Spiritual awakening or mental illness?

[alexa_summer]

Hey everyone.
So ever since my "awakening" I have been researching, learning, and building on my beliefs and it has impacted my everyday life as a result. I always thought that being spiritual & interested in everything that is spiritual was a positive, good thing. When I say spiritual, of course I mean any New Age topic. "Spirit Science" in general...you know. I felt my awakening when it happened, I believe it was something so authentic, I feel like we are all souls inhabiting our bodies & using them as vehicles...etc...I am fully aware of my spirit when I perceive things visually, which is something I can't fully explain, but that is the closest that makes sense. I believe that many messages we put out there are channeled from our higher selves..& I am aware when I am doing that. I feel these sensations through out my body that I can't explain, but again with the word "awareness". Sometimes it does feel like a long, dragged out dream we are all living in..We have so many different terminologies for the "unexplainable" the "paranormal". But they vary so much to the point of confusion, distress over what is real anymore.

To get to the point...I'm taking this class in college called "Abnormal Psychology". & we are learning about many different mental disorders.
There's one in particular that according to by definition, me & many other spiritual believers show symptoms of. It's called "Depersonalization Disorder".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder
I've also noticed described symptoms of "Psychosis" as well...probably very mild versions of, but it is still there.

Are we all just crazies here or what's really going on? How come the first thing medical practitioners jump to in order to explain this phenomena is mental illness? Who is right & who is wrong when it comes down to it? Does ANYONE really know ANYTHING? It all just seems like theories & made up mumbo-jumbo. Nothing is really certain. There's people out there that really do suffer mental illness, but even if doctors and people think they know the reasons or causes or even the exact illness. It doesn't change the fact that no one really knows WHY it even exists to begin with. Consciousness is consciousness. I'm sure all these people who are extreme sufferers have some kind of message to put across. I don't know how to further explain all of this. But if each one of us were carefully examined by a psychiatrist I am sure they would come up with some kind of mental disorder or explanation as to why we experience and perceive things the way we do. Is there a line? A veil that rises to expose truth? Does truth exist? It's all what we perceive it to be...if it looks like a duck & quacks like a duck...it's definitely a duck. Well I think there's more to it.

[lovingkind]

I agree with you completely...there is more to it. Symptoms of awakening and/or our spiritual experiences, if one does not know what they are or what they mean, can be misconstrued as mental illness. It may be that when one does not feel they have control over these experiences and they fear when they are eperiencing is when it may lead to a mental illness diagnoses and mediation...too bad. I think people are medicated too much especially with pharmaceuticals which sometimes make things worse. Just my thoughts... Blessings

[Miss Hepburn]

Yes, not only the psychiatric dept , but just anyone thinks we are crazy
to experience anything Divine or Supernatural.
They are the losers, not us.
Be clear on that right now, have no doubt...we are in the minority and yet we
are the ones' blessed.

[alexa_summer]

I agree with both of you.
People are medicated too much.
I found another thing...apparently seeing auras, hallucinating or hearing voices are symptoms of illness as well. Which doesn't explain the meaning behind the voices they hear. Schizophrenics could actually just be clairvoyant?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_(symptom)
& schizotypal personality disorder also classifies many symptoms: "a need for social isolation, anxiety in social situations, odd behavior and thinking, and often unconventional beliefs." --I experience that sometimes. But mostly because I find comfort being alone. What the heck is classified as "odd behavior or thinking" ??? The definition is so vague it can be applied to almost anyone.

Anyways, speaking of mental illness..According to research I have stumbled across while looking into all of these mystical occurrences...I have found that many spiritual occurrences seem to revolve around people with ADHD, and Autism. I remember them using the term "Indigo Child", that these individuals with such disorders are special and more spiritually advanced than people who are "normal" (for lack of a better word). This REALLY fascinates me. It makes me curious of the spiritual aspect of people with extreme mental disorders-like intellectual disabilities (retardation) and many others. I wonder if they are just as aware as we are. I want to know what their soul purpose here is, what kind of message are they trying to send to us..how awake are they in terms of spirituality? Why does mental illness happen to them? You see so much love in their eyes & you just know there is something they are trying to send to the world, some kind of important message. You know they probably know every secret to life in which we ask ourselves every day.

The core symptom of depersonalization disorder is the subjective experience of "unreality in one's sense of self",and as such there are no clinical signs. Patients who suffer from depersonalization also experience an almost uncontrollable urge to question and think about the nature of reality and existence as well as other deep philosophical questions.

Let me guess, the "cure" cost 59.99 plus tax.

"Show me a sane person and I'll cure them for you."

While not exactly a scientific view, my take on mental illness is that unless it negatively impacts the person's life, it shouldn't be considered mental illness.

