differentiating mental illness from psychic ability

[AncestralEchoes]

As someone navigating similar ground, I can attest that self-observation and keeping notes/journals is a good way to find your way through this question. Maintaining a sense of curiosity rather than succumbing to the fear and shame that other people try to pile on to such experiences, was the only way I was able to stay grounded in what was true. Over time I began to learn to identify what was a gyration of the mind and what was a glimpse into other realms. Do I still struggle? You bet. But as long as I stay curious and let go of the fear, discernment kicks in to help me know when to trust, when to speak, when to act, and when to simply let the feeling pass.

[Fizwold]

I am schizoaffective - depressive type myself. Not medicated , do not need to be and should not be, my mental health and physical health worsens. Was told I am indeed that after years and years and tests and tests but at the same time I am rather odd for the it in a curious and positive way because I tend to view it as something interesting instead of a stresser.

But yea. I have no idea where the ground lies between the two so I just enjoy the show for the most part and I will figure it out later or I wont.

[Gem]

I personally can't see a way of differentiating. I don't understand psychic phenomena at all and I hardly know anything about psychiatry. I'm completely unqualified to answer the question, which in itself, is how I'd answer it.

I'd be with the truth that I don't know if it's a hallucination or paranormal reality, and it's distressing not having a grip on what's real or not. But so what if I don't know which is which? I know my reality is this uncertainty: I can't tell. Uncertainty is extremely uncomfortable, but I've never taken things seriously unless I'm completely unsure and alone to navigate from there in my own way. It's like you wake up alone in a forest and don't know where you are or how you got there. You only know you need to find a way out, but you have no idea which way it is. You have to be creative to discover the way, like maybe go to the top of a hill first to get a better look around - and depending on what that reveals, if anything, take it from there.

Maybe this thread on SF is your hill-top, and depending on what you see, you might have an idea where to go next.

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by nocturne saint

I have schizoaffective bipolar type, But I also have strange occurrences happen to me that I feel are not because of my symptoms, they are too real, and I am on a good med combination.

To start out I have had several times where someone has responded to me with words, their lips moving etc to my thoughts.

IT's quite normal to have some psychic abilities and generally everybody possess it in different degrees . So there is nothing special about it . Like mobile phones , if right spiritual frequencies match people can understand others even without uttering word . That again is normal . However it should no be given undue importance. As someone suggested , good grounding has to be there.

Psychic abilities can turn to mental illness
1. when overused
2. when used with pessimistic outlook
3. when associated with extreme fear
4. when associated with expected narrow material gains/objective
5. when u start attaching over importance to it ie u turn egoist /egotist.

So be on the watch out for pitfalls of such abilities .

Good thumb rule guideline is to feel the happiness and love without any reason and bring the smile and cheer on your own face and other associated with you and bring lots of enthusiasm in out day to day activities.

[Fizwold]

Originally Posted by Gem

I personally can't see a way of differentiating. I don't understand psychic phenomena at all and I hardly know anything about psychiatry. I'm completely unqualified to answer the question, which in itself, is how I'd answer it.

If you want I can tell you my experience and knowledge about it. I have done enough research to be able to have conversations with my therapist about functions and theories as to why. I do not want to hijack their thread but I do like like talking about it for various reasons.

[BadMedium]

Don't mind me too much because I'm a bad medium. Just-me-yaking. I have perceived "entities" attached to ill people several times (I can't see them). I can perceive what they do too.

I usually notice a strong drainage first and that something is off. The perception usually is very complex. It takes me days or weeks to make any sense of it.

These "entities" can affect the behaviour of their victims, like a possesion. Maybe they use sickness as a way in.

I call them "entities" but I can't seem them, so I don't know what they are. It could be that I can sense sickness as an entity.

One day, by chance, I met a woman that had been suffering from a terrible back pain for years. Doctors never quite managed to give her relief, so she decided to try a "santero".

She told me that this santero saw her sickness like if it was a demon attached to her back.

During a healing session, the santero grabbed the demon and locked it up inside a crystal bottle.

As far fetched it may sound, it worked. Her back pain went away forever.

Sidenote: I wouldn't mix mental illness, pills and psychics. It sounds like the recipe for a big disaster.

[Fizwold]

[quote=
Sidenote: I wouldn't mix mental illness, pills and psychics. It sounds like the recipe for a big disaster.[/QUOTE]

Schizoaffective, mental issues got far , far worse on meds. The pills made most of what I heard and saw go away while I was on them but the issue was not that seeing and hearing things and losing them was like losing family really unbalanced me. Did a lot of damage in many ways. Still do not know what gifts I actually have It has been said I am empathic but that is about it. I am happy for that but has not helped me help anyone.

On a related note. Hard for me to find doctors that do more then give out pills, such work can be done by a vending machine.

Had to edit this....was like I was trying to type two different sentences at once. Still loopy from someones meddling.

[BadMedium]

I think I once witnessed how a bad entity took control of a mentally ill person's mind. Then, it make him to commit suicide with the worst method possible. It didn't want just kill him. It wanted to make him suffer the longest possible. There could be other explanations to what I perceived, though.

I believe entities can use an illness as an entry point. For this reason, I'd stay away from psychics.

Regarding empathy, I'm not just empathic. I'm a hyper-empathic to a paranormal level. It is nothing funny. It is not a gift, it's a burden.