Integral/Holistic view & approach to schizophrenia
 

Hi all.

i've had a 30 year history of mental health difficulties (also some strange experiences in childhood) & a diagnosis of severe paranoid schizophrenia.

i have been exploring & more focused on an alternative healing path with it all for the past 13 years.

i personally take an integral/holistic view of my condition/experiences - bio/psycho/social/spiritual - that things are mediated across spirit - soul/psyche - physical body/brain - social/environmental. i don't see any either/or with it all, but rather that everything is interrelated & interdependent.
imo Carl Jung spoke a lot of sense on all these matters, as have others.

Current mainstream psychiatry primarily focuses on the physical - the physical body/brain. Psychological & social elements often seem secondary to that, & the areas of the soul & spirit are usually excluded.

Obviously it is impossible to argue a case for the spiritual with a materialist, as many now appear to be. Many people also seem fixed on the idea that 'functional' (no known/identifiable biological aetiology [cause]) mental health disorders are brain conditions - i don't think they primarily are - Not to exclude the physiological (biologic) aspects of them - although imo primarily in the vast majority of cases i think the primary aetiology is psychogenic (cause in the mind/psyche).

i've spent the past 10 years on-line trying to raise awareness of & explore the spiritual in mental health, to little avail. Am interested in other people thoughts on the matter. Thanks.

Is it OK to post a short poem?

Are not my eyes reflected in yours?
And don’t all things press
On your head and heart,
And weave, in eternal mystery,
Visibly: invisibly, around you?
Fill your heart from it: it is so vast,
And when you are blessed by the deepest feeling,
Call it then what you wish,
Joy! Heart! Love! God!
I have no name
For it! Feeling is all:
Names are sound and smoke,
Veiling Heaven’s bright glow.

Goethe's Faust

There are a lot of very interesting fringe areas within the subject of mental health.

Try searching - mystical psychosis, spiritual emergency, shamanism & schizophrenia, as some examples.

i don't deny that people are unwell/ill in various ways & to various degrees - But i also feel there are spiritual/transpersonal elements to peoples conditions/experiences. i don't see any either/or.

i do think that people could be being far better helped in most cases - i think the 'mentally ill' are being terribly & tragically failed by our current society & mental health systems.

You may be interested possibly in the Spiritual Crisis Network which is a support group etc for people with an interest in the relationship between spirituality and mental health.

http://http://spiritualcrisisnetwork.uk/

Thanks. Yes, have been a member of their e-mail discussion group for years.

Interesting to note the root meanings -

Etymology The word psyche comes from the ancient Greek for soul or butterfly. The fluttering insect appears in the coat of arms of Britain’s Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The term “psychiatry” was first coined by the German physician Johann Christian Reil in 1808 and literally means the ‘medical treatment of the soul’ (psych- “soul” from Ancient Greek psykhē “soul”; -iatry “medical treatment” from Gk. iātrikos “medical” from iāsthai “to heal”).

You might be better off looking into Spirit-Release therapy, because if it isn't caused by an actual physical deformity, it's usually (fron an occult standpoint) a spirit attachment. These attachments can follow us from other lives too - so can be there from birth.
This is not just promoted by psychics, but by some reputable psychiatrists/psychologists as well. The books below are worth reading:

Spirit Release: A Practical Handbook by Sue Allen.




Soul-Centered Healing: A Psychologist's Extraordinary Journey Into the Realms of Sub-Personalities, Spirits, and Past Lives.

Thanks. i've read soul centred healing. Some other good books are -

The unquiet dead - By Edith Fiore

Schizophrenia or Spirit Possession
by Mr Mike Williamson

Ghosts And Earthbound Spirits: Recognise and release the spirits trapped in this world
by Linda Williamson

Spirit Releasement Therapy: A Technique Manual
by William J. Baldwin, Edith Fiore

Healing Lost Souls: Releasing Unwanted Spirits from Your Body
by William J. Baldwin

Many others. Lets also not forget Shamanism.

Step away from the orthodox/mainstream, dig a bit below the surface, & there are vast areas to these experiences. i've done a lot of reading & research into a lot of different areas - spirit release, depth & transpersonal psychology, philosophy, comparative religion, consciousness studies (NDE & OBE), Esoteric & Occult areas, all sorts.

These areas can also cover -

1. Shamanic crisis
2. Awakening of Kundalini
3. Episodes of unitive consciousness (Maslow's "peak experiences")
4. Psychological renewal through return to the center (John Perry)
5. Crisis of psychic opening
6. Past-life experiences
7. Communication with spirit guides and "channeling"
8. Near-death experiences (NDEs)
9. Close encounters with UFOs and alien abduction experiences
10. Possession states
11. Alcoholism and drug addiction

i've also worked with some highly competent spiritual healers over the past 13 years.

