[serloco]

I went to a doctors appointment at the hospital to evaluate the condition of my mind after being split myself. I sat and chatted with many of the nurses while at my stay in the psych ward, talking about the nature of the condition known as schizophrenia. The term, of course, means split mind. The nurses were so enthused with my knowledge that they recommended I give teaching seminars in order to help those suffering from schizophrenia. The doctor was impressed and spoke to me of all the nurses notes about me.

The thing to understand is that indeed there can be different factors that contribute to having your mind split. Schizophrenia is often coupled with the condition of paranoia which is also a cause for split. See the mind is made up and controlled by our perception of it. Many patients report being mind controlled by the government or cia or alien beings. Paranoid delusions. This perception often forms a split in their mind as a result of belief and awareness activated and aligned to fullfill the form of this fantasy. The mind will spit and play the role. A damaged perception of the mind is a damaged intent forced upon the mind itself. If you have an unhealthy view of the mind then of course your mind will be thus unhealthy.

The goal of my upcoming seminar involved rethinking madness. Taking a new outlook on your mind and reconsidering with new knowledge what is happening with the mind. The mind is not a living entity as often believed by schizophrenics. If you hold that view it is only natural for the perception to form and thus be experienced in this light. The mind is an amazing muscle capable of so much and it is not surprising that it can split into two minds. Learning to control the idea you have of your ailment will effectively shift the experience into new form and alignment. For example once you realize that you are ill and there is no alien being controlling your mind then the perception will begin to shift and appear in the new light you are focusing on. Controlling the knowledge and outlook you have of your condition is paramount to having a recovery.

In my studies of the condition I saw that having a positive support group can mean the difference between healthy recovery or continued psychosis. Postive psychosocial interaction can mean a world of difference and is the number one cause for recovery among patients. If someone tells you that you CAN recover then the patient's will and intent is set, and hope is found, a goal and direction to move towards. Previously patients were told that it is a life long condition with no hope of recovery and thus the patients will was set to continuously intend the ailment. However these days it is discovered that forming pathways of the mind towards recovery and controlling the perception of the mind is crucial to recovery. The old pathways must be reworked and reconditioned. Using the belief and the imagination to cure the ailment and many other ailments is proven to be effective. Placebo is no small matter.

Bottom line is controlling the minds eye, the view of the mind itself, and the knowledge of the mind is important to a full recovery. The mind is formed through neuroplasticity and thus can be effectively reformed and reworked into newer and healthier forms.

A good way to control the mind ins to use the mind. Since this condition is an ailment of the mind you can combat the ailment with the mind itself. I use commands. My illness was so severe that I had to learn to fight back. Meds did next to nothing for me for the main duration of my illness. So over time I learned to tell the voices and my mind what to do and have it do it. It took time to develop this command and in small steps I grew to the point I could command the voices to go away and leave me alone. Now I have no voices left at all. I just say the command 'weak' or 'cut' and it makes them weak or cuts them out completely. Like I said it took time and at first only small commands would work until my command grew stronger. I highly recommend this method to anyone with this illness. Use the mind to control the mind.

See the mind is made up and controlled by our perception of it.

Perception is only half the story, and I'm using the term, for your sake, very liberally to mean sensations, feelings, and visual perception all bundled in your term. What your leaving out is the intentional side of the mind that is the active, organizing creative aspect which is our desires, motives and ideas, some of them not sprouting from perception. For instance, we don't get the idea of space or time from perception, these are intuitive thoughts that take place before perception.

The mind is not a living entity as often believed by schizophrenics.

And then you contradict your previous state that it isn't a living entity by saying this:

The mind is an amazing muscle capable of so much and it is not surprising that it can split into two minds.

So you say it is a living muscle. You might as well not even call it a mind if your going to call it a muscle. For definition sake you might just want to call it a brain and stick to materialism.

Learning to control the idea you have of your ailment will effectively shift the experience into new form and alignment. For example once you realize that you are ill and there is no alien being controlling your mind then the perception will begin to shift and appear in the new light you are focusing on. Controlling the knowledge and outlook you have of your condition is paramount to having a recovery.

The problem with your statement is that people with sz delusions have false beleifs which are called "delusions" by the very definition. They can gain insights here or that, but without the help of meds, which you stated you are on yourself, you cannot leave the delusions by mere will power. In fact, i want to make the claim the the longer you are delusional the wilder your delusions are. When i say split mind i define that as being split from reality, thereby experiencing false beliefs (delusions) and hallucinations. It's not just the perception that gets tainted but its also your ideas, and your intuition. The intuition, when faced with a delusion, is not controlled by common sense, by every day causes and effects that are rationally, instead it is hijacked by thougths of paranoia and persecution, which then dictate the paranoid thoughts based on the worst of all possible worlds your mind is capable of.

