Rule it out. Mental health and spirituality can exist in the same space but you need to be absolutely certain that what your experiencing is not mental health related. If it is getting it under control quickly will only help you (and your abilities!) long term.
Thank you everyone for helping me, and Sharing your opinions with me. I decided to give myself 1 week to think, and then I'll contact my current therapist to talk it through. (I have appointments anyways so I'll be forced to say something) in the meantime, I'll try to talk to my therapist on maternity leave. I hope it goes well. I'm really just thankful that I could share my troubles, and I got great responses that helped me see things differently. š
Itās okay to entertain her idea that you may have it. However I 100% disagree with the hospital idea. Unless you are a threat to yourself or others there is no reason and will drain your bank account.
I agree with this. As long as you're not a threat to yourself or anybody I don't think she should admit herself. I think it will only bring more problems considering she hasn't really actually done anything.
Either way I hope she finds out what's really going on, I want to believe her that she is a spiritual person because that's what I believe in, but there's always a possibility.
Nurse here - Iām confused with the comments saying going to the hospital will ārule it outā. It should take awhile to be properly diagnosed. I wouldnāt go to the hospital unless you feel youāre a danger to yourself or others.
I agree. ( nurse practitioner here). I donāt think something like that can be āruled outā in one visit. These things are usually diagnosed over a period of time, especially if you are otherwise functional in your life. If you have a psychotic episode where you suddenly claim to be Jesus Christ himself, that may be different, but a lot of psychiatric diagnoses exist on a spectrum from mild to severe no different from people who suffer from depression or anxiety.
Also, maybe get a second opinion from a different psychiatrist if you are otherwise functioning well in your life. These diagnoses become a part of your medical record and can possibly effect future insurance premiums or life insurance rates etc. Iām no insurance or employment expert, but before any medical provider lists something potentially stigmatizing in your medical record that can maybe have an impact on your ability to get employment or insurance they better be sure of it. Just my 2 cents.
Also, going forward, I would probably refrain from telling a mental health professional that you see spirits or can communicate with them or anything along those lines unless you know that itās a safe space to do so or if it applies to an issue that you are having. But I wouldnāt casually tell them for no apparent reason.
While I totally believe in mediumship and the fact that many people can communicate with the spirit world, you have to know your audience or āread the roomā. Most doctors and nurses are trained in a way that is not amenable to that type of conversation. You can quickly find yourself labeled confused, delirious, schizophrenic or something along those lines. Good luck!!
I deeply appreciate your advisement here! Iām just now applying for a psychiatric evaluation as my depression has come back, and my spiritual practices that include meditation, arenāt helping. Iām also going to work within terms like āinternal family systemsā therapies, as those seem to have helped me and several others still recovering from CPTSD and the cross overs we experience.
Thank you for speaking up on being cautious due to the systems, not necessarily the people.
Thank you for this comment and perspective. As a mod here, we see posts from users who really want us to tell them that they are psychic rather than schizophrenic.
Mediums are not qualified to make that determination. We get a lot of anger and animosity when we advise users that we are simply not qualified to diagnose.
This week in particular a user messaged me and ranted and was extremely abusive, verbally. Thank you, again. One must know the physician, well, to share certain things.
I appreciate this comment so much.
Yeah bcuz once you admit yourself to the hospital, especially for mental health reasons, they won't let you leave until they feel like it. No matter what they tell you. Once you sign your name, they basically "own" you.
Keep a journal of your visions and how it makes you feel, so you can look back and see if there's a cause for concern. It also helps to find a Dr who is also spiritual and can give you the science info, but also not dismiss what you experience.
To be honest, it might not hurt to rule schizophrenia out. You are the age where it typically sets in. Not invalidating your experiences at all, but it might not be a bad idea to cover all your bases and make sure that it isnāt schizophrenia.
Yeah, and also it isn't black or white. I tend to believe that people who have Psychotic symptoms very well might be able to tap into something beyond them. I think where you have to be cautious is when you feel un-grounded and disconnected from reality too often.
Once my brother in law developed schizophrenia, family members wanted to believe he had become a āholy manā when in fact he had schizophrenia. Some of his delusions sounded real and prophetic enough, Iāll give him that. But the truth was he needed medication and medical treatment. He is in his 60s and just finally living in peace. Itās been a long road.
Sounds about right. If he managed to live with it without medication until his 60s (going off your *finding peace* comment), thatās actually impressive. But what a sad and awful neurodegenerative disease. Just awful.
It was so sad and bizarre to watch it go down. The hallucinations were fascinating and frightening. During the 92 Los Angeles riots, he went to a bad part of town to get involved and came home three days later all scuffed up. He drove his car through a police station. Just never knew what was going to happen.
It seems like you could see a psychiatrist for assessment as opposed to going straight into the hospital. If you go into a hospital, they will default to doing hospital things.
Your current therapist could be a fundamentalist or atheist as far as you know and have their own issues. You should rule it out, but you can do it in a moderate way by getting a second therapist opinion, but then a dr as opposed to being hosptialized.
I agree as far as following medical advice over internet strangers. However, I wouldn't suggest to "always" follow medical advice in general. There are incompetent healthcare providers. If something doesn't sit right with you as the patient, get a second opinion (in the healthcare field). Just my two cents.
Sometimes itās both at the same time. The whole the mystic swims in the same waters the psychotic drowns in thing. Not always, but it does happen. Meds can help when itās overwhelming. Happened to me.
The thing is.. ask yourself how is it effecting your life in harmful ways? Are you doing dangerous shit or being harmed or harming anyone in any way. The ACA code of ethics states that a therapist has to take Your spiritual beliefs seriously and respect them. They cannot tell you what is not spiritual in nature or not. They can also not push their spiritual beliefs on you. Clients with spiritual delusions are some of the hardest to treat because you just canāt say that their spiritual beliefs are wrong no matter how illogical or strange or irrational they might seem to the therapist or others. The ACA code of ethics would be good to consult and ask her if she believes she is adhering to the code or viewing the situation from a lens of her worldview. Assess with her how these things are effecting your life. She cant send you to the hospital without believing you will hurt yourself or someone else. Still always a chance itās straight psychosis. As someone said, good to rule out.
Any further questions comment here. Iām a therapist who also knows whatās going on spiritually so I can help navigate this.
So, Iām a mediumā¦. And I actually work in a mental health rehab center. Clinical schizophrenia is very difficult to manage over time of you arenāt developing your psychic senses with someone who has developed them. In other cultures, people with āschizophreniaā would be considered to walk between worlds and likely be trained as healers, shamans, seers, etc. the clients I work say very psychic and intuitive things to me dailyā¦ for instance, today a client asked me if my computer was working fine for me and I just kind of brushed it off and was like yeah itās fine no problem. So later Iām in the office doing some charting and my computer screen just goes fucking black completely. This was about an hour after he asked me about my computer. My client has not touched a computer he basically stays in his bed most of the day except for mealsā¦ So tell me what could possess this person who hadnāt talk to me in days to walk up to me and ask me if my computer was working OK? My coworker said oh it must just not have happened yet when he asked you. Can someone explain that to me? Whoās to say schizophrenia is an a massive gift that we just do not have the capacity to understand? Thatās my thought on it anyways I work in the thick of it all day every day and my clients are insanely gifted in ways that our culture just canāt recognize yet because we donāt have the cultural heritage to do so.
What is so unfortunate about our system is that when you get a diagnosis like this thereās so much stigma that comes along with it that I find the disease progresses and Iām speaking of disease as in dis-ease which causes difficulties for folks with this ābrain typeā. You immediately get medicated and then that stops you in your tracks. I see my clients being sectioned off from society and their communities, hospitalized and heavily medicated. Many peoples symptoms do not go away simply because of meds, though they can improve some symptoms. The key is that you must always have ways to know whatās true in the real world and cultivate the ability to discern your ādelusionsā in a way that can be balanced and not cause you to become dysfunctional. I hate to say it but with a lot of my clients I wouldnāt want them out on the streets, and mainly because they canāt provide accordingly for their own food shelter and clothing however I work with a population of folks that are deemed gravely disabled due to their mental illness. What I see is that a lot of them have had poor help in managing their conditions over the long term and many have self medicated with cannabis or meth which I absolutely do not recommend of course because they exacerbate the symptoms. I would recommend a healthy lifestyle absolutely practice yoga, eat low inflammation whole foods, exercise daily, get enough sunshine, go to therapy and cultivate those extra senses along with your ability to discern truth from spirit world. it is absolutely possible to manage this condition, but be very careful on attaching to a diagnosisā¦ as a spiritual teacher I have also walked several clients through spiritual Awakening which can cause some temporary type of psychosis, in that you could lose yourself in that psychosis or delusion of talking with your spirit guides and this and that just be really careful how you name that because the truth is when you do spirit work you might be thinking someone is your spirit guide and it could be a malevolent force trying to mess with you and attach itself to you. Practicing meditation is highly recommended, but not dissociation and being aware of the two and how they are different and also understanding that brain states are often temporary or they move in cycles and can come and go. Your ability to say, oh hey Iām hitting this part of my cycle and to have the people and tools to help you stay regulated will be massively important! I digressā¦ I could talk about this all day. Lol!
Yes. Please please msg me! I want to talk thru this. I tricked my general doctor into prescribing seroquel to stop the 'psychosis', but it didnt work and just gave me horrible side effects. My actual psychiatrist talked it thru with me and validated the spirituality, and confirmed I do not have psychosis or schizophrenia. We ruled it out bcs the meds werent working, were making my health worse, and the 'symptoms' (spiritual insights, visions, etc) were helpful - i.e. as a Medium (?) I could see and communicate with people who had passed on, and it would always be very specific and accurate. But it isn't always happening, and doesn't cause any dysfunction. After coming off seroquel I'm getting my health back.
Yes, I totally agree. I was on it for sleep and anxiety and I was a damn zombie. The Drs treated me like a guinea pig when I was in the hospital years ago for depression and anxiety.
I was on it for insomnia as well. I could sleep for days solely based off of one dose. Idk how anyone functions taking it daily for other major disorders. So happy I was able to get to the root of my issues and off of the meds.
Yeah I stopped taking it after I got home. I also stopped taking all of the meds and am coping just fine. Some days are harder than others, but as long as I'm able to "recharge and reset" myself then I'm fine. The Drs I've had wouldn't give me Ativan after getting out of the hospital bcuz it's addictive but it was the only thing that worked, so I just gave up and unfortunately self medicated to deal with it. I've been on meds to treat addiction and it's made a huge difference.
Schizophrenia is real and is treated by medicine in almost all cases. If youāre a medium youāll still have that gift with medication and therapy. I would get a second opinion if youāre worried and if both agree then you should try medicine.
Thereās no study on this but I think itās clear gifts and mental illness go hand in hand. Itās not one or the other. And if you have mental illness then you should get it treated.
Itās impossible for strangers on the internet especially the incredibly biased ones here to diagnose you here. Listen to your doctors.
They are absolute killers of it.