This is one of the more interesting documents i've come across as to what is happening in psychosis/schizophrenia from a more metaphysical perspective (links on left) -

http://www.alchemyrealm.com/schizophrenia.htm

It is still hard to come to any categorical answers/conclusions. Personally i accept the diagnosis & take the pills. i have made a lot of progress, but i also feel that there are still certain difficulties.

i don't think anyone has a categorical answer to these experiences/conditions. Best i can come up with is an integral/holistic approach & understanding - that there are the realms of the spiritual, psyche & physical. That we are mind, body & soul within environment & effected by all levels. i take a bio/psycho/social/spiritual model - i don't see things as 'either/or'. There are variables (interrelated/interdependent) on physiological/biologic, psychological/emotional, social/environmental & spiritual/transpersonal levels.

How i see it all anyway.

A good book that acknowledges the psychiatric & spiritual, by an expert in both is - 'Healing the split' by John Nelson.

i think the first episode of psychosis was linked to a possession state - long story with it all. But there has been a lot going on i feel.

Lots of things make sense in relation to my experiences/condition.

i feel a lot too is karmic, life lessons, soul/life plan - coming into this life with a full 'in tray'.

Also a psyche-sensitivity - being highly sensitive & empathic.

Published on 26 Sep 2014

http://crazywisefilm.com | Official extended trailer for CRAZYWISE, a feature documentary challenging the current mental health system in crisis. A 20-year fascination with shamanism leads photographer and filmmaker Phil Borges to question how Western cultures define and treat severe mental disorders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKfQd0bk214

An interesting document from the RCP exploring the transpersonal in relation to psychosis -

https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Nicki%... Emergence.pdf

Also more videos to watch on the Crazywise u-tube channel -

https://www.youtube.com/user/CrazywiseFilm

http://crazywisefilm.com/

[sorry to hijack the thread]

i think humanity has largely outgrown orthodox/organised religion, as a productive enterprise.

i do see all religion/spiritual systems as being man made - fingers pointing to the moon, best not to confuse the finger with the moon. The spiritual realms are imo beyond the mind/ego, theory, idea, words & concepts. i tend to view a lot of religion as myth, symbol, analogy & metaphor - that there are different maps, & the map is not the territory.

i like the integral view of Ken Wilbur, although not confined to just him -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integra...pirituality%29

i also find an appeal with panpsychism -

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/panpsychism/

& the work of Carl Jung, who i think made great strides in attempting to map the psyche.

Have been meaning to read 'The map of heaven' by Eben Alexander. It looks like an interesting read -

http://www.ebenalexander.com/books/the-map-of-heaven/

An interesting reference within the book also is to Emanuel Swedenborg, who was a very interesting character -

http://www.theisticpsychology.org/bo...ce_spirits.htm

So much of interest within all these areas out there.

Do you think the brain of a schizophrenic person differs from that of a "normal" person?
And that medicine helps to make the schizophrenic person act more normal?

unfortunately, our society is broken right across the board. you are right to do your own research to find other avenues for your issues. Long ago, people such as yourself were thought to have a calling for the life of shaman, there were plant medicines and elders to guide you, now they brand you as ill.

Glad you put normal in inverted commas.

i don't see an either/or - i take a genuinely integral/holistic view - mind/body/soul/spirit.

Schizophrenia is largely an umbrella term - there may be 20 or more things going on with people so labelled.

i do think it's valid to study the brain, it's physiology/neurology - brain structure, function & development - & i do think that is part of the picture - i'm not opposed to a more comprehensive psychiatry, nor to a wise use of medications, & for some people i think medication is vital - i take medication as well.

Maybe in some cases people with a schizophrenia diagnosis are suffering primarily from some form of brain condition? Personally i think the primary aetiology is psychogenic (of the mind/psyche) in the majority of cases - but that wouldn't exclude physiological components.

i'd wager things are individual & complex, & i'd question if there is such a thing as schizophrenia as a specific/distinct disease pathology? i see it more as metaphor & diagnostic category.

There does appear to be some consensus that the condition is mediated across biologic, psychological & social/environmental areas (i'd also add spiritual/transpersonal).

The 'schizophrenics' would certainly be treated/approached differently within other cultures/times.