The old pathways must be reworked and reconditioned.

The mind is formed through neuroplasticity and thus can be effectively reformed and reworked into newer and healthier forms.

Here you stick to mind as really the brain again, as matter, physical stuff. The brain is an active agent, but much of it is like trying to control your stomach. Can you will your stomach to not feel this or that. Also, just think of the subconconsious. It's "sub" conscious by definition because it can't be reached consciously, which is exactly where the intuition comes up with all of its devious delusions. It's like trying to tell a person who has homoerotic thoughts that rise up, but nevertheless, that person keeps telling themselves they are not gay, but the only way they experience pleasure is by homoerotic pleasures.

We have some control over our brain but not complete control. There will always be the struggle between nature versus nurture. What made us susceptible to this illness in the beginning was a hereditary gene and a complex array of struggles that made the kettle boil over, making a mess of our conscious lives.

[serloco]

Originally Posted by Day Tripper

Perception is only half the story, and I'm using the term, for your sake, very liberally to mean sensations, feelings, and visual perception all bundled in your term. What your leaving out is the intentional side of the mind that is the active, organizing creative aspect which is our desires, motives and ideas, some of them not sprouting from perception. For instance, we don't get the idea of space or time from perception, these are intuitive thoughts that take place before perception.

And then you contradict your previous state that it isn't a living entity by saying this:
So you say it is a living muscle. You might as well not even call it a mind if your going to call it a muscle. For definition sake you might just want to call it a brain and stick to materialism.

The problem with your statement is that people with sz delusions have false beleifs which are called "delusions" by the very definition. They can gain insights here or that, but without the help of meds, which you stated you are on yourself, you cannot leave the delusions by mere will power. In fact, i want to make the claim the the longer you are delusional the wilder your delusions are. When i say split mind i define that as being split from reality, thereby experiencing false beliefs (delusions) and hallucinations. It's not just the perception that gets tainted but its also your ideas, and your intuition. The intuition, when faced with a delusion, is not controlled by common sense, by every day causes and effects that are rationally, instead it is hijacked by thougths of paranoia and persecution, which then dictate the paranoid thoughts based on the worst of all possible worlds your mind is capable of.


Here you stick to mind as really the brain again, as matter, physical stuff. The brain is an active agent, but much of it is like trying to control your stomach. Can you will your stomach to not feel this or that. Also, just think of the subconconsious. It's "sub" conscious by definition because it can't be reached consciously, which is exactly where the intuition comes up with all of its devious delusions. It's like trying to tell a person who has homoerotic thoughts that rise up, but nevertheless, that person keeps telling themselves they are not gay, but the only way they experience pleasure is by homoerotic pleasures.

We have some control over our brain but not complete control. There will always be the struggle between nature versus nurture. What made us susceptible to this illness in the beginning was a hereditary gene and a complex array of struggles that made the kettle boil over, making a mess of our conscious lives.

Well its not for everyone Trip. I am just sharing what has worked for me. I am healed of all my symptoms now as result. Good luck!

I hate to be so critical of your methods, but if I didn't like the side effects of my drugs, and i was wishy washy about my meds already because of paranoid thoughts they are poisoning me, then I might read your post and think meds may not be as helpful as the willpower of my mind. I might think that i can just reason my way out of a delusion. I think your positivistic way of thinking may help some... but I am a very rational person. I was learning about sz during my psychosis. I knew i had a father with sz. I was in my junior year of getting a degree that is entirely based on building up reason as the crowning achievement of my life. Reason failed me. I reasoned through it a hundred times a day and couldn't defeat it, and when i did, i would get put in my place back in the delusion again by sz.

Delusions are like a weight. And even the professionally weight lifter has to put the weights down eventually. You can't keep it up indefinitely and when it sinks in, well... then you ahe to start all over again and go through recovery, and just a little bit of yourself disappears with each time you lose that battle too.

I'm weary of mind (brain) over matter in this case.

[serloco]

Originally Posted by Day Tripper

I hate to be so critical of your methods, but if I didn't like the side effects of my drugs, and i was wishy washy about my meds already because of paranoid thoughts they are poisoning me, then I might read your post and think meds may not be as helpful as the willpower of my mind. I might think that i can just reason my way out of a delusion. I think your positivistic way of thinking may help some... but I am a very rational person. I was learning about sz during my psychosis. I knew i had a father with sz. I was in my junior year of getting a degree that is entirely based on building up reason as the crowning achievement of my life. Reason failed me. I reasoned through it a hundred times a day and couldn't defeat it, and when i did, i would get put in my place back in the delusion again by sz.

