain resides.

      In the bigger world the states of matter extend over several levels. We are all familiar with the solid, liquid and gaseous states which can and do interpenetrate each other. In addition to these states there are several others, each vibrating at higher and finer resonances.

      For some people the astral plane is more easily perceived and for those who are aware of this and protect themselves psychically, then all is well, but for less evolved souls the denizens of the lower astral plane can cause a lot of mischief which is often the cause of mental problems such as schizophrenia, as you put it, are possessed by devils.

      There are higher planes of existence where Angels and other sentient beings reside and can at times make their presence felt. I believe that education in the more occult side of life could help explain a lot of modern mental problems. The New Age way of thinking is gradually making these long hidden sides of life available to everyone.

      Modern book shops have lots of literature on the subject as does the internet though I would urge caution if you decide to investigate further. Neither accept nor lightly reject anything you may be told or read.

      There is a lot of rubbish out there but trusting your instinct and perhaps joining a group of like minded people will help you to understand better. Blessed Be. Anne.

      Reply

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