Mental Health

[TheGreenQueen]

I've read that many mild mental disorders can and are assisted by meditation.

I'm trying to convince my friend to use delta wave brain entrainment to get better sleep. He's been getting terrible sleep for a couple months. Before this, he was fine. He's been taking medication for bipolar and schitzoaffective disorders for years. He insists that many of the holistic techniques are particularly damaging to people with mental disorders. He cites a personal friend who went to hypnotherapy after being "ok" on medication for an long time. They started having visions and problems again after the treatment, and they had to fight tooth and nail to get back to normal. He also says things like LSD, mushrooms, and pot, while relatively harmless on their own, can overwhelm a person who is schitzoaffective. While that makes sense, I've trundled through enough forums, blogs, and comments to see people who swear up and down that "Big Pharma" does not treat the root causes of psychic imbalances, only covers up symptoms, and in the long run medications affect other things in the body and are ultimately destructive. That the way to real healing is to delve to the depths of your fears and anxieties, interpret symbolism in visions, etc.

Does anyone have experience with this question? Brain entrainment specifically, but anything else, too, I guess.

[Lightwaves]

I have schizophrenia and am being treated by an antipsychotic. I just know from my personal experience being on them (for me) is more helpful to me than being off of them. I have asked my higher self on several occasions if it is beneficial for me to be on them and I get a strong yes every time. So for me personally it is a great help to me. Recovery means a lot of things to a lot of people and it really depends on how your friend wants to go. Anyway. Great post.

[nammyoho]

Schizoaffective disorder is a tricky one because it dips in mood disorders as well as schizophrenia, which can be caused from genetic history as well as trauma in the early years of development. Do you know if your friend is more manic or depressive in the mood category? I think that plays a big role in how they are treated.
I am in the belief that medications do often only deal with the symptoms of disorders and not the root causes but schizoaffective disorder really isn't black and white like a lot of other disorders.

Shrooms have been known to help mood/personality disorders when used in the right doses in a safe and comfortable environment BUT on the other hand shrooms and LSD have both also been known to shock people into psychotic states that can last for months or even years if they already have the right 'ingredients' for a breakdown in their psyche. I used to smoke a lot of pot but quit a few weeks ago due to the fact that it was making me paranoid. I think most smokers will argue that it doesn't but for those with pathologically loud consciences, it can really take a toll on the thought process. Your friend knows their body more than anyone and if they believe shrooms or pot would only make them feel worse, then trust them.
There's a TED Talk by Eleanor Longden that touches on the spiritual side of schizophrenia. She talks about how she believes the voices in her head were subconscious 'demons' that needed to be dealt with and how ignoring them only made them louder. I think meditation is highly effective for anyone confronted with hallucinations and would definitely help your friend get some better sleep. Many psychiatric disorders are really just calls for internal healing but it's often hard for patients to get to a place where they can see clearly enough to heal while dealing with inner turmoil.
I'm not sure if any of that was helpful but honestly I would advise your friend to practice meditation and attend therapy to uncover and deal with those subconscious demons. While many disorders are solely the consequence of upbringing and thought processes, chemical imbalances do exist in the human body.

[Nettles]

Some sleep patterns are disrupted due to Qi overflow or blockage to a particular area and often those problems can be solved with simple dietary changes. I can't post links yet because I only have like...19 posts or so but there is a really good link to a Qi organ clock...www . astrodreamadvisor .com/Qi-Cycle. html- not sure if that will post, I threw in some random spaces. The Qi clock there is interactive, you can hover your cursor over a time-frame or organ system and useful information will come up.
Qi travels to different areas of the body at different times of the day and night...if one has a pattern of waking up out of a sound sleep each night at some specific time, that can be very telling as Qi is in a particular place at that time, by figuring out what organ system Qi is in during these disturbances all one needs to to is nourish that system to aid in healing the issue. There is much that can be done with dietary changes and herbal teas.

[Native spirit]

When you are on medication for anything doesn't matter what for you have to realise their are sideaffects. I wouldn't advise anyone taking a prescription drug to not take it,without first consulting your doctor, this could cause more problems.

Namaste

[TheGreenQueen]

Schizoaffective disorder is a tricky one because it dips in mood disorders as well as schizophrenia, which can be caused from genetic history as well as trauma in the early years of development. Do you know if your friend is more manic or depressive in the mood category? I think that plays a big role in how they are treated.

