what are your thoughts on mental illness and spirituality

[hernam]

Mainstream doctors dont usually deal with the spiritual side when diagnosing mental illness. What are your thoughts on illnesses like bipolar and other complex "mental illnesses" ?

[Maguru]

Mainstream doctors dont usually deal with the spiritual side when diagnosing mental illness. What are your thoughts on illnesses like bipolar and other complex "mental illnesses" ?
In my experience most 'mental illness' derives from a poor relationship with self. In most cases I believe this can be changed but it takes time. :smile:

[Astral Jane]

Such illnesses are absolutely spiritual in nature, to some significant degree.
Many people who "hear" spirit do so because of actual chemical & structural differences in their brains (which were in turn chosen on the spiritual side), that basically cause a LACK OF INHIBITION :tongue: . Thoughts, inputs, associations, etc. (whether from the "self" or other spirits) sneak into their consciousness and they are more likely to hear them, less able to ignore or suppress them, than the general population. These are basically a right-brain function, as the left brain prefers linear thinking, very controlled use of words, and can more easily ignore/suppress/deny anything inconsistent with what it already believes. Messages of spirit, innovative ideas, thoughts of conscience :confused: (which challenge what is already believed) are essentially a right-brain function (all arguments of exceptions aside- ie, similar to prevalence of left-handed people, and of degree of bi-lateralization - which varies greatly; these are very general trends that illustrate core characteristics).

Put all that in a context of left-brain-dominant society with a majority of left-brain dominant people, a society mostly ignorant of the relevant science such as described above (yes that's from actual peer-reviewed reports of cognitive studies ), and, on top of that, intolerant of belief in the paranormal or any non-approved thoughts on spirituality, reincarnation, psychic ability, ghosts & angels, etc., a society that consistently, adeptly, and professionally projects its shadow self on to its minority members and nonconformists (at least if they are economically disadvantaged as well) - and you have a recipe for STRESS :icon_eek: , aka, psychological distress.

And then, the right-brained or spiritually-sensitive person can't function too well, can't find supports or understanding, -- :binkybaby: -- can't boost their own mood, can't tolerate all the distortion and denial they see everyday - yada yada = mental illness. Our whole culture was DESIGNED to make the spiritually attuned person at much greater risk of mental illness. The only solution is to awaken (fully :D) because that's the only way they can "remember" who they are and why they agreed to get sick like that in the first place.

Is anyone familiar with John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) & his Nobel prize-winning Game Theory? It's a story that's very relevant to this question.

[sandalwood]

a large portion of mental orders referred to as disorders are just excuses to diagnose the different.
another large portion are just mentallities, that are deemed as sickness in order to medicate them.
and the remaining few, that are genuine mental blockages, are no more than that; blockages. and no one of them is permanent.

[hernam]

Astral jane I couldn't agree more. I have seen the movie a beautiful mind, one of my favorites.

[Manjit Bahamut]

Everybody is spiritually ill, most people just don't realise this. Sadly it was caused by are own society.

[Native spirit]

:confused: When i was growing up i was called mad etc for seeing and hearing spirit.and as i got older if ppl didnt understand mediumship.thats what they would call you,it didnt bother me because i knew different.but i also know that one person in particular was sectioned under the mental health for hearing voices,they call it mental illness, not all people who have been sectioned have been mentally ill.they actually do hear spirit.but because doctors didnt believe in spirituality they were automatically called insane.
but now ppl are being sectioned for being under the influence of drugs and being called mad.they they get medicated which makes it worse because all medication carries side sffects.

Namaste

[RedEmbers]

In the case of depression and anxiety (which I am more than personally familiar with) my anxiety was 'programmed' into me, my childhood was very stressful and both my parents were highly fearful people. . . We all had the same karma to overcome and last year we all seemed to make that shift in consciousness.
I used alot of breathing techniques and meditation last year to at least ease my suffering with anxiety, I pinpointed the exact root of it and in that moment I was cured! For over one year now I haven't had that crushing daily anxiety I used to get and the physical symptoms that came from it (constant elevated heart rate and feeling nasueas).

Depression has been a bit different though, it stems from a simelar issue but is feels so ingrained into my being. . .
I no longer get the same deliberating depression I used to get though.
My personnel opinion with moods and what is that society tells us constantly that we should be feeling happy and 'up' all the time, but this is an unrealistic view and expectation on how most people feel.
There are those people who are naturally more outgoing and extroverted than me, they energise from being in constant contact with people (those are the types of people that society typically use as a 'model' of how we should be)
Bit for people more like myself, our moods are more subdued, we are more introverted, it's not that we don't want to socialise it's just that we re energise from getting alone time.
With depression (spiritually) it has been less about the root cause and more about accepting who I am and taking a look at societies idea that I have to feel happy and 'up' all the time. Once I started questioning all that I started to feel happy in a way that suited me (my own shade and frequency of happy).
My question is why have we only promoted the benifits of "extroverts" in society and why have we made it seem like anything less is 'abnormal'.