Delusions are like a weight. And even the professionally weight lifter has to put the weights down eventually. You can't keep it up indefinitely and when it sinks in, well... then you ahe to start all over again and go through recovery, and just a little bit of yourself disappears with each time you lose that battle too.

I'm weary of mind (brain) over matter in this case.

That's fair. But the reason I am healthy now is because I didnt give and didnt lose hope. I kept fighting the good fight. Dont despair. I was nearly wiped out, defeated, tortured I was, and tormented beyond belief. The only reason I developed a strong command is because I never gave up and kept on trying. I had NO choice.

Now lets talk about how perception can heal the mind. I mentioned that if you perceive your mind as being contorlled by aliens, or demons, or the gov, for example, then the mind builds this fantasy and can seem very real. The mind is a powerful and convincing organ (not muscle as I said incorrectly). However once you begin to realise this is a delusion then you remove the power it has over you and the routine begins to crumble. NO longer are you looking at your mind, your illness, in the same light and thus the facade collapses. A new perception is born and the perception shifts into a new form. Your mind may now be controlled again my yourself. The first step to overcoming delusions is to realise that you are delusional and that you believe in things not real.

Belief is very power as well. Controlling your belief has great beneficial effects.

The difference between having demonic voices that seek to harm you and having angelic voices that seek to help and protect you is all in the mind's eye, the perception you use when you view them. If you are having trouble with bad voices try shifting your perception of them in order to begin looking at them in a more positive light. This shift will shift the nature and actions generated by your mind. The voices will become friendly as result. It is much easier to cope with friendly voices then to deal with nasty ones. My voices, before i got rid of them, used to be demons when they started however turned into angels after a couple years of working with them. At that point the voices sought to help me heal, and sought to be quieter for me and protect me. It was a much more enjoyable experience for me. Using ideas like love, friendship, shame, etc all contributed to this goal.

[serloco]

I am not telling anyone to not use meds if they are helping you. That would be counter productive. I am instead giving some coping methods to use with your meds. The ability to deal with your illness on your own, without total dependence on meds is important in my view to full and lasting recovery.

my mom tells me about this neuroscientist who believes in the same things that serloco is talking about,

She's done research on the subject for years, the only thing I don't like about her is that she is "christian" so she talks a lot about God too

although, most of her research is separate from God and she has talked about other things in her research such as "can the mind heal the brain?" and she's looked into it for many years and now she says, "yes, the mind CAN heal the brain"

Personally, I don't find that meds help me,
I know of another person who was dx'd with schizophrenia who was able to come off her meds, who is not Christian, but talks a lot about how her mind was able to heal her brain too

Her name is Eleanor Longden and she is now a psychologist that helped found the Hearing Voices network for people who are hearing voices, but are not finding help in psychiatry or psychology.

She was able to overcome the voices by listening to them and learning to communicate with them and now she doesn't take medication and is thriving and helping there thrive

I didn't see anywhere where serloco said that meds don't help people,
But what I DO see is that meds are not a cure-all for everything and not everyone benefits from taking medication

[Rincad]

You say your voices were demonic and than angelic. Well a few months ago during what was the start of my psychosis, I had complete insight. I and still do believe that they are tortured people and that there meanest is because of that. Well in the beginning the were nice and kind but I had no control. I know that if I want recovery I should take my meds and go to therapy. I used to believe I just needed a little meds and lots of talk therapy. I thought that it was an illness and that was it that was what could help me. I was dead wrong. No matter how much therapy got I detoratieted more.

My today I don't think I'm ill to a degree. I don't think I neeed meds or therapy. In my belief the mind is the unconscious thinking patterns. The mind is what I characterize as daydreams and imagination and my psychic kinda intitution. I can read the feelings of others that's the mind. Robot up loop watch sun sing clean east.( sorry ignore rhyming and nonsense sentences, some I can stop and some I can't sorry again).

In what I think you changed was your conscious. Since the mind is the psychic part of us kinda like intitoution. I cannot spell that word. Sugar blossoms robe school mule run fun rug. It's where Our are far lar par subconscious is. It's not something we can control. But we can find a way to implant thoughts into our conscious that will seep into our unconscious. But in way is that the way we can cure ourselves.

Psychosis can be a complex coping skill. Forming from many things. What you describe is like the cure for that psychosis. I think somehow we need to separate coping from schizophrenia. Since it can be damaging for people with that kind of psychosis. I think away is the see from stressor of all sorts. Jack lantern spring winter cough door store pencil atomen. Schizophrenia has a family history and possible early warning signs in childhood. While a person with coping psychosis has a suspectabilty to psychosis but it has no warning signs and has mostly hallucinations.