Your friend knows their body more than anyone and if they believe shrooms or pot would only make them feel worse, then trust them.

I'm not sure if any of that was helpful but honestly I would advise your friend to practice meditation and attend therapy to uncover and deal with those subconscious demons.

This friend has a massively screwed up home life to say the least. They have been gaslighted about gender issues, raised by fundamentalist Christians, and are not properly supported in efforts to deal with addictive eating. (Apparently Overeaters Anonymous is some sort of semi-spiritual meeting, but it does not give you specific ways to deal with food temptations, nutritional advice, how to change patterns. And this person is self-described as a "recovering" or intermittent atheist, so I'm not even sure they're getting *that* out of it).

They are manic-depressive, yes.

I am not trying to get anyone to do psychoactive drugs. I would never try to convince anyone to do that, as I think meditation is less dangerous for similar payoff, even if it does take more time and effort. I'm also not trying to convince them to stop taking pharmaceuticals. (I might do that under certain circumstances with other people, but definitely not this one.)

They are in therapy, but from what they tell me, I'm not sure the therapist really even knows how to deal with them, or how to lead them. If they treat their therapist like they do me, they do a lot of talking but not a lot of listening or implementing suggestions. They seem very open to suggestions, they just get lost in the general drumbeat of life (and self-loathing). For instance, they want to meditate and play music but I pretty much have to call them every day and remind them to do it if it's actually going to get done. I think we have similar problems, though, even though mine are shallower, so I identify with them.

Some sleep patterns are disrupted due to Qi overflow or blockage to a particular area and often those problems can be solved with simple dietary changes. I can't post links yet because I only have like...19 posts or so but there is a really good link to a Qi organ clock...www . astrodreamadvisor .com/Qi-Cycle. html- not sure if that will post, I threw in some random spaces. The Qi clock there is interactive, you can hover your cursor over a time-frame or organ system and useful information will come up.
Qi travels to different areas of the body at different times of the day and night...if one has a pattern of waking up out of a sound sleep each night at some specific time, that can be very telling as Qi is in a particular place at that time, by figuring out what organ system Qi is in during these disturbances all one needs to to is nourish that system to aid in healing the issue. There is much that can be done with dietary changes and herbal teas.

Wow, that's interesting! I wonder how that fits with the "biphasic" sleep so many historians tout as "natural" though?

Not sure this person would be open to this sort of thing. They probably have too many imbalances to even keep proper track of, anyway. I'll stick to holistic methods that "sound" more like or square more with science . . . I might take a look at it for my own use or other spiritualists, though. Thanks.

[Nettles]

@TheGreenQueen- Biphasic sleep is just sleeping twice a day rather than once a day and it would have no effect on the Qi clock, nor would polyphasic sleep.
There is actually a lot of science behind TCM if you prefer a more scientific take, all it would take is a little bit of research.

[Gem]

I've read that many mild mental disorders can and are assisted by meditation.
According to reading I have done, clinical trials show that medications are not particularly effective for mild symptoms, but are reported to be more effective for people who experience severe symptoms.

I'm trying to convince my friend to use delta wave brain entrainment to get better sleep. He's been getting terrible sleep for a couple months. Before this, he was fine. He's been taking medication for bipolar and schitzoaffective disorders for years. He insists that many of the holistic techniques are particularly damaging to people with mental disorders. He cites a personal friend who went to hypnotherapy after being "ok" on medication for an long time. They started having visions and problems again after the treatment, and they had to fight tooth and nail to get back to normal. He also says things like LSD, mushrooms, and pot, while relatively harmless on their own, can overwhelm a person who is schitzoaffective. While that makes sense, I've trundled through enough forums, blogs, and comments to see people who swear up and down that "Big Pharma" does not treat the root causes of psychic imbalances, only covers up symptoms, and in the long run medications affect other things in the body and are ultimately destructive. That the way to real healing is to delve to the depths of your fears and anxieties, interpret symbolism in visions, etc.

Does anyone have experience with this question? Brain entrainment specifically, but anything else, too, I guess.
The side effects of psychotropic drugs are well known and can be severe in the long term, that's true, but many people feel that medication greatly improves their quality of life. Have to be careful about pushing ones own values on other people, so making people aware of alternatives is always good, but being supportive of their decisions is key.