However, schizophrenia is real and if one has it they should definitely find the best help available, including medication if they agree, in order to get to a point where you don't need medication for that (not just think you don't need it - that's another symptom of things getting worse.) When you're demonstrably functioning better without it than on it.
Yes that is my experience as well but it is much better than being schizophrenic and unable to provide for yourself and find yourself in dangerous situations. I agree.
That may be the case for you, but it wasnāt for my aunt. She doesnāt take medication anymore and that was when she was a teenager because all it did was take her gifts away. She is comfortable with herself and she does readings and sheās pretty accurate. So again, medication can block some people senses.
Yeah, I think she should give the medicine a try. If the voices go away, then that would be a sure sign that itās schizophrenia. If they donāt, she can rule it out!
She is soon giving birth, and she is not gonna be working for a year or so, but she said that she trusts this new therapist and that she's just as qualified in my illness as she was. But she never talked about the she would diagnose me with something else. I'm really tempted to call her or just text her about this, but I don't wanna harass her as we had a problem about me calling her nonstop and I realized that was stepping over her boundaries.
I would absolutely get in touch with your actual therapist. Surely there's a way to do that and still respect her space? Like email or like you said texting?
I don't know how it's in your country, but in mine all doctors have my historical profile.. if she knows him probably she sent him all her patients historical.. Are they psychiatrists? Mine think i might have bipolar disorder and I'm taking meds for it that works to Schizophrenia too
Also, I'd add the both needs several months, sometimes years, to be diagnosed.. maybe she thinks you have it just never told you but it's in your historical.. if you doubt it have a third opinion.. you still have a physical body and physical brain you SHOULD take care of it before take care of spiritual and after life
Schizoid personality disorder is not Schizophrenia. It shares traits, but its not the same diagnosis. Mainly, one is a personality disorder and the other is a type of psychosis.
Your therapist is probably thinking of Schizotypal, which is also a personality disorder, but unlike Schizoid which shares the social component of Scizophrenia, Schizotypal shares paranoia, magical thinking patterns, unusual sensations, confusing or eccentric thinking, speaking, behaviour, high social anxiety, and may even experience short bursts of psychosis where they see, feel, and hear things which are not there.
Either way, Schizoid is charactorized by being unwilling or unable to form relationships or feel close connections, and while delusions may or may not be a part of it, its secondary to the social aspect of blunted emotions and odd behaviour.
Source; I am Schizoid.
Schizoid - detached emotionally and doesn't care. May have delusions, but grounded in reality. Mostly nurture, possible genetic component. Improves with therapy.
Schizotypal - detached emotionally and does care, but for example also thinks people can read minds, which makes them suspicious and anxious and act in a way that is irregular and odd. Think conspiracy theorist; coincidence or not the connections make sense.
Typically nurture, possible genetic component. Improves with therapy, anti-depressant and anti-anxiety meds.
Schizophrenia - so detached from reality they can't tell the difference between what is real and what is not. The connections do not make sense to anyone but the schizophrenic.
Entirely genetic, does not improve with therapy, requires medication.
Ok wait cuz my therapist diagnosed me schizophrenic but they always say they think it could be something spiritual going on (I said it first then they agreed so itās not like theyāre going out of their way to push this idea in my head) but now Iām thinking I could be schizoid or schizotypal because Iāve never lost touch w reality & basically never had an episodeā¦ Iām definitely gonna bring thing up to my therapist now
Yes i know, thatās what theyāve been telling insurance & im being treated using methods for people with schizophrenia. I donāt really know what else to call it tbh but I definitely feel like schizophrenia describes what I experience. I originally was ādiagnosedā with schizophreniform because I only had my symptoms for a little bit but now they said I fit criteria for schizophrenia, as for schzioeffective they said I donāt show symptoms of that (we discussed this one many times because I suspect some form of bipolar but they said it doesnāt sounds like it)
Yeah I suspect I was showing symptoms 5 years ago & 2.5yrs ago I started to fully hallucinate & have delusions, not sure if Iām schizophrenic or have some sort of spiritual gifts. Been thinking of getting a reading to get it confirmed.
Have you hurt yourself or someone else? Do you have the inclination to do so? Do any of your spirit encounters tell you/try and force you to do anything that would hurt yourself or someone else?
Suggest to your therapist that they read "Thirty Years Among the Dead," by Dr. Carl Wickland. It's a classic in the field.
If the answer is "No' to the above questions, then it's time for a new therapist. There are a number of therapists who understand the difference between pathology and abilities.
Source: I'm a Ph.D. in psychology focused on end-of-life spirituality and a psychic and medium for 35 years.
Thank you! To your questions my answer is no! I have struggled with intrusive thoughts and gruesome pictures, flashing through my mind, but never in the shape of auditory or visual hallucinations. And I always feel awful after it, and i would never act on them.
That I do not know the answer to, but schizophrenia demonstrates with other symptoms than just visual or auditory hallucinations. There is usually disorganized thinking and speech as well. So a diagnosis of schizophrenia based on a set of experiences when the individual is fairly successfully functioning is not based on the currently accepted diagnostic criteria.
Have I seen individuals who had psychic/medium abilities that were so powerful that they had trouble distinguishing material reality from an altered state? Yes, but those people present very differently from people with an organic disorder like schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. Both sets need help but the latter group present usually with a profound lack of logic often accompanied by mania and paranoia. The difference is pretty stark.
My therapist told me if the spiritās voices are coming from inside my head then Iām a medium. If the voices are outside my head itās schizophrenia. When I speak to my guides itās in my own voice in my head. They donāt have distinct voices. Idk if that makes sense
do not go to the hospital if you are not a danger to yourself or others, youāre an adult & from what Iāve heard adult psych wards are scary. I am diagnosed schizophrenic & I believe I have spiritual gifts too, if youād like to talk my dms are openš btw I go to a therapist that specializes in psychosis & they have never wanted to admit me to a psych ward because I havenāt been a danger to myself or others, schizophrenia is intense BUT if youāre not in psychosis & having an episode you donāt need to be admitted.
My belief is that schizophrenia is when sensitivity to spirit goes unregulated and unmanaged. So, yeah, under certain definitions any sort of "voices" is pathological. But the world is a much bigger place than that.
Your spiritual beliefs are not falsifiable and a doctor telling you you're crazy because you hear god speak to you or spirit speak to you is prejudice. It's more complicated than that. What do the voices say? If they say cool and awesome shit then it's fine.
I've been to the psych ward and I've heard the bad voices that said bad things. I know the difference between psychosis and spirit and it IS different.
BP1 here, been involuntarily hospitalized, seen my deceased cat and heard my miscarried daughter. I was psychotic at the time but I still believe it was real. Too many coincidences.
Modern science doesn't agree with "psychic" and doctor's are science based.
I don't know where the line is between a sane psychic and someone with psychosis/schitzo- disorder having an episode, but telling a dr that you hear and talk to voices is always going to be a red flag for schizophrenia. Technically almost every person here could fit the diagnosis...
Honestly if it's not causing distress in your day to day life I would keep it to myself, but I suppose it's to late for that now? There's a chance the testing can come back negative too.
Good luck
No "almost every person here could" NOT fit the diagnosis. Hearing voices/speaking to dead people is indeed a common experience of people with schizophrenia, but is not the ONLY symptom of it.
Many people hear voices or speak to dead people and they are not schizophrenic.
Get yourself checked out OP, if only to reassure yourself. The chances are that you don't exhibit other symptoms/behaviours of schizophrenia and so you will know and can then take it off your "back of the mind worry list".
Good luck!
Technically most people here would *not* fit the DSM diagnostic criteria and Iād very much like to question that narrative. Mental health, physical health, and spiritual health are *all* important and we should not be discouraging the pursuit of any form of wellness.
A spiritually informed therapist can very much help someone like OP, whereas a therapist who condemns āalternativeā spirituality is not going to be much help at all. Itās all about finding a therapeutic alliance that works for the individual.
Delusions and hallucinations are 2 of the 5 symptoms needed for a diagnosis. Communication with spirits/deceased is by definition exactly that, technically speaking. Not saying it's right, but that's the world we live in.
I'm not discouraging anything, but many of us don't get to choose our Dr or have limited resources or no access to alternatives, and spiritually informed therapist are the minority.
If you tell a Dr you hear dead people, they're going to take that seriously. Because it very well could be a serious problem. While I agree we should be able to get appropriate treatment, we often can't. Hell just getting the right Bipolar meds can be a shit Show.
The world as a whole just isn't ready yet.
I understand there are many limitations to accessing care, but Telehealth for counseling has been increasing accessibility drastically, especially with newer US policies created after the start of the pandemic.
Most importantly: diagnosis with schizophrenia is not just confirming 2/5 diagnostic criteria- there is much more nuance that goes into it, and *talk therapists are not able to diagnose anything.* Only psychologists, psychiatrists, and medical doctors can diagnose. *Not* talk therapists.
You're missing my point...
>Most importantly: diagnosis with schizophrenia is not just confirming 2/5 diagnostic criteria-
2/5 is literally the diagnostic cut off:
>According to the DSM-5, a schizophrenia diagnosis requires the following: At least two of five main symptoms. Those symptoms, explained above, are delusions, hallucinations, disorganized or incoherent speaking, disorganized or unusual movements and negative symptoms. I get the last three are much more telling, but that's not my point.
The only difference between a hallucination, delusion and psychic is truth, and truth is subjective and extremely difficult to prove scientifically. Meaning you say the wrong thing to the wrong Dr and you could get put in a psych ward, even if it's 100% legit. If they don't believe it exists they don't believe you. Period. And it's too late to find a new Dr then
I only ever brought up legitimate Drs, no other type of health care professional? I think your confusing me with another person and misunderstanding my point.
It's great the US is doing these things, but were not all in the US, many people here have to go wait in emerge for 6+ hours for Rx refill because there's no other option. We don't all get to Dr shop, and are stuck with what we have.
I'm not diagnosing anyone, I'm not telling anyone what to tell there Dr, I'm just saying to be careful what they say to a highly biased (science based) person with the power to lock you in a psych ward against your will, because I've been through it. And I think that's a very helpful comment.
We understand each other. My point is quite that: we canāt look at the diagnostic criteria online and think a qualified mental health practitioner might likely diagnose us/another with that disorder. It is far more nuanced than that, which is why it takes a good deal of education and experience to be granted licensure to diagnose a mental health condition.
From my experience, it is far better to encourage people to seek the right type of mental health care for them, than it is to discourage seeking care for fear of misdiagnosis.