If a person has a giant blue space hamster named Ned that has accompanied them through their life, and all the while its been whispering tales of a plane of existence where ascended souls turn into zebras and eat from gumball trees, than unless it's causing problems it shouldn't be considered to be one. If it doesn't turn them violent, cause interpersonal issues, depression, an inability to work etc than let them and Ned be in peace. It doesn't hurt them or others.

I don't know if it still does, but years ago the psychiatric definition of "Delusion" contained exclusions for common religious or cultural beliefs. Meaning if a country had a historical belief in Ned from above (Nedism), it wouldn't be considered a delusion for someone from that country to be a Neddite. Yet if only a handful of people were Neddites, than it would be a delusion. Even though it would be the exact same belief, it would only be seen as a possible symptom of mental illness if few people believed it. So really, what is sanity? Because if sanity is simply what the majority thinks, many times throughout history the views held by the majority have been discovered to be incorrect.

I think it's healthy to hold a degree of skepticism for anything that lacks hard definitive proof, but no two people are ever going to have the same lives. They will have different experiences with friends, family, strangers, dreams, animals, etc. Something that may seem outlandish to one person, based off of their life experiences, may seem overwhelmingly true to another, due to what they've experienced. Unless it is causing actual harm, I think it's wrong to tell someone that their view of life and reality itself is incorrect, just because their experiences led to conclusions that differ from others. In my view the mental illness net is cast too widely these days.

[alexa_summer]

Originally Posted by Medicine_Dog

Let me guess, the "cure" cost 59.99 plus tax.

"Show me a sane person and I'll cure them for you."

Exactly!
That description you quoted made me instantly think "questioning the nature of reality & existence is abnormal?" It kind of astounds me that no one else is remotely curious. How is that NOT one of the millions of questions & thoughts rolling through people's minds before they go to bed at night? lol

The actual diagnostic criteria for depersonalisation disorder takes into account spiritual/cultural belief by stating: In some cultures, experiences of depersonalization and derealization are induced voluntarily, by choice. Such cases are not considered to be part of the ambit of the depersonalization disorder.

It also specifies that the persistent feeling causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

You shouldn't be diagnosed with this disorder without meeting the diagnostic criteria of the DSM. So in this case, psychiatry does differentiate quite clearly between spirituality and psychiatric disorder.

http://psychotherapyandcounseling.or...ation-disorder

[alexa_summer]

Originally Posted by simcau

While not exactly a scientific view, my take on mental illness is that unless it negatively impacts the person's life, it shouldn't be considered mental illness.

If a person has a giant blue space hamster named Ned that has accompanied them through their life, and all the while its been whispering tales of a plane of existence where ascended souls turn into zebras and eat from gumball trees, than unless it's causing problems it shouldn't be considered to be one. If it doesn't turn them violent, cause interpersonal issues, depression, an inability to work etc than let them and Ned be in peace. It doesn't hurt them or others.

I don't know if it still does, but years ago the psychiatric definition of "Delusion" contained exclusions for common religious or cultural beliefs. Meaning if a country had a historical belief in Ned from above (Nedism), it wouldn't be considered a delusion for someone from that country to be a Neddite. Yet if only a handful of people were Neddites, than it would be a delusion. Even though it would be the exact same belief, it would only be seen as a possible symptom of mental illness if few people believed it. So really, what is sanity? Because if sanity is simply what the majority thinks, many times throughout history the views held by the majority have been discovered to be incorrect.

I think it's healthy to hold a degree of skepticism for anything that lacks hard definitive proof, but no two people are ever going to have the same lives. They will have different experiences with friends, family, strangers, dreams, animals, etc. Something that may seem outlandish to one person, based off of their life experiences, may seem overwhelmingly true to another, due to what they've experienced. Unless it is causing actual harm, I think it's wrong to tell someone that their view of life and reality itself is incorrect, just because their experiences led to conclusions that differ from others. In my view the mental illness net is cast too widely these days.

I completely agree. Very well said.

[alexa_summer]

Thanks for clearing that up Meadows.
But when people who are diagnosed with the disorder didn't induce those beliefs and if those beliefs are similar or the same to someone who purposely induced them, it doesn't change the fact that the ones diagnosed are still having a spiritual experience, right? Some people can't handle all this inner truth to the point where I could see how it could bring them down a destructive path. Not saying that's the cause. Maybe they really do have some chemical deficiency or something that makes them act toward things differently or something. But if they didn't have that chemical deficiency they would be just like us. There can't be too much that sets them apart. It's obvious that I've never known anyone with depersonalization. But from learning about it it doesn't seem like mental illness. I guess I actually need to witness what it's like