[SpiritCarrier]

Mental Illness is not always the product of poor spirituality. I believe that there are some illnesses that do require medication. My TF has bipolar and Aspergers these are illnesses that need medication. I have seen the brain scans of such illnesses verses the scan of someone who does not have the illness and there is a difference. I also believe that people with these illnesses have a harder time being diagnosed because doctors sometimes just want to through a label on someone and be done with it. They also want to medicate people into zombies and that is not healthy for spirit or soul.

I have seen spirits and talked with them since I was a child and I was believed to be crazy. I learned as a child that if I did not speak about it to adults then it was better for me. I was thought to be demon possessed and all sorts of things but in truth I am a medium and an empath. So as you can see there is a lot of misdiagnoses out there but that doesn't mean that the illnesses in question do not exist or that others do not suffer from them.

I know that in the case of my TF he has difficulty hearing or seeing spirit. I also believe that we are bound together because we complete each other in some ways. I can hear and see spirits for him and he does a number of things to complete me, the list is so long that I dare not try to list it. I believe if spirituality is part of your life that the Powers That Be give you what you need to function and grow spiritual speaking. I'm sorry I have gone on an on but this is a subject close to my heart.

I also want to clarify something that I said, "Aspergers, is not necessarily treated with medication. Bipolar is treatable with medication." Sorry for any confusion.

Thanks for reading.

Peace and Light be yours,
SC

[hernam]

Thank spirit carrier. I agree medicine does help Manage bp however in my experience the meds do harm your spirit. I often wonder if there is a connection between being bp and paranormal experiences. I am still not sure.
While the medicine helps I found a better cute, so to speak is exercising,meditation,and not eating certain foods. I found also found when I did these things to manage bp that is when I really begun to recognize my abilities to talk to spirits. However it took me sometime to discern of one was a result of the other. I believe I had cleared by mind and body as I had always had paranormal type experiences. It is very interesting and enlightening for me as it has given me a completely different,perspective on the stigma of mental illness.

[Maguru]

Thank spirit carrier. I agree medicine does help Manage bp however in my experience the meds do harm your spirit. I often wonder if there is a connection between being bp and paranormal experiences. I am still not sure.
While the medicine helps I found a better cute, so to speak is exercising,meditation,and not eating certain foods. I found also found when I did these things to manage bp that is when I really begun to recognize my abilities to talk to spirits. However it took me sometime to discern of one was a result of the other. I believe I had cleared by mind and body as I had always had paranormal type experiences. It is very interesting and enlightening for me as it has given me a completely different,perspective on the stigma of mental illness. Hope you don't mind me asking but what do you talk about to spirits?

[hernam]

I have had past relatives of mine and people I know come to me. I have had others give me messages through visions and symbols but since I don't know how to interpret what I see.
Recently a friend of my husband who just past came to me he have me a message I asked him to give me a sign it was him and he have me his some info I would never have known. I verified it with my husband. Some of the stuff I don't know what to make of it. I once saw a vision of a man hurting a woman and disposing of her body. Then names would pop in my head. This is difficult and disturbing. it seems recently it has slowed down. I will get a vision or overwhelming feeling but it is like a puzzle. I don't know what you call people who have these abilities as it Ms I have a bit of everything. I can also move energy threw my body and up until recently assumed everyone could do that.

[Maguru]

I have had past relatives of mine and people I know come to me. I have had others give me messages through visions and symbols but since I don't know how to interpret what I see.
Recently a friend of my husband who just past came to me he have me a message I asked him to give me a sign it was him and he have me his some info I would never have known. I verified it with my husband. Some of the stuff I don't know what to make of it. I once saw a vision of a man hurting a woman and disposing of her body. Then names would pop in my head. This is difficult and disturbing. it seems recently it has slowed down. I will get a vision or overwhelming feeling but it is like a puzzle. I don't know what you call people who have these abilities as it Ms I have a bit of everything. I can also move energy threw my body and up until recently assumed everyone could do that.Thankyou, it's interesting. :smile:

[helping soul]

There seems to be two cases of mental illness.