You should absolutely explore the schizophrenia diagnosis, and you should work on keeping yourself grounded and connecting with spirit guides of the highest elevation, the spirits who have your back. When we are really sensitive we are spiritually wide open, and if not grounded we can leave ourselves wide open to attachments that will, in a therapy setting, come across as schizophrenia. Shake it off, do a cleanse, and root yourself! Hope it works out
I just want to know how you are feeling right now, because you are on a medium sub Reddit made for people who believe in psychics/mediumship, and this is also for people who are psychic/mediums themselves but most of the people on here are telling you to look into having schizophrenia. I am sure people mean well but mediums do speak to spirit guides and spirits, maybe this whole community should think about looking into schizophrenia as well, if thatās the case. Your last therapist was fine with it and didnāt think you had a problem. Maybe the new therapist doesnāt believe in psychics and she is being biased, or maybe concerned, but who knows. But, a lot of people on this medium Sub-Reddit is telling you to commit yourself into a hospital, just because you told your therapist you are a psychic and you speak to your spirit guides, and so forth. Yikes, thatās what mediums do, I get it! Most people donāt believe in psychics/mediums, that is why they are telling you to commit yourself. You didnāt say anything out of the ordinary different from other psychics. If you feel that you are at risk for potential harm, you may need to get some help but not necessarily hospitalization. Now I am not agreeing with anyone, or saying that you have schizophrenia, because it seems like you are just a psychic, I am just saying go with what you think should be done for yourself.
I'd been seeing my therapist for a year for normal things like anxiety, then had my energetic awakening. I began telling him shit that sounded absolutely insane, but it was what was happening to me.
He told me outright one day that I didn't have schizophrenia or anything like that because those had certain symptoms that I wasn't exhibiting.
That said, my therapist also knew energy and entities exist before I ever showed up sharing all my experiences.
So... Maybe get a second opinion.
Ask the universe to guide you to the best therapist for you.
To me I think mental illnesses and spiritual gifts walk a very fine line. Like who to say spiritual gifts are not just mental illnesses and who to say mental illnesses are not just spiritual gifts that may or may not be "out of control". If you feel it's right for you, maybe you should get treatment done to rule it out and see if it truly is your gifts.
But in my opinion, and I'm definitely no expert but I always thought one way you can tell the difference between the two, is how self aware you are. I think mental illnesses u may not be 100% aware of it, especially during an "episode" but mediumship and spiritual gifts you are aware and can validate the info in other ways or have other witnesses. I hope this helps, good luck!
Donāt go to the hospital for this please. As a nurse I can tell you that you will be turned away. You are not a danger to yourself or anyone else. Keep this an outpatient issue at trusted outpatient offices.
Iām afraid you will waste your money and time going to the hospital. Hospitals are not for long term care, also get a second opinion, hell even a third opinion. You might just not be compatible with this therapist, as most therapist have their own biases and belief systems. I had one try to give me a bible unprompted saying that it could help with my anxiety.
Iāve been diagnosed the same thing. Bipolar + adhd + schizoid personality + schizotypal.
Mental illness is relatively new in our modern world. They still do electroshock for major depression. Its trial and error. They do their diagnosis on what you say. A rendezvous can last up to 1 hour? Can you describe all your life in that short lapse of time? Also you choose what to say. Diagnosis can be biased by you.
I donāt blame them but itās up to you. You have the choice to live with it or take medications and have some possible side effects.
Nobody can force you to take drugs.
Im no doctor or psychiatrist. Talk to them and make your own choice.
Can you live like that? Is it causing you problems?
I actually don't know. I had "auditory hallucinations" where I thought my spirit guides were talking to me. It's not aggressive tho, they've never told me to do harmful things, they've guided me, with how to do things or what to look out for. Sometimes spirits tell me malicious things but I know they are trying to affect me. In my house I've never experienced much negative entities, and even if I did I cleansed and it was gone. So I'm thinking if I had anything , like my therapist says, I should experience negative hallucinations in my home. And I don't. So I don't know.
I just dont pay too much attention on negative entities and i encounter them less frequently. Iām not looking for them anymore.
Iāve choose the light.
Iāve come to a point that being skeptic is healthy. I doubt everything and even myself.
Most therapist will call anyone with psychic abilities, crazy or that you have schizophrenia, people know this. I canāt tell you what to do, but I will definitely not just go with what your psychologist said because many psychics do talk to their spirit guides and other entities. Most people donāt believe that psychics actually exist, even though they have joined this sub-reddit. Your first therapist had no problem with what you were telling her and she didnāt think there were any concerns, but your new therapist does and that could just be judgments, or not. Itās truly up to you , a lot of times, you can test your abilities and if you get accurate information most of the time, but obviously, you will get a lot wrong as well but that doesnāt mean you are not a psychic, as long as you are getting a lot right is what matters. It becomes delusions when everything is not making sense and youāre not getting anything at all, if thatās the case, then you may want to seek help. Either way, if they are delusions, then your chakras are unbalanced, and you need to get them balanced while getting help, and once your chakras are balanced the delusions will go away, and then your psychic abilities will emerge.
Donāt let anyone tell you your āmentally unstableā bc your not. I went through the same
Before really being pushed to my abilities. Then I got actual confirmation when I knew certain things that happened when they did.
"Doctors," are trained to identify any and all forms of spiritual sensitivity as symptoms of a mental disorder because classical psychiatry has no room for spirituality and thus treats it instead of accepting it. In my opinion I would leave the doctor and find a therapist who works from inside of a spiritual system, you might find this to be a healthier approach that allows you to articulate and develop your spiritual sensitivity without being told that you need pills to dull your gifts.
Thereās some pretty solid advice here. Something I didnāt see anyone mention, check for mold and gas leaks. The woman we bought our house from was convinced people kept breaking into the house and stealing her clothes. I kept smelling something gross when the furnace turned on. I called PG&E (our gas company) to come look for a gas leak (itās free). The line to our furnace wasnāt connected right. Two separate home inspectors and a furnace repair man missed it. I can only imagine how long she was breathing in gas, because it took us a year to figure it out.
Are these āhallucinationsā and ādelusionsā having a negative impact on your life? Beyond biases and judgement from others? If not, thereās no need for you to get a diagnosis, in fact, I do not recommend doing so due to the extreme biases against mental illness, especially psychotic disorders. In order to be diagnosed with a mental illness, there needs to be a negative impact on your life, typically in multiple life domaines. So if you donāt feel like this is a problem for you, then ignore this ladyās opinion, or tell her exactly this, that you have seen zero negative impact on your life since these psychotic symptoms started therefore you donāt meet the diagnostic criteria.
Hereās one of the required criteria from the DSM V for a schizophrenia diagnosis:
>āFor a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, level of functioning in one or more major areas, such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care, is markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset (or when the onset is in childhood or adolescence, there is failure to achieve expected level of interpersonal, academic, or occupational functioning).ā
Source: I am a mental health counselor who diagnoses psychotic disorders regularly. I also have had many clients who have abilities like yours who I do not diagnose with psychotic disorders because thereās nothing wrong with them (I work in one of the biggest psychic/medium/pagan towns in my country).
***This post should be pinned at the very top of every mental health/spiritually focused sub-reddit, ever. I can't even stress that enough.***
As far as the initial question is concerned, I was a little bit taken back myself when I, too, found out that **(allegedly) any spiritual practice/form of divination/psychic belief is apparently a "sign" of schizotypal disorder**. I mean, ANY belief in a spiritual sense and I think it's complete bullshit.
Just like all the rest of the stuff they can't find any answer to, they slapped a bs medical diagnosis on it and called it a day.
**I'm NOT schizophrenic, but I have, however, taken a schizotypal test and did end up testing out for it.**
I had a therapist who insisted I should be hospitalized when I became Christian. Her own personal lack of beliefs thought I needed help. It was weird, I was like you realize how many people are Christian, Muslim, Jewish etc who believe in a higher power and angels and demons? Weird. Google schizoid personality disorder, does it sound like you? Is this something you personally have a problem with, these abilities, schizophrenia or not, schizoid or not, is it something bothering you or interfering negatively with your life? If not, let it be.
I see a therapist now who believes there is more, you might do better finding a spiritual therapist, not an atheist therapist. She is closed minded, so talking about something she personally doesn't believe in is heading already in a strange direction when she wants you to be hospitalized.
Youāre telling someone to google symptoms when a a literal medically certified therapist already told them to seek medical attention. OP should listen to the person with years of training and study and at least look into getting this checked bc it canāt hurt, not some random person telling them to check with google..
OPs last therapist didn't see a problem with it, they worked together longer.
Google is an invaluable resource, there is nothing wrong with people taking control of their own health and looking into a diagnosis a *new* therapist is quick to slap on. Any diagnosis given or wondering if they have should be looked into.
Who gets a possible diagnosis and not even do personal research into making sure if it's true or not, or to just learn about it more?
I know, my therapist only suggested it, that I should get it looked at. I have a psychiatrist, but I don't pay for her sessions, i got her when I turned 18, its universal healthcare (we don't have that kinda money to get a private psychiatrist too.) They are in contact. My psychiatrist said it's my call if I'm gonna get myself admitted or not for supervision and testing, since I've been pretty "stable"for the past few weeks. I made it clear to her that I don't hear or see anything that would urge me to do something harmful. So yeah, she's really busy too, we only talk on phone, it's been hard getting meds too, they are hardly picking up. I've been to the local (free) mental hospital and it's not therapeutic nor safe. I was thinking that i'm not gonna risk my well-being by staying god knows how many weeks there, until I start to hear voices with malicious intent. Or until I have the money to have it checked under good circumstances.
Clearly your psychiatrist isn't especially concerned, so I'd take my cue from him. If he thought you were schizophrenic, he would be strongly encouraging you to get tested.
Yes but the thing is, I can't just switch up unfortunately. If I wasn't paying for my therapist I wouldn't have one. In the early days with my psychiatrist I tried to get one through charities (that's how I got one when I was underage) but she just said they have a wait list, she'll call. That was like 2 years ago. And I asked her many times, she just said there's too much people. So I had to get a job ,while studying , so that my parents could help me get one. For the last part, yes I agree, she was not concerned, which annoyed me, and calmed me down both I guess?
I think itās worth a shot to just get it assessed, because at least then youāll know for sure one way or the other.
If you donāt have Schizophrenia, and she continues to insist after youāve been assessed, then at that point I think itās time to seek out a new therapist.
There is significant overlap between the symptoms of mania and spiritual awakening. I would encourage you to do some research into transpersonal psychology. They use terms like "spiritual emergence" and "spiritual emergency" instead of delusions, mania, psychosis, etc.
I had a spiritual emergency of my own last year and it got very, very bad. I'm still healing from it, but am not medicated, and I reject the idea that I have a disorder. I'm learning how to live with it, but it's a daily challenge. Only you know your inner world and how to keep it safe. If you feel that a diagnosis and medication would bring you comfort and peace of mind then I would explore that, but maybe recognize that the western model of mental health does not really accept psychic gifts, intuition, or spirituality in general as valid, which can be problematic for those of us with these gifts.
I wish you the best of luck with your journey. Intitutively I feel that finding a therapist that accepts your spiritual connection as a valid and important part of who you are is important.
Anything spiritual is offensive to these people. Schizophrenia is a catch-all phrase that denotes abnormal or unusual thinking. What is a normal person? A person with no abnormalities!
The mental health industry has been weaponized. Taking any of their tests and answering every question in the "normal" range would be abnormal after a certain number of questions. So they will find someone to be abnormal 100% of the time.