That is the general consensus/reasoning. Do you think it's a success?

i don't know percentage of psychotropic medications (it's high) - 80% of Americans & 50% of the British are now on some form of prescribed drug(s). Some people think this is a great success - personally i think it's shocking. i suppose drug companies & those that favour social control are laughing...

from: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/06/prescribing.aspx

An interesting collection of alternative mental health treatments here -

Codex Alternus -

http://www.alternativementalhealth.c...FifthIssue.pdf

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/

A few years ago, a series of studies came out in an attempt to sort of ‘debunk’ people who practice spirituality. The study found that people who have a spiritual understanding of life tend to be more susceptible to mental health problems, addictions, and anxiety disorders.

http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysi...-intelligence/

Yes. It raises many many questions.

I have a member of my family who has schizophrenia, and it also came with very strong tactile hallucinations, not only feeling and being touched by other beings but being raped by them constantly as well...it's very very disturbing for him as you can guess. he has managed to train his mind to be open ended enough to let these experiences wash through him and not get caught up in the mental turmoil and anguish that usually follow when others suffer the same sort of thing, I have told him to view these experiences as a great mirror does which only reflects what is and does not hold on to what it reflects, and also to undermine and challenge the voices he hears which constantly taunt him and threaten his life...they make predictions as well but only about his own demise, so he has learned to not engage with these voices in a negative or in a positive light, they must not be given any feedback whatsoever as this is still energy which gives them validity credibility and status, he has stopped the medication as he's said it will only shorten his life, so thankfully he has managed to create some positive head space to live in, but he is still constantly bombarded by these voices and tactile hallucinations which plague him, I told him that once the training starts to make his head clearer then the voices and tactile hallucinations will also get stronger and clearer, and thats exactly what happened! the voices and tactile hallucinations did get stronger but the knowledge of this saved him from breaking down and losing his life, but he has found a space now for the moment to live, thats his life at this moment in time.

An interesting overview of the Critical Psychiatry Network -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critica...hiatry_Network

http://www.criticalpsychiatry.co.uk/

Being, your dedication to the subject,compassion and your deepest desire to pass information/knowledge/raise awareness and compassion to reduce suffering for those who might suffer similar to you have is simply striking. Hope you achieve your goals and make that necessary difference you seem driven to.

Thank you lifensoul, that is a very kind message.

The question of mental health & it's treatment i feel is a very major & important issue, for everyone (albeit a very complex one). i'm not in much agreement with the current mental health systems & general treatment of people in this area, & i do think that things could be a lot better. The way our society is i think also directly reflects on the way the system is.

Not sure there is really anything that i can do to change society & the system to a more caring & humane World? But i do try to do what i can to raise awareness on certain areas.

As far as i can find an answer, i do think there is something in taking a far more comprehensive integral view to these areas - everything is interconnected & interdependent.

i would love to see a genuinely more humane, peaceful & civilised Word, & far better treatment for the 'mad/mentally ill'.

We may one day see a paradigm shift within all these areas -

“The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.”.

- Nikola Tesla

http://www.collective-evolution.com/...-only-reality/

http://www.opensciences.org/about/ma...ialist-science

http://www.opensciences.org/blogs/op...erialism-fails

As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.

— Max Planck, Das Wesen der Materie, 1944

The question/subject isn't going to go away -

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2...-consciousness

All sides of the argument discussed here -

http://www.closertotruth.com/topics/...-consciousness

A Crisis at the Edge of Physics -

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/op...=fb-share&_r=0

Implicit in such a maneuver is a philosophical question: How are we to determine whether a theory is true if it cannot be validated experimentally? Should we abandon it just because, at a given level of technological capacity, empirical support might be impossible? If not, how long should we wait for such experimental machinery before moving on: ten years? Fifty years? Centuries?

Consider, likewise, the cutting-edge theory in physics that suggests that our universe is just one universe in a profusion of separate universes that make up the so-called multiverse. This theory could help solve some deep scientific conundrums about our own universe (such as the so-called fine-tuning problem), but at considerable cost: Namely, the additional universes of the multiverse would lie beyond our powers of observation and could never be directly investigated. Multiverse advocates argue nonetheless that we should keep exploring the idea — and search for indirect evidence of other universes.

The opposing camp, in response, has its own questions. If a theory successfully explains what we can detect but does so by positing entities that we can’t detect (like other universes or the hyperdimensional superstrings of string theory) then what is the status of these posited entities? Should we consider them as real as the verified particles of the standard model? How are scientific claims about them any different from any other untestable — but useful — explanations of reality?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io6m-xsmUIw

“This place is a dream. Only a sleeper considers it real. Then death comes like dawn, and you wake up laughing at what you thought was your grief.”