Maybe the people suffering from physical defects of the brain have a different ball game to contend with and that could be related to hormonal in-balance, chemicals, brain wiring etc- but perhaps with mental issues connected with just "mode of thought", come down to a person being disharmonious with the soul's purpose and an out of sync ego. That would provide a person with a distorted mode of thought and identity.

For example a mentally ill person might be operating on 90% subconscious and 10% conscious so they may view emotional triggers, mental pains and distorted reality as per normal and not require mental pains to be "ironing out"

Thinking about it though, do you think it would be associated with one's level of consciousness and the level that they're at? A dog, a mentally unstable, a bird, fish, no matter who or what, still have a level of awareness which is based on soul consciousness maybe? :smile:

[monkqb]

I do believe that spiritual healing and Reiki can help with cases of mental illness. I have been a spitirual healer from my teens I am now 60 and ten years ago I took a Reiki couse and this changed my life, I was a heavy drinker I think I drank because no one I knew thought the same way as me, and so I hid in a bottle. On the third week of a four week reiki couse I stopped drinking. I also had mental health problems brought on by the drink which no longer affect me. I agree that it was the unhapiness in my self that was the problem. I believe that all mental intiutions should have a spiritual healer to fix the damaged side of the psychi, also pills numb one part of your being but then your own body tries to fix the numb feeling and put the body back in balance this is what causes the side affects. Sorry for rambling Love and light to you Monk.

[hernam]

This is fascinating. I wish our mental health professionals had these perspectives it would make a world of difference in treatment. It is a multi faceted issue.

[fetch2]

Maybe mental illness is what gets left behind. Person might be healed on the inside but is carrying around a part of the umbrella that doesn't mesh well with the rain.

[John32241]

This is fascinating. I wish our mental health professionals had these perspectives it would make a world of difference in treatment. It is a multi faceted issue.

I agree and yes it is.

Medication is designed to cut your connection to abstract realities. Most of the time the cure is quite abstract and the medications prevent any real solution from happening.

Eventually these circumstances will improve. Humanity is awakening in a gradual fashion. At some point we will all know that the best answers for everything are within the self.

John

[Ivy]

I have a mental disorder. But it has given me insights that, as I recover, become a deeper understanding, that I could never have without having seen from such a different perspective.

People like to look at things as good or bad, but sometimes what feels very bad can be necessary.

[Lucid68]

I work in mental health, I'm not religious but I've personally become to realise spirituality and aspects that come along with it ...

I was sat in on a mental health assessment of a "psychotic" patient, she was asked if she thought that she had special powers and she said "no" . . .

Further through the interview she was telling the Dr that she was betrothed to a Duke and she conversed with this Duke telepathically and he said " so you do think you have special powers " I felt her pain as I read about others that believe in twin spirits/ souls or whatever you want to call them on here, I'm not a believer myself but just be careful !

[deepndark]

My thoughts are that they should be always seperated. Religions and beliefes can oftenly make your illness worce. You never need to drop out any spirituality and still be the legs on the ground.

[shinenz]

I worked in mental health for 10yrs, from acute lock up, to low key community. Ive seen it all, from violent evil psychotic individuals to devine spiritual individuals. I agree with monk, all areas of mental health should have a spiritual healer. Unfortunately we live in a such a left brain system when it comes to helping people. The terminology "holistic" approach is always used, cause it indeed makes the professionals feel like they are indeed helping the individuals spirit, they aren't. Its simply a word they throw about.

My thoughts on mental illness and spirituality. I have seen some and heard some pretty interesting things. I believe a large proportion, especially schizophrenics are indeed crossing realms, their gateway so to speak is unlocked and left wide open, which lets in many unwanted, at times very unhelpful entities. I had a client who often told me about the battles he had with unkind spirits, I was skeptical until one evening I was at home 8utside when a flood of images, feelings, sounds overwhelmed me, all from his domain, I never doubted that guy again, or anyone else in fact.

When we look at mood disorders, I have a belief that the individuals is not at one with themselves, have conflicting belief structure's both mentally and spirituality.

We are very complex individuals, and at times mentally fragile to unknown forces.

Western medications have a very very small part to play. Ive watched bi polar individuals swap their meds for cannabis with spectacular results, then watched a schizophrenic do the same with negative results.

Ive taken very unwell people out of their environment, away to the coast and mountains, and watched them be symptom free the entire time, only to watch their illness return when placed back into the city.

The current approaches are simply closed minded, sterile, unflexable. Until psychiatrists/psychologists clinical leaders are also spiritually aware, im afraid our system of treating people with mostly poor success rates will continue