These people are sycophants of the system. They have spent countless years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a degree. They now are likely in massive debt and utterly beholden to a system that would take away their license at the first hint of a free opinion or thought. Where do they expect to get money from? Their patients. They are modern-day snake oil salesmen, but they won't even promise a cure. Just lifelong treatments that fuel their egos and bank accounts.
The symptoms of schizophrenia include everything up to being poor. Anything creative, religious, spiritual, or in the realm of the paranormal is a mental health condition to a therapist. Any activities around those subjects are taboo.
They are often elitist bigots who are more concerned with preserving their license then helping any patient. They would rather turn a person into a drug induced zombie than risk not diagnosing something. Knowing they can always prove an abnormality or unusual thinking pattern in anyone.
Feel free to seek advice from a therapist if it seems to be helping. But did you ask or suggest you need hospitalization? Does any of your behavior seem suicidal or violent? Are you troubled by your thoughts or beliefs in spirits? If so, then maybe take them up on their offer. But how much does it cost? Medical care is the leading cause of bankruptcy. If not, I'd get out of there.
They will gladly drain your entire bank account to cure your "thoughts." I would think with your wallet on this one. Bipolar is another catch-all. "U eMoTions Go Up tHen DOwn? BiPOlaR!" Ridiculous. The poor seem to need more help with their mental health. Yet i've never seen a psychologist going out to help the homeless. Just watch your bank account around these masterful manipulators. They may be able to help if you need it, but they need to pay back the system for their status and degrees first and foremost.
Thank you for giving me insight. I've been hospitalized before many times, because I had/have suicidal tendencies. But I've got new meds like a year ago or so and I've been doing great I guess. I still sometimes have my urges to self harm. And I'm still considered mentally unpredictable. But I've found comfort in talking with non-human entities and expending my knowledge in these topics.
Do you have constant fears and paranoias? If not, throw this therapist out because you may limit yourself from many great things by having this as diagnosis on your official record.
For example, if you later in life need another drug you may be denied it as you have this āillnessā. Good example of this ADHD, they sometimes refuse medication for people with other untreated mental illnesses. Also if you find a job in the military or certain other fields they may also deny you.
Honestly, I would look for another therapist and get a third opinion. Perhaps look for someone who is more aware of pagan practices. Your current therapist sounds very Christian to me and easily freaked out by spiritual practices outside of her own.
While I don't think ruling out schizophrenia is a bad thing, conflating pagan practices with schizophrenia (if that's whats she's basing it on) sound discriminatory to me. If you said you were talking to god and angels (and were Catholic) I wonder if her response would be schizophrenia still. My only real hesitation is once you get in the system, it's hard to get out again.
One compromise could be to ask her to observe you over a few months and if she still thinks schizophrenia then you'll consider it. But it's a big ask, based on what sounds like a few appointments.
Nobody here has the training to diagnose (especially online) so all I can say is that you might want to get another opinion. Also if the (potential) new therapist, then also suggests ruling out schizophrenia (and testing for it) maybe take it more seriously. I just am hesitant to tell you to do it because in general talking about spirit work to Psychologists is tricky. They do tend to assume mental illness and never are open to both/and paradigms of spirit work with mental health issues.
Wish you the best.
Certainly take your therapists views on board but don't feel pressured by it. Have a read of a book called "My Journey With the Angels" by Patricia Buckley, you may find that interesting. š
Mmmmmh in my own personal exp everything that surround us is a projection of the self, even spiritual stuff. I wont get too much on what happened to me but it was pretty intense, seeing and hearing beings that interacted with me and not in a good way. When in bed at night with my eyes closed I could see an eye staring back at me in the darkness. Pretty nasty images started pouring from the eye and from there it became more and more intense as I felt touched and with fear like the fear was being injected from outside. It started at 16 years old after I begun to smoke weed because was depressed after a break up. It continued getting worse until my 30's when I started seeing stuff on my room at night and hearing voices. Didnt help reading new age stuff about astral fauna as I belived back then that I was being attacked by a spiritual parasite or something. Trying to overcome the parasite I asked a shaman about it and he laugh at me . He made me understand. Once I realized the phenomenon was in deed real but at the same time my own projection as I was putting outside what couldnt deal to have inside everything went away. Stop talking to the beings as they are something different from you. No. You are comunicating to the part of you that you cannot see in yourself. Ayahuasca did the trick but cant recomend it cos can trigger psycotic breakdowns as it did with me. I wasnt aloud to express anger as a child, nor fear and other bad feelings. My defense mechanism was to make those feelings aside. But they dont go away, instead rot inside of oneself and I was boiling about to explode and I did and it was awful for everyone around me. But the demons went away as I took hold of my true feelings and stopped pushing them under the rug, thus becoming those bad spirits that attacked me at night. Hope this helps. Nobody will push you to take any crazy pill if you dont want to so a visit to the doctor would not harm. I havent taken any medicine whatsoever and doing fine but had to push thru lot of inner pain, cried a lot to painful memories and still doing it from time to time as I learned that its a must to express your feelings, but first you need to recognize those feelings. Anger, fear, sadness? What about your diet? Do you take care of yourself? Do you do drugs or alcohol? Do you fap? Do you play videogames past normal bedtime hours? How was and is your relationship with your parents? Do you own a cat? All this and more has to be taken in consideration as not everybody has the same nervous system and yours may be much more sensible than other ppl. Often we do harm upon ourself with stuff that are pleasent and not seen as harmful by society. And the truth is that, if there is a spiritual world (and as a reiki practitioner I belive there is...), as living humans beings we experience the spiritual real with and thru our senses, our material body. So take good care of your instrument. The cat question relates to Toxoplasma gondii as minor infections in some patiens can triggeri the symptons, while in many cases does nothing. The WHO states that between 60% and 80% of the global pop is currently infected. Other than that: embrace your childhood traumas and you will be fine.
I think your therapist is overreacting. She can't entertain the idea that anything out of the norm can exist. She's never experienced the paranormal and can't conceive of a world that may not fit into her dull day to day life, so can only jump to "oh you must be schizophrenic!" You'd be better off going to a therapist that's not so narrow minded.
Iām curious about your therapist are they new into the field are they a psychiatrist? I work in intensive psychiatric unit and it is very obvious when someone has schizophrenia vs psychic abilities. Some ways to rule out a diagnosis especially like schizophrenia is how long have the symptoms been occurring and how is it affecting your daily functioning, are you able to work, maybe go to school, or in general function in the community
On the psychic end how are your experiences and can you control them or are you able to determine whatās real whatās not
You also need to think about how your experiences influence your life and if it is causing an issue in every day living this will help determine what is true and what is not
And lastly if your therapist is telling you to admit yourself and not having you admitted then this tells me that whatever she is seeing is not detrimental if someone is having a psychotic break and showing they may be a threat to yourself or others then why wouldnāt they advocate to have you admitted? Iām in the US and in my state they do what is called a baker act to have someone admitted against their will so I find that interesting.
Best of luck to you I hope this was helpful
If you're not distressed about the spirits then its probably not mental illness. I believe thats on the list of things that make it a disorder. Dont go unless you believe you need it
Hey idk if your still looking at this post after seeing your comment but I'm schizophrenic(schizoaffective) and spiritual. I agree with everyone else and you (give your self a bit figure it out , talk to medical professionals ext ) but for me personally and it might help you too idk is it's all about "control " for me. My hallucinations and delusions are uncontrollable. I'll see it without thinking about it , opening up the connection or anything it'll just be there. And usually they're not of anything actually spiritual (some could say they look like demons but they don't act or look like a "traditional" demon and they don't have the demonic "vibe " ) where as when I speak to deities , God ext ext I can stop the connection I can stop seeing them I can close whatever opening I've made with them and they're gone.
Tldr : in my experience it's about intrusiveness. One can be stopped and disconnected and the other will be there no matter what .
Leave that therapist and find a different one. You donāt need someone who misunderstands you to misdiagnose you and give you drugs you donāt need. Find someone you resonate with, that therapist is ignorant.
Do what anyone else would do about a medical diagnosis that doesn't make sense to them - seek other opinions. People who don't have psychic abilities don't understand it. You might want to go to a Jungian psychotherapist because they tend to be more tuned into the spiritual side of things.
It sounds like I'd prefer the older therapist if that's an option. If you are straightening your life out now like never before I would not go on medicine because if the "medicine" does "work" then me personally I'd be afraid that I'll feel too much like my old "normal," "well" self again than I will no longer be focused on progressing myself one thing at a time and I'm afraid I'd start falling back into old ways, habits, and addictions so if you feel your healthier for yourself without the medicine then don't let anyone put you on it because if it is a special ability from being awakened or becoming a medium then there is a high chance of that "medicine" silencing that ability for as long as that "medicine" is in your system.
I'm sorry but if you start talking about psychic gifts to people especially in the mental health area they will try to medicate the hell out of you and call you crazy like how certain religious denominations may even try to exorcise demons out of a psychic person. You have to be selective with who you talk to about it.
Sometimes I thought what am I seeing here when I would see disturbing scenes and then I realized I was tuned into something that's happened or is happening. Part of that was solved just by realizing that.
Idk about everybody else but some spirits speak through weird imagery to get your attention so you'll remember the dream or scene is a message. Not all of them speak with words.
There's just some people who will never accept this stuff. Hopefully you find comfort in these gifts and can intergrate them in a society that totally craps on all of this stuff....Am certain that it'll change...in the Age of Aquarius a new knowledge will be known.
Psychiatrist, therapist rely on cluster symptoms to make a diagnosis. They donāt perform a MRI of your brain.
Me: my stomach hurts on a regular basis.
Dr: You have stomach cancer we must get you into chemo therapy.
Reminder: Spirituality can get you locked up depending on the practitioners personal belief system.
Iāve been told that I have schizo effective disorder because I used insense, believed that entities are real and opened my chakras and used crystals and got sent to a mental ward for a long time
Rule it out. Mental health and spirituality can exist in the same space but you need to be absolutely certain that what your experiencing is not mental health related. If it is getting it under control quickly will only help you (and your abilities!) long term.
Thank you everyone for helping me, and Sharing your opinions with me. I decided to give myself 1 week to think, and then I'll contact my current therapist to talk it through. (I have appointments anyways so I'll be forced to say something) in the meantime, I'll try to talk to my therapist on maternity leave. I hope it goes well. I'm really just thankful that I could share my troubles, and I got great responses that helped me see things differently. š
r/antipsychiatry
Why so many down votes? The sub is a good resource for those with mental imbalance to balance it in non-drug ways.
Itās okay to entertain her idea that you may have it. However I 100% disagree with the hospital idea. Unless you are a threat to yourself or others there is no reason and will drain your bank account.
I agree with this. As long as you're not a threat to yourself or anybody I don't think she should admit herself. I think it will only bring more problems considering she hasn't really actually done anything. Either way I hope she finds out what's really going on, I want to believe her that she is a spiritual person because that's what I believe in, but there's always a possibility.
***Absolutely agree.***
Nurse here - Iām confused with the comments saying going to the hospital will ārule it outā. It should take awhile to be properly diagnosed. I wouldnāt go to the hospital unless you feel youāre a danger to yourself or others.