― Rumi

A very interesting discussion on consciousness & science by Rupert Sheldrake -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxsNpMpPT3Q

Social context -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt4JcTDPUoc

http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/...ve-ever-heard/

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/

Hi Being,

Do you think schizophrenia can be a result of entity attachment?
Or do you believe schizophrenia is a innate deviation?

What gets labelled as schizophrenia/psychosis i think may be 20 or more different things.

Yes, i think very often there can be spirit/entity attachment involved in cases. There are a lot of spiritual areas these experiences go into, as well as things on physiological, psychological & social levels.


i'm Not quite sure what you mean by that?

That there is something wrong with the brains by birth.

It's very hard to know. There are so many different opinions on all these areas.

Certainly from the mind is brain; materialistic science, physiological/biomedical perspectives, research & understandings, schizophrenia is primarily seen as a brain disorder. Some recent research here -

Pineal gland volume in schizophrenia and mood disorders -

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26057310

Differences in gray matter volume corresponding to delusion and hallucination -

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26056452

The 3q29 deletion confers >40-fold increase in risk for schizophrenia -

http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vao...mp201576a.html

i'd question cause/effect - & i think biological, psychological & social areas are interrelated in complex ways - i'm Not sure that physiology/biology can really be separated from environment -

http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/...ve-ever-heard/

It's a very difficult, complex & controversial question.

Best conclusion i can come to personally is an integral/holistic model.

What are your opinions/views on it all Serrao?

Maybe it's better for the majority of people so diagnosed, to accept the diagnosis, take the pills & accept the illness/brain disorder biomedical model on it all. That seems best course of action for a lot of people.

For debatable reasons there are people that do make fuller recoveries/healing, but that maybe isn't the norm? Maybe there are genuine brain disorders & also other reasons for psychosis. It all gets very confused.

i tend to think a lot does depend on the understanding, help & support people receive - But i may be wrong? & regardless of my views on it all, i can't change society/the system in relation to it all.

Primarily i've wanted to make a fuller healing/recovery from my own difficulties, & i have made a lot of progress - i also have to accept the diagnosis, that i have an illness, need medication, that my overall health/functioning has been very effected, & i probably won't achieve, nor make as much progress with certain things as i originally envisioned/wanted.

i can't really find categorical answers to things, or my own life experiences - certain spiritual explanations do make some sense - so too do certain psychosocial & psychiatric understandings. People are in depth & complex - mental health disorders are generally complex conditions.

Be interested in other peoples views.

People yes but mental health disorders actually aren't that complex.

Mental disorders are viewed from physical perspective. They are all based on what is perceived in physical world. What we perceive are "faults".
But the mind does not lie in the physical world. There could be something wrong with the mind but that is unlikely. And you cannot really evaluate the mind from physical perspective, only superficially.

Let's say the mind is okay, but in physical world faults are perceived. The problem lies in the brain, but the brain is not the mind. Brain is merely an interface between physical world and mental world. So that thought-forms could be translated correctly into physical terms (or physical into mental), without faults, the connection has to be right and unobstructed.

The mind sends (probably) always "perfect" signals to the brain.
For everything to be fine neural configurations have to be able to do their job correctly. If there are deficiencies of nutrients-vitamins-minerals that are necessary for proper brain functioning, there will be issues. If there are toxic substances in the body that get in the way, there will be problems. If there are some negative energies disrupting, there will be problems. Parasites? Again issues. Is there actual physical bodily damage caused by these? That's a bigger issue, the longer lasting kind, to some extent even permanent damage (though body does heal itself from (nearly) anything, every part of it, but some parts take longer).

If there are health issues, any kind health issues. One that always has to be addressed is diet. Diet has to be adequately right, always.
Goal is to give the body all the nutrients-vitamins-minerals it needs in quantities it needs them. Without toxins and other unnecessary harmful substances. And the body will heal itself from nearly everything.

Then of course what is a "right" diet... long topic on its own. In short all raw, emphasis on raw nutrient dense animal products.
There are also parasites that need to be addressed with emphasis, because they are nasty creatures. Parasites love toxins and excess sugar.

"Living" my life. Then getting a severe health problem (unrelated to mental health), finding the real cause and thus cure ("eating right"), and then after a few weeks completely unexpectedly noticing mental parts of myself, that I previously thought were "inseparable part of me", simply disappear...

Orthomolecular medicine is very controversial, especially in relation to mental health disorders.

There are myriad theories as to mind/brain & mental illness - No one seems to have a categorical answer on it all?

i don't think it's simple.