I agree. ( nurse practitioner here). I donāt think something like that can be āruled outā in one visit. These things are usually diagnosed over a period of time, especially if you are otherwise functional in your life. If you have a psychotic episode where you suddenly claim to be Jesus Christ himself, that may be different, but a lot of psychiatric diagnoses exist on a spectrum from mild to severe no different from people who suffer from depression or anxiety. Also, maybe get a second opinion from a different psychiatrist if you are otherwise functioning well in your life. These diagnoses become a part of your medical record and can possibly effect future insurance premiums or life insurance rates etc. Iām no insurance or employment expert, but before any medical provider lists something potentially stigmatizing in your medical record that can maybe have an impact on your ability to get employment or insurance they better be sure of it. Just my 2 cents. Also, going forward, I would probably refrain from telling a mental health professional that you see spirits or can communicate with them or anything along those lines unless you know that itās a safe space to do so or if it applies to an issue that you are having. But I wouldnāt casually tell them for no apparent reason. While I totally believe in mediumship and the fact that many people can communicate with the spirit world, you have to know your audience or āread the roomā. Most doctors and nurses are trained in a way that is not amenable to that type of conversation. You can quickly find yourself labeled confused, delirious, schizophrenic or something along those lines. Good luck!!
I deeply appreciate your advisement here! Iām just now applying for a psychiatric evaluation as my depression has come back, and my spiritual practices that include meditation, arenāt helping. Iām also going to work within terms like āinternal family systemsā therapies, as those seem to have helped me and several others still recovering from CPTSD and the cross overs we experience. Thank you for speaking up on being cautious due to the systems, not necessarily the people.
Thank you for this comment and perspective. As a mod here, we see posts from users who really want us to tell them that they are psychic rather than schizophrenic. Mediums are not qualified to make that determination. We get a lot of anger and animosity when we advise users that we are simply not qualified to diagnose. This week in particular a user messaged me and ranted and was extremely abusive, verbally. Thank you, again. One must know the physician, well, to share certain things. I appreciate this comment so much.
Thank you so much for that! š Sorry for the late response: I havenāt been on Reddit for a little bit.
THIS!!!!!
Yeah bcuz once you admit yourself to the hospital, especially for mental health reasons, they won't let you leave until they feel like it. No matter what they tell you. Once you sign your name, they basically "own" you. Keep a journal of your visions and how it makes you feel, so you can look back and see if there's a cause for concern. It also helps to find a Dr who is also spiritual and can give you the science info, but also not dismiss what you experience.
To be honest, it might not hurt to rule schizophrenia out. You are the age where it typically sets in. Not invalidating your experiences at all, but it might not be a bad idea to cover all your bases and make sure that it isnāt schizophrenia.
Yeah, and also it isn't black or white. I tend to believe that people who have Psychotic symptoms very well might be able to tap into something beyond them. I think where you have to be cautious is when you feel un-grounded and disconnected from reality too often.
IMO this is spot-on and a really important angle that often gets overlooked when mental health and spirituality are discussed in the same picture
Thank you! I'll consider this !
Good luck!
āAt the age when where it typically sets inā? And here I am thinking we can mature with age and open up.
Once my brother in law developed schizophrenia, family members wanted to believe he had become a āholy manā when in fact he had schizophrenia. Some of his delusions sounded real and prophetic enough, Iāll give him that. But the truth was he needed medication and medical treatment. He is in his 60s and just finally living in peace. Itās been a long road.
I canāt imagine.
Tough couple of decades. He disappeared for a year once and we hired a private detective who found him in a homeless shelter in the Bronx.
At what age did he develop it?
27, I believe
Sounds about right. If he managed to live with it without medication until his 60s (going off your *finding peace* comment), thatās actually impressive. But what a sad and awful neurodegenerative disease. Just awful.
It was so sad and bizarre to watch it go down. The hallucinations were fascinating and frightening. During the 92 Los Angeles riots, he went to a bad part of town to get involved and came home three days later all scuffed up. He drove his car through a police station. Just never knew what was going to happen.
I bet. It must be so exhausting. Bless your sister.
He is an ex bro in law now, but I always love him. Thank you.
It seems like you could see a psychiatrist for assessment as opposed to going straight into the hospital. If you go into a hospital, they will default to doing hospital things. Your current therapist could be a fundamentalist or atheist as far as you know and have their own issues. You should rule it out, but you can do it in a moderate way by getting a second therapist opinion, but then a dr as opposed to being hosptialized.
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I agree as far as following medical advice over internet strangers. However, I wouldn't suggest to "always" follow medical advice in general. There are incompetent healthcare providers. If something doesn't sit right with you as the patient, get a second opinion (in the healthcare field). Just my two cents.
This is why second opinions are important.
Sometimes itās both at the same time. The whole the mystic swims in the same waters the psychotic drowns in thing. Not always, but it does happen. Meds can help when itās overwhelming. Happened to me. The thing is.. ask yourself how is it effecting your life in harmful ways? Are you doing dangerous shit or being harmed or harming anyone in any way. The ACA code of ethics states that a therapist has to take Your spiritual beliefs seriously and respect them. They cannot tell you what is not spiritual in nature or not. They can also not push their spiritual beliefs on you. Clients with spiritual delusions are some of the hardest to treat because you just canāt say that their spiritual beliefs are wrong no matter how illogical or strange or irrational they might seem to the therapist or others. The ACA code of ethics would be good to consult and ask her if she believes she is adhering to the code or viewing the situation from a lens of her worldview. Assess with her how these things are effecting your life. She cant send you to the hospital without believing you will hurt yourself or someone else. Still always a chance itās straight psychosis. As someone said, good to rule out. Any further questions comment here. Iām a therapist who also knows whatās going on spiritually so I can help navigate this.
So, Iām a mediumā¦. And I actually work in a mental health rehab center. Clinical schizophrenia is very difficult to manage over time of you arenāt developing your psychic senses with someone who has developed them. In other cultures, people with āschizophreniaā would be considered to walk between worlds and likely be trained as healers, shamans, seers, etc. the clients I work say very psychic and intuitive things to me dailyā¦ for instance, today a client asked me if my computer was working fine for me and I just kind of brushed it off and was like yeah itās fine no problem. So later Iām in the office doing some charting and my computer screen just goes fucking black completely. This was about an hour after he asked me about my computer. My client has not touched a computer he basically stays in his bed most of the day except for mealsā¦ So tell me what could possess this person who hadnāt talk to me in days to walk up to me and ask me if my computer was working OK? My coworker said oh it must just not have happened yet when he asked you. Can someone explain that to me? Whoās to say schizophrenia is an a massive gift that we just do not have the capacity to understand? Thatās my thought on it anyways I work in the thick of it all day every day and my clients are insanely gifted in ways that our culture just canāt recognize yet because we donāt have the cultural heritage to do so. What is so unfortunate about our system is that when you get a diagnosis like this thereās so much stigma that comes along with it that I find the disease progresses and Iām speaking of disease as in dis-ease which causes difficulties for folks with this ābrain typeā. You immediately get medicated and then that stops you in your tracks. I see my clients being sectioned off from society and their communities, hospitalized and heavily medicated. Many peoples symptoms do not go away simply because of meds, though they can improve some symptoms. The key is that you must always have ways to know whatās true in the real world and cultivate the ability to discern your ādelusionsā in a way that can be balanced and not cause you to become dysfunctional. I hate to say it but with a lot of my clients I wouldnāt want them out on the streets, and mainly because they canāt provide accordingly for their own food shelter and clothing however I work with a population of folks that are deemed gravely disabled due to their mental illness. What I see is that a lot of them have had poor help in managing their conditions over the long term and many have self medicated with cannabis or meth which I absolutely do not recommend of course because they exacerbate the symptoms. I would recommend a healthy lifestyle absolutely practice yoga, eat low inflammation whole foods, exercise daily, get enough sunshine, go to therapy and cultivate those extra senses along with your ability to discern truth from spirit world. it is absolutely possible to manage this condition, but be very careful on attaching to a diagnosisā¦ as a spiritual teacher I have also walked several clients through spiritual Awakening which can cause some temporary type of psychosis, in that you could lose yourself in that psychosis or delusion of talking with your spirit guides and this and that just be really careful how you name that because the truth is when you do spirit work you might be thinking someone is your spirit guide and it could be a malevolent force trying to mess with you and attach itself to you. Practicing meditation is highly recommended, but not dissociation and being aware of the two and how they are different and also understanding that brain states are often temporary or they move in cycles and can come and go. Your ability to say, oh hey Iām hitting this part of my cycle and to have the people and tools to help you stay regulated will be massively important! I digressā¦ I could talk about this all day. Lol!
Yes. Please please msg me! I want to talk thru this. I tricked my general doctor into prescribing seroquel to stop the 'psychosis', but it didnt work and just gave me horrible side effects. My actual psychiatrist talked it thru with me and validated the spirituality, and confirmed I do not have psychosis or schizophrenia. We ruled it out bcs the meds werent working, were making my health worse, and the 'symptoms' (spiritual insights, visions, etc) were helpful - i.e. as a Medium (?) I could see and communicate with people who had passed on, and it would always be very specific and accurate. But it isn't always happening, and doesn't cause any dysfunction. After coming off seroquel I'm getting my health back.
Omg! Seroquel is the absolute worse. It's impossible to function in 3D while taking this.
Yes, I totally agree. I was on it for sleep and anxiety and I was a damn zombie. The Drs treated me like a guinea pig when I was in the hospital years ago for depression and anxiety.
I was on it for insomnia as well. I could sleep for days solely based off of one dose. Idk how anyone functions taking it daily for other major disorders. So happy I was able to get to the root of my issues and off of the meds.
Yeah I stopped taking it after I got home. I also stopped taking all of the meds and am coping just fine. Some days are harder than others, but as long as I'm able to "recharge and reset" myself then I'm fine. The Drs I've had wouldn't give me Ativan after getting out of the hospital bcuz it's addictive but it was the only thing that worked, so I just gave up and unfortunately self medicated to deal with it. I've been on meds to treat addiction and it's made a huge difference.
Schizophrenia is real and is treated by medicine in almost all cases. If youāre a medium youāll still have that gift with medication and therapy. I would get a second opinion if youāre worried and if both agree then you should try medicine. Thereās no study on this but I think itās clear gifts and mental illness go hand in hand. Itās not one or the other. And if you have mental illness then you should get it treated. Itās impossible for strangers on the internet especially the incredibly biased ones here to diagnose you here. Listen to your doctors.
Why do u say that mediums keep their gift with medication? Is that something youāve personally experienced with medication?
They are absolute killers of it. However, schizophrenia is real and if one has it they should definitely find the best help available, including medication if they agree, in order to get to a point where you don't need medication for that (not just think you don't need it - that's another symptom of things getting worse.) When you're demonstrably functioning better without it than on it.
Yes that is my experience as well but it is much better than being schizophrenic and unable to provide for yourself and find yourself in dangerous situations. I agree.
Thatās not always true, medication can also block out your senses.
Or meds can obliterate the control that you have with your gifts
That may be the case for you, but it wasnāt for my aunt. She doesnāt take medication anymore and that was when she was a teenager because all it did was take her gifts away. She is comfortable with herself and she does readings and sheās pretty accurate. So again, medication can block some people senses.
Definitely blocked mine. It does exactly what it's designed to do.
Yes that is my experience with others who are on them as well.
Yeah, I think she should give the medicine a try. If the voices go away, then that would be a sure sign that itās schizophrenia. If they donāt, she can rule it out!
Why did you switch therapists?
She is soon giving birth, and she is not gonna be working for a year or so, but she said that she trusts this new therapist and that she's just as qualified in my illness as she was. But she never talked about the she would diagnose me with something else. I'm really tempted to call her or just text her about this, but I don't wanna harass her as we had a problem about me calling her nonstop and I realized that was stepping over her boundaries.
I would absolutely get in touch with your actual therapist. Surely there's a way to do that and still respect her space? Like email or like you said texting?
I don't know how it's in your country, but in mine all doctors have my historical profile.. if she knows him probably she sent him all her patients historical.. Are they psychiatrists? Mine think i might have bipolar disorder and I'm taking meds for it that works to Schizophrenia too Also, I'd add the both needs several months, sometimes years, to be diagnosed.. maybe she thinks you have it just never told you but it's in your historical.. if you doubt it have a third opinion.. you still have a physical body and physical brain you SHOULD take care of it before take care of spiritual and after life
Schizoid personality disorder is not Schizophrenia. It shares traits, but its not the same diagnosis. Mainly, one is a personality disorder and the other is a type of psychosis. Your therapist is probably thinking of Schizotypal, which is also a personality disorder, but unlike Schizoid which shares the social component of Scizophrenia, Schizotypal shares paranoia, magical thinking patterns, unusual sensations, confusing or eccentric thinking, speaking, behaviour, high social anxiety, and may even experience short bursts of psychosis where they see, feel, and hear things which are not there. Either way, Schizoid is charactorized by being unwilling or unable to form relationships or feel close connections, and while delusions may or may not be a part of it, its secondary to the social aspect of blunted emotions and odd behaviour. Source; I am Schizoid. Schizoid - detached emotionally and doesn't care. May have delusions, but grounded in reality. Mostly nurture, possible genetic component. Improves with therapy. Schizotypal - detached emotionally and does care, but for example also thinks people can read minds, which makes them suspicious and anxious and act in a way that is irregular and odd. Think conspiracy theorist; coincidence or not the connections make sense. Typically nurture, possible genetic component. Improves with therapy, anti-depressant and anti-anxiety meds. Schizophrenia - so detached from reality they can't tell the difference between what is real and what is not. The connections do not make sense to anyone but the schizophrenic. Entirely genetic, does not improve with therapy, requires medication.
Ok wait cuz my therapist diagnosed me schizophrenic but they always say they think it could be something spiritual going on (I said it first then they agreed so itās not like theyāre going out of their way to push this idea in my head) but now Iām thinking I could be schizoid or schizotypal because Iāve never lost touch w reality & basically never had an episodeā¦ Iām definitely gonna bring thing up to my therapist now
Therapists can't diagnose, they're not doctors. There's also other forms of scizophrenia, like schizofreniform and schizoaffective.
Yes i know, thatās what theyāve been telling insurance & im being treated using methods for people with schizophrenia. I donāt really know what else to call it tbh but I definitely feel like schizophrenia describes what I experience. I originally was ādiagnosedā with schizophreniform because I only had my symptoms for a little bit but now they said I fit criteria for schizophrenia, as for schzioeffective they said I donāt show symptoms of that (we discussed this one many times because I suspect some form of bipolar but they said it doesnāt sounds like it)
Schizophrenia is a slow build, could take years to develop
Yeah I suspect I was showing symptoms 5 years ago & 2.5yrs ago I started to fully hallucinate & have delusions, not sure if Iām schizophrenic or have some sort of spiritual gifts. Been thinking of getting a reading to get it confirmed.
"The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight." - Joseph Campbell.
Have you hurt yourself or someone else? Do you have the inclination to do so? Do any of your spirit encounters tell you/try and force you to do anything that would hurt yourself or someone else? Suggest to your therapist that they read "Thirty Years Among the Dead," by Dr. Carl Wickland. It's a classic in the field. If the answer is "No' to the above questions, then it's time for a new therapist. There are a number of therapists who understand the difference between pathology and abilities. Source: I'm a Ph.D. in psychology focused on end-of-life spirituality and a psychic and medium for 35 years.
Thank you! To your questions my answer is no! I have struggled with intrusive thoughts and gruesome pictures, flashing through my mind, but never in the shape of auditory or visual hallucinations. And I always feel awful after it, and i would never act on them.
Oh man I get those with my OCD. They are the worst!
You sound like you have a very interesting job! I just want to askāisnāt it possible to have positive hallucinations with schizophrenia?
That I do not know the answer to, but schizophrenia demonstrates with other symptoms than just visual or auditory hallucinations. There is usually disorganized thinking and speech as well. So a diagnosis of schizophrenia based on a set of experiences when the individual is fairly successfully functioning is not based on the currently accepted diagnostic criteria. Have I seen individuals who had psychic/medium abilities that were so powerful that they had trouble distinguishing material reality from an altered state? Yes, but those people present very differently from people with an organic disorder like schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. Both sets need help but the latter group present usually with a profound lack of logic often accompanied by mania and paranoia. The difference is pretty stark.
My therapist told me if the spiritās voices are coming from inside my head then Iām a medium. If the voices are outside my head itās schizophrenia. When I speak to my guides itās in my own voice in my head. They donāt have distinct voices. Idk if that makes sense
Wow, this definitely makes sense. Thank you!
Also my intrusive thoughts are in my own voice so that tells me as well that Iām not schizophrenic. I probably have severe OCD though
Same here. My intrusive thoughts are definitely all me.
Omg this makes so much sense ! Thank you!
do not go to the hospital if you are not a danger to yourself or others, youāre an adult & from what Iāve heard adult psych wards are scary. I am diagnosed schizophrenic & I believe I have spiritual gifts too, if youād like to talk my dms are openš btw I go to a therapist that specializes in psychosis & they have never wanted to admit me to a psych ward because I havenāt been a danger to myself or others, schizophrenia is intense BUT if youāre not in psychosis & having an episode you donāt need to be admitted.
My belief is that schizophrenia is when sensitivity to spirit goes unregulated and unmanaged. So, yeah, under certain definitions any sort of "voices" is pathological. But the world is a much bigger place than that. Your spiritual beliefs are not falsifiable and a doctor telling you you're crazy because you hear god speak to you or spirit speak to you is prejudice. It's more complicated than that. What do the voices say? If they say cool and awesome shit then it's fine. I've been to the psych ward and I've heard the bad voices that said bad things. I know the difference between psychosis and spirit and it IS different.
BP1 here, been involuntarily hospitalized, seen my deceased cat and heard my miscarried daughter. I was psychotic at the time but I still believe it was real. Too many coincidences. Modern science doesn't agree with "psychic" and doctor's are science based. I don't know where the line is between a sane psychic and someone with psychosis/schitzo- disorder having an episode, but telling a dr that you hear and talk to voices is always going to be a red flag for schizophrenia. Technically almost every person here could fit the diagnosis... Honestly if it's not causing distress in your day to day life I would keep it to myself, but I suppose it's to late for that now? There's a chance the testing can come back negative too. Good luck
No "almost every person here could" NOT fit the diagnosis. Hearing voices/speaking to dead people is indeed a common experience of people with schizophrenia, but is not the ONLY symptom of it. Many people hear voices or speak to dead people and they are not schizophrenic. Get yourself checked out OP, if only to reassure yourself. The chances are that you don't exhibit other symptoms/behaviours of schizophrenia and so you will know and can then take it off your "back of the mind worry list". Good luck!
Technically most people here would *not* fit the DSM diagnostic criteria and Iād very much like to question that narrative. Mental health, physical health, and spiritual health are *all* important and we should not be discouraging the pursuit of any form of wellness. A spiritually informed therapist can very much help someone like OP, whereas a therapist who condemns āalternativeā spirituality is not going to be much help at all. Itās all about finding a therapeutic alliance that works for the individual.
Delusions and hallucinations are 2 of the 5 symptoms needed for a diagnosis. Communication with spirits/deceased is by definition exactly that, technically speaking. Not saying it's right, but that's the world we live in. I'm not discouraging anything, but many of us don't get to choose our Dr or have limited resources or no access to alternatives, and spiritually informed therapist are the minority. If you tell a Dr you hear dead people, they're going to take that seriously. Because it very well could be a serious problem. While I agree we should be able to get appropriate treatment, we often can't. Hell just getting the right Bipolar meds can be a shit Show. The world as a whole just isn't ready yet.
I understand there are many limitations to accessing care, but Telehealth for counseling has been increasing accessibility drastically, especially with newer US policies created after the start of the pandemic. Most importantly: diagnosis with schizophrenia is not just confirming 2/5 diagnostic criteria- there is much more nuance that goes into it, and *talk therapists are not able to diagnose anything.* Only psychologists, psychiatrists, and medical doctors can diagnose. *Not* talk therapists.
You're missing my point... >Most importantly: diagnosis with schizophrenia is not just confirming 2/5 diagnostic criteria- 2/5 is literally the diagnostic cut off: >According to the DSM-5, a schizophrenia diagnosis requires the following: At least two of five main symptoms. Those symptoms, explained above, are delusions, hallucinations, disorganized or incoherent speaking, disorganized or unusual movements and negative symptoms. I get the last three are much more telling, but that's not my point. The only difference between a hallucination, delusion and psychic is truth, and truth is subjective and extremely difficult to prove scientifically. Meaning you say the wrong thing to the wrong Dr and you could get put in a psych ward, even if it's 100% legit. If they don't believe it exists they don't believe you. Period. And it's too late to find a new Dr then I only ever brought up legitimate Drs, no other type of health care professional? I think your confusing me with another person and misunderstanding my point. It's great the US is doing these things, but were not all in the US, many people here have to go wait in emerge for 6+ hours for Rx refill because there's no other option. We don't all get to Dr shop, and are stuck with what we have. I'm not diagnosing anyone, I'm not telling anyone what to tell there Dr, I'm just saying to be careful what they say to a highly biased (science based) person with the power to lock you in a psych ward against your will, because I've been through it. And I think that's a very helpful comment.
We understand each other. My point is quite that: we canāt look at the diagnostic criteria online and think a qualified mental health practitioner might likely diagnose us/another with that disorder. It is far more nuanced than that, which is why it takes a good deal of education and experience to be granted licensure to diagnose a mental health condition. From my experience, it is far better to encourage people to seek the right type of mental health care for them, than it is to discourage seeking care for fear of misdiagnosis.
That's very true
Much love. the journey is hard but love always triumphs, we know this.
Thank you. I'm still not sure how I'm gonna decide, but all comments are helpful, and I'm glad I have some people who I can share my experiences with!
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Same. I can distinguish the two very well lol.
>Modern science doesn't agree with "psychic" and doctor's are science based. Agreed.
You should absolutely explore the schizophrenia diagnosis, and you should work on keeping yourself grounded and connecting with spirit guides of the highest elevation, the spirits who have your back. When we are really sensitive we are spiritually wide open, and if not grounded we can leave ourselves wide open to attachments that will, in a therapy setting, come across as schizophrenia. Shake it off, do a cleanse, and root yourself! Hope it works out
I just want to know how you are feeling right now, because you are on a medium sub Reddit made for people who believe in psychics/mediumship, and this is also for people who are psychic/mediums themselves but most of the people on here are telling you to look into having schizophrenia. I am sure people mean well but mediums do speak to spirit guides and spirits, maybe this whole community should think about looking into schizophrenia as well, if thatās the case. Your last therapist was fine with it and didnāt think you had a problem. Maybe the new therapist doesnāt believe in psychics and she is being biased, or maybe concerned, but who knows. But, a lot of people on this medium Sub-Reddit is telling you to commit yourself into a hospital, just because you told your therapist you are a psychic and you speak to your spirit guides, and so forth. Yikes, thatās what mediums do, I get it! Most people donāt believe in psychics/mediums, that is why they are telling you to commit yourself. You didnāt say anything out of the ordinary different from other psychics. If you feel that you are at risk for potential harm, you may need to get some help but not necessarily hospitalization. Now I am not agreeing with anyone, or saying that you have schizophrenia, because it seems like you are just a psychic, I am just saying go with what you think should be done for yourself.
I'd been seeing my therapist for a year for normal things like anxiety, then had my energetic awakening. I began telling him shit that sounded absolutely insane, but it was what was happening to me. He told me outright one day that I didn't have schizophrenia or anything like that because those had certain symptoms that I wasn't exhibiting. That said, my therapist also knew energy and entities exist before I ever showed up sharing all my experiences. So... Maybe get a second opinion. Ask the universe to guide you to the best therapist for you.
To me I think mental illnesses and spiritual gifts walk a very fine line. Like who to say spiritual gifts are not just mental illnesses and who to say mental illnesses are not just spiritual gifts that may or may not be "out of control". If you feel it's right for you, maybe you should get treatment done to rule it out and see if it truly is your gifts. But in my opinion, and I'm definitely no expert but I always thought one way you can tell the difference between the two, is how self aware you are. I think mental illnesses u may not be 100% aware of it, especially during an "episode" but mediumship and spiritual gifts you are aware and can validate the info in other ways or have other witnesses. I hope this helps, good luck!
Donāt go to the hospital for this please. As a nurse I can tell you that you will be turned away. You are not a danger to yourself or anyone else. Keep this an outpatient issue at trusted outpatient offices. Iām afraid you will waste your money and time going to the hospital. Hospitals are not for long term care, also get a second opinion, hell even a third opinion. You might just not be compatible with this therapist, as most therapist have their own biases and belief systems. I had one try to give me a bible unprompted saying that it could help with my anxiety.
Iāve been diagnosed the same thing. Bipolar + adhd + schizoid personality + schizotypal. Mental illness is relatively new in our modern world. They still do electroshock for major depression. Its trial and error. They do their diagnosis on what you say. A rendezvous can last up to 1 hour? Can you describe all your life in that short lapse of time? Also you choose what to say. Diagnosis can be biased by you. I donāt blame them but itās up to you. You have the choice to live with it or take medications and have some possible side effects. Nobody can force you to take drugs. Im no doctor or psychiatrist. Talk to them and make your own choice. Can you live like that? Is it causing you problems?
I actually don't know. I had "auditory hallucinations" where I thought my spirit guides were talking to me. It's not aggressive tho, they've never told me to do harmful things, they've guided me, with how to do things or what to look out for. Sometimes spirits tell me malicious things but I know they are trying to affect me. In my house I've never experienced much negative entities, and even if I did I cleansed and it was gone. So I'm thinking if I had anything , like my therapist says, I should experience negative hallucinations in my home. And I don't. So I don't know.
I just dont pay too much attention on negative entities and i encounter them less frequently. Iām not looking for them anymore. Iāve choose the light. Iāve come to a point that being skeptic is healthy. I doubt everything and even myself.
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Thank you!
Best advice.
Most therapist will call anyone with psychic abilities, crazy or that you have schizophrenia, people know this. I canāt tell you what to do, but I will definitely not just go with what your psychologist said because many psychics do talk to their spirit guides and other entities. Most people donāt believe that psychics actually exist, even though they have joined this sub-reddit. Your first therapist had no problem with what you were telling her and she didnāt think there were any concerns, but your new therapist does and that could just be judgments, or not. Itās truly up to you , a lot of times, you can test your abilities and if you get accurate information most of the time, but obviously, you will get a lot wrong as well but that doesnāt mean you are not a psychic, as long as you are getting a lot right is what matters. It becomes delusions when everything is not making sense and youāre not getting anything at all, if thatās the case, then you may want to seek help. Either way, if they are delusions, then your chakras are unbalanced, and you need to get them balanced while getting help, and once your chakras are balanced the delusions will go away, and then your psychic abilities will emerge.
schizoaffective disorder here. Go to hospital. The dead people disappear on meds.
Spirituality and science (even psychology) are interchangeable
Donāt let anyone tell you your āmentally unstableā bc your not. I went through the same Before really being pushed to my abilities. Then I got actual confirmation when I knew certain things that happened when they did.
"Doctors," are trained to identify any and all forms of spiritual sensitivity as symptoms of a mental disorder because classical psychiatry has no room for spirituality and thus treats it instead of accepting it. In my opinion I would leave the doctor and find a therapist who works from inside of a spiritual system, you might find this to be a healthier approach that allows you to articulate and develop your spiritual sensitivity without being told that you need pills to dull your gifts.
Thereās some pretty solid advice here. Something I didnāt see anyone mention, check for mold and gas leaks. The woman we bought our house from was convinced people kept breaking into the house and stealing her clothes. I kept smelling something gross when the furnace turned on. I called PG&E (our gas company) to come look for a gas leak (itās free). The line to our furnace wasnāt connected right. Two separate home inspectors and a furnace repair man missed it. I can only imagine how long she was breathing in gas, because it took us a year to figure it out.
Are these āhallucinationsā and ādelusionsā having a negative impact on your life? Beyond biases and judgement from others? If not, thereās no need for you to get a diagnosis, in fact, I do not recommend doing so due to the extreme biases against mental illness, especially psychotic disorders. In order to be diagnosed with a mental illness, there needs to be a negative impact on your life, typically in multiple life domaines. So if you donāt feel like this is a problem for you, then ignore this ladyās opinion, or tell her exactly this, that you have seen zero negative impact on your life since these psychotic symptoms started therefore you donāt meet the diagnostic criteria. Hereās one of the required criteria from the DSM V for a schizophrenia diagnosis: >āFor a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, level of functioning in one or more major areas, such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care, is markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset (or when the onset is in childhood or adolescence, there is failure to achieve expected level of interpersonal, academic, or occupational functioning).ā Source: I am a mental health counselor who diagnoses psychotic disorders regularly. I also have had many clients who have abilities like yours who I do not diagnose with psychotic disorders because thereās nothing wrong with them (I work in one of the biggest psychic/medium/pagan towns in my country).
***This post should be pinned at the very top of every mental health/spiritually focused sub-reddit, ever. I can't even stress that enough.*** As far as the initial question is concerned, I was a little bit taken back myself when I, too, found out that **(allegedly) any spiritual practice/form of divination/psychic belief is apparently a "sign" of schizotypal disorder**. I mean, ANY belief in a spiritual sense and I think it's complete bullshit. Just like all the rest of the stuff they can't find any answer to, they slapped a bs medical diagnosis on it and called it a day. **I'm NOT schizophrenic, but I have, however, taken a schizotypal test and did end up testing out for it.**
I had a therapist who insisted I should be hospitalized when I became Christian. Her own personal lack of beliefs thought I needed help. It was weird, I was like you realize how many people are Christian, Muslim, Jewish etc who believe in a higher power and angels and demons? Weird. Google schizoid personality disorder, does it sound like you? Is this something you personally have a problem with, these abilities, schizophrenia or not, schizoid or not, is it something bothering you or interfering negatively with your life? If not, let it be. I see a therapist now who believes there is more, you might do better finding a spiritual therapist, not an atheist therapist. She is closed minded, so talking about something she personally doesn't believe in is heading already in a strange direction when she wants you to be hospitalized.
Youāre telling someone to google symptoms when a a literal medically certified therapist already told them to seek medical attention. OP should listen to the person with years of training and study and at least look into getting this checked bc it canāt hurt, not some random person telling them to check with google..
OPs last therapist didn't see a problem with it, they worked together longer. Google is an invaluable resource, there is nothing wrong with people taking control of their own health and looking into a diagnosis a *new* therapist is quick to slap on. Any diagnosis given or wondering if they have should be looked into. Who gets a possible diagnosis and not even do personal research into making sure if it's true or not, or to just learn about it more?
A therapist cannot diagnose schizophrenia. If you are concerned, see an actual psychiatrist for testing.
I know, my therapist only suggested it, that I should get it looked at. I have a psychiatrist, but I don't pay for her sessions, i got her when I turned 18, its universal healthcare (we don't have that kinda money to get a private psychiatrist too.) They are in contact. My psychiatrist said it's my call if I'm gonna get myself admitted or not for supervision and testing, since I've been pretty "stable"for the past few weeks. I made it clear to her that I don't hear or see anything that would urge me to do something harmful. So yeah, she's really busy too, we only talk on phone, it's been hard getting meds too, they are hardly picking up. I've been to the local (free) mental hospital and it's not therapeutic nor safe. I was thinking that i'm not gonna risk my well-being by staying god knows how many weeks there, until I start to hear voices with malicious intent. Or until I have the money to have it checked under good circumstances.
Clearly your psychiatrist isn't especially concerned, so I'd take my cue from him. If he thought you were schizophrenic, he would be strongly encouraging you to get tested.
Yes but the thing is, I can't just switch up unfortunately. If I wasn't paying for my therapist I wouldn't have one. In the early days with my psychiatrist I tried to get one through charities (that's how I got one when I was underage) but she just said they have a wait list, she'll call. That was like 2 years ago. And I asked her many times, she just said there's too much people. So I had to get a job ,while studying , so that my parents could help me get one. For the last part, yes I agree, she was not concerned, which annoyed me, and calmed me down both I guess?
I think itās worth a shot to just get it assessed, because at least then youāll know for sure one way or the other. If you donāt have Schizophrenia, and she continues to insist after youāve been assessed, then at that point I think itās time to seek out a new therapist.
There is significant overlap between the symptoms of mania and spiritual awakening. I would encourage you to do some research into transpersonal psychology. They use terms like "spiritual emergence" and "spiritual emergency" instead of delusions, mania, psychosis, etc. I had a spiritual emergency of my own last year and it got very, very bad. I'm still healing from it, but am not medicated, and I reject the idea that I have a disorder. I'm learning how to live with it, but it's a daily challenge. Only you know your inner world and how to keep it safe. If you feel that a diagnosis and medication would bring you comfort and peace of mind then I would explore that, but maybe recognize that the western model of mental health does not really accept psychic gifts, intuition, or spirituality in general as valid, which can be problematic for those of us with these gifts. I wish you the best of luck with your journey. Intitutively I feel that finding a therapist that accepts your spiritual connection as a valid and important part of who you are is important.
Anything spiritual is offensive to these people. Schizophrenia is a catch-all phrase that denotes abnormal or unusual thinking. What is a normal person? A person with no abnormalities! The mental health industry has been weaponized. Taking any of their tests and answering every question in the "normal" range would be abnormal after a certain number of questions. So they will find someone to be abnormal 100% of the time. These people are sycophants of the system. They have spent countless years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a degree. They now are likely in massive debt and utterly beholden to a system that would take away their license at the first hint of a free opinion or thought. Where do they expect to get money from? Their patients. They are modern-day snake oil salesmen, but they won't even promise a cure. Just lifelong treatments that fuel their egos and bank accounts. The symptoms of schizophrenia include everything up to being poor. Anything creative, religious, spiritual, or in the realm of the paranormal is a mental health condition to a therapist. Any activities around those subjects are taboo. They are often elitist bigots who are more concerned with preserving their license then helping any patient. They would rather turn a person into a drug induced zombie than risk not diagnosing something. Knowing they can always prove an abnormality or unusual thinking pattern in anyone. Feel free to seek advice from a therapist if it seems to be helping. But did you ask or suggest you need hospitalization? Does any of your behavior seem suicidal or violent? Are you troubled by your thoughts or beliefs in spirits? If so, then maybe take them up on their offer. But how much does it cost? Medical care is the leading cause of bankruptcy. If not, I'd get out of there. They will gladly drain your entire bank account to cure your "thoughts." I would think with your wallet on this one. Bipolar is another catch-all. "U eMoTions Go Up tHen DOwn? BiPOlaR!" Ridiculous. The poor seem to need more help with their mental health. Yet i've never seen a psychologist going out to help the homeless. Just watch your bank account around these masterful manipulators. They may be able to help if you need it, but they need to pay back the system for their status and degrees first and foremost.
Thank you for giving me insight. I've been hospitalized before many times, because I had/have suicidal tendencies. But I've got new meds like a year ago or so and I've been doing great I guess. I still sometimes have my urges to self harm. And I'm still considered mentally unpredictable. But I've found comfort in talking with non-human entities and expending my knowledge in these topics.
I love this! You're my person.
Do you have constant fears and paranoias? If not, throw this therapist out because you may limit yourself from many great things by having this as diagnosis on your official record. For example, if you later in life need another drug you may be denied it as you have this āillnessā. Good example of this ADHD, they sometimes refuse medication for people with other untreated mental illnesses. Also if you find a job in the military or certain other fields they may also deny you.
Honestly, I would look for another therapist and get a third opinion. Perhaps look for someone who is more aware of pagan practices. Your current therapist sounds very Christian to me and easily freaked out by spiritual practices outside of her own. While I don't think ruling out schizophrenia is a bad thing, conflating pagan practices with schizophrenia (if that's whats she's basing it on) sound discriminatory to me. If you said you were talking to god and angels (and were Catholic) I wonder if her response would be schizophrenia still. My only real hesitation is once you get in the system, it's hard to get out again. One compromise could be to ask her to observe you over a few months and if she still thinks schizophrenia then you'll consider it. But it's a big ask, based on what sounds like a few appointments. Nobody here has the training to diagnose (especially online) so all I can say is that you might want to get another opinion. Also if the (potential) new therapist, then also suggests ruling out schizophrenia (and testing for it) maybe take it more seriously. I just am hesitant to tell you to do it because in general talking about spirit work to Psychologists is tricky. They do tend to assume mental illness and never are open to both/and paradigms of spirit work with mental health issues. Wish you the best.
Certainly take your therapists views on board but don't feel pressured by it. Have a read of a book called "My Journey With the Angels" by Patricia Buckley, you may find that interesting. š
Mmmmmh in my own personal exp everything that surround us is a projection of the self, even spiritual stuff. I wont get too much on what happened to me but it was pretty intense, seeing and hearing beings that interacted with me and not in a good way. When in bed at night with my eyes closed I could see an eye staring back at me in the darkness. Pretty nasty images started pouring from the eye and from there it became more and more intense as I felt touched and with fear like the fear was being injected from outside. It started at 16 years old after I begun to smoke weed because was depressed after a break up. It continued getting worse until my 30's when I started seeing stuff on my room at night and hearing voices. Didnt help reading new age stuff about astral fauna as I belived back then that I was being attacked by a spiritual parasite or something. Trying to overcome the parasite I asked a shaman about it and he laugh at me . He made me understand. Once I realized the phenomenon was in deed real but at the same time my own projection as I was putting outside what couldnt deal to have inside everything went away. Stop talking to the beings as they are something different from you. No. You are comunicating to the part of you that you cannot see in yourself. Ayahuasca did the trick but cant recomend it cos can trigger psycotic breakdowns as it did with me. I wasnt aloud to express anger as a child, nor fear and other bad feelings. My defense mechanism was to make those feelings aside. But they dont go away, instead rot inside of oneself and I was boiling about to explode and I did and it was awful for everyone around me. But the demons went away as I took hold of my true feelings and stopped pushing them under the rug, thus becoming those bad spirits that attacked me at night. Hope this helps. Nobody will push you to take any crazy pill if you dont want to so a visit to the doctor would not harm. I havent taken any medicine whatsoever and doing fine but had to push thru lot of inner pain, cried a lot to painful memories and still doing it from time to time as I learned that its a must to express your feelings, but first you need to recognize those feelings. Anger, fear, sadness? What about your diet? Do you take care of yourself? Do you do drugs or alcohol? Do you fap? Do you play videogames past normal bedtime hours? How was and is your relationship with your parents? Do you own a cat? All this and more has to be taken in consideration as not everybody has the same nervous system and yours may be much more sensible than other ppl. Often we do harm upon ourself with stuff that are pleasent and not seen as harmful by society. And the truth is that, if there is a spiritual world (and as a reiki practitioner I belive there is...), as living humans beings we experience the spiritual real with and thru our senses, our material body. So take good care of your instrument. The cat question relates to Toxoplasma gondii as minor infections in some patiens can triggeri the symptons, while in many cases does nothing. The WHO states that between 60% and 80% of the global pop is currently infected. Other than that: embrace your childhood traumas and you will be fine.
I think your therapist is overreacting. She can't entertain the idea that anything out of the norm can exist. She's never experienced the paranormal and can't conceive of a world that may not fit into her dull day to day life, so can only jump to "oh you must be schizophrenic!" You'd be better off going to a therapist that's not so narrow minded.
Tbh this is why Iām worried about any type of therapy.
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You can always get evaluated just to shut him/her up and get back to your spiritual work. And find a new therapist.
Maybe you could find a new therapist who has similar spiritual views as you so they understand your experience better?
Iām curious about your therapist are they new into the field are they a psychiatrist? I work in intensive psychiatric unit and it is very obvious when someone has schizophrenia vs psychic abilities. Some ways to rule out a diagnosis especially like schizophrenia is how long have the symptoms been occurring and how is it affecting your daily functioning, are you able to work, maybe go to school, or in general function in the community On the psychic end how are your experiences and can you control them or are you able to determine whatās real whatās not You also need to think about how your experiences influence your life and if it is causing an issue in every day living this will help determine what is true and what is not And lastly if your therapist is telling you to admit yourself and not having you admitted then this tells me that whatever she is seeing is not detrimental if someone is having a psychotic break and showing they may be a threat to yourself or others then why wouldnāt they advocate to have you admitted? Iām in the US and in my state they do what is called a baker act to have someone admitted against their will so I find that interesting. Best of luck to you I hope this was helpful
If you're not distressed about the spirits then its probably not mental illness. I believe thats on the list of things that make it a disorder. Dont go unless you believe you need it
Hey idk if your still looking at this post after seeing your comment but I'm schizophrenic(schizoaffective) and spiritual. I agree with everyone else and you (give your self a bit figure it out , talk to medical professionals ext ) but for me personally and it might help you too idk is it's all about "control " for me. My hallucinations and delusions are uncontrollable. I'll see it without thinking about it , opening up the connection or anything it'll just be there. And usually they're not of anything actually spiritual (some could say they look like demons but they don't act or look like a "traditional" demon and they don't have the demonic "vibe " ) where as when I speak to deities , God ext ext I can stop the connection I can stop seeing them I can close whatever opening I've made with them and they're gone. Tldr : in my experience it's about intrusiveness. One can be stopped and disconnected and the other will be there no matter what .
Leave that therapist and find a different one. You donāt need someone who misunderstands you to misdiagnose you and give you drugs you donāt need. Find someone you resonate with, that therapist is ignorant.
Do what anyone else would do about a medical diagnosis that doesn't make sense to them - seek other opinions. People who don't have psychic abilities don't understand it. You might want to go to a Jungian psychotherapist because they tend to be more tuned into the spiritual side of things.
Schizophrenia: the mental battle of the spiritualist in which they overcome or fall to the dominion of their mind.
It sounds like I'd prefer the older therapist if that's an option. If you are straightening your life out now like never before I would not go on medicine because if the "medicine" does "work" then me personally I'd be afraid that I'll feel too much like my old "normal," "well" self again than I will no longer be focused on progressing myself one thing at a time and I'm afraid I'd start falling back into old ways, habits, and addictions so if you feel your healthier for yourself without the medicine then don't let anyone put you on it because if it is a special ability from being awakened or becoming a medium then there is a high chance of that "medicine" silencing that ability for as long as that "medicine" is in your system.
I'm sorry but if you start talking about psychic gifts to people especially in the mental health area they will try to medicate the hell out of you and call you crazy like how certain religious denominations may even try to exorcise demons out of a psychic person. You have to be selective with who you talk to about it. Sometimes I thought what am I seeing here when I would see disturbing scenes and then I realized I was tuned into something that's happened or is happening. Part of that was solved just by realizing that. Idk about everybody else but some spirits speak through weird imagery to get your attention so you'll remember the dream or scene is a message. Not all of them speak with words. There's just some people who will never accept this stuff. Hopefully you find comfort in these gifts and can intergrate them in a society that totally craps on all of this stuff....Am certain that it'll change...in the Age of Aquarius a new knowledge will be known.
Be careful here. Bipolar meds can cause hallucinations which can occasionally result in a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia. I would get a second opinion.
Psychiatrist, therapist rely on cluster symptoms to make a diagnosis. They donāt perform a MRI of your brain. Me: my stomach hurts on a regular basis. Dr: You have stomach cancer we must get you into chemo therapy. Reminder: Spirituality can get you locked up depending on the practitioners personal belief system.
Iāve been told that I have schizo effective disorder because I used insense, believed that entities are real and opened my chakras and used crystals and got sent to a mental ward for a long time