I myself have no history of it but a few stories about people with odd beliefs and patterns and behavior. But early on in my life maybe the first years I was very odd of that continued almost schizotypal or overly imaginative. I expressed many early signs. Since mean line fine mine mine started when I was 9.i obsessed over spells and other things. Which have downed down since everything is setting in.

I think people with schizophrenia the main treatment should be meds and for coping psychosis it should be therapy. And for some lasting symptoms in schizophrenia can be given help to help cope and only if nessary for coping psychosis meds.

I forgot to say there are lre fre exceptions

[Shoe]

I have read several books on neuroplasticity. Buddha's Brain by Rick Hanson is a pretty good one. If I remember right, he states that you can use your mind to change your brain which then changes your mind. (something like that)
Neuroplasticity or the restructuring of the neuro circuits in the brain is basically done by focusing our attention on something. Neurons that fire together wire together. That takes place every time we learn something.
As a side note:
I just discovered this guy a couple of weeks ago and find his lectures extremely interesting. I am on lecture 4&5 in his Personality and its Transformations class.
https://www.youtube.com/user/JordanP...deos/playlists

[eskielover]

The concept of neuroplasticity is what DBT is based on. It is also what helps stroke victims recover & those with trsumatic brain injuries. Retraining the neurotransmitters to respond in a diffetent way or to learn over again like in a stroke or TBI.

Research has been being done on this for years but only receintly applied to the workibg of the brain in relationship to psychology

[greentires4me]

Done DBT didn't work for me...I know the body can heal itself I have watched thousands of people do it to only years later to succumbing to cancer and dying. It's like putting off the end for say 10years only to die by it.

Now the brain is complex it's has its elements of surprise things may back fire into something unsightly on screens in radiology! It seems almost like a cancer of the brain lighting up like fireworks!

I am not sure but I have had so many concussions in my lifetime that this so called split has happened here after one too many concussions which is a proven occurrence that it may happen.

Now the mind is something other then the body itself it's the ego, the ID, the superego. It's the purpose to why we believe the things we do which is perceptions. We also have morals and values and beliefs. We our taught by people to believe this way or that until we get out of school grade 12 for me and it was like FREEDOM I could now believe, do, and breathe. My mind was my own till later when I developed in my late 20s this strange thing after a workplace accident. I could hear voices now these weren't good voices they were bullies and still are to this day.

I gotta really touch on nature versus nurture since we grow up we either get nurtured or left to nature. I was left to nature I wasn't nurtured everyone abandoned me or bullied me or tortured me. One day at 17 I had a breakdown instead of taking me to the hospital they called my mom. Great I thought I am falling apart and my mother never takes anything seriously who never nurtured me as a child instead of torturing me. I told her to take me to the hospital something is wrong what does she do drives me home and locks me outside and takes away my jacket in middle of a windstorm and tells me to "suffer my public humiliation and no crying in public"....I started walking off the property and just kept walking until I got to town as I cried it was about a 2hour walk and when I got to town someone thought I was homeless and gave me some change I used it to get a bus to the hospital. I walked into the hospital frightened/terrified but determined I sat down in a cue and when I was called up they asked for my care card or a piece of ID I handed over what I had but no care card because my mother seemed to like to keep it. I had a birth certificate student ID and a learners licence. They asked why I was there I said I need to talk to a doctor or a nurse or someone who understands why I cannot go anywhere without having anxiety attacks or just recently locking myself in the school washroom for 3hours! But whatever u don't call my mother she doesn't believe in nurturing only fending for one self! So they called my dad instead...he rushed home from the city. I got to talk to doctor and he said talk with your primary I was like your no help do you have a better doctor a specialist! Or a nurse who is gentle with these kinds of things someone who nurtures! Anyway my dad got there dressed in a suit and tie and apparently they played golf together so they knew each other. So while they went to talk a nurse comes in and takes me to a bed and gives me blue pjs to put on and we spend and whole 2 hours talking ...I am given a wrist band and a allergy bracelet it was close to the nurses station and I was given something for the pain of walking 2 1/2hours on my feet when they took off my boots i had bloody feet I suppose of blisters. Anyways I stay there for a week in the hospital and my dad tells my mom I went on a vacation with him it was last minute and checked himself into a hotel in town. He was more nurture when he had to be then nature like my mom. He bought himself clothes and brought me candy and chocolates and chips none of which I ate instead just bribe the nurses with the chocolate for a conversation any time a bell went off they pretend they didn't hear it and draw the curtain closed.

Anyways some times it's more nurture then nature with things!

With knowledge comes power and over time comes wisdom.

I am not sure if what you have stated is all true and you made statements that contradicted each other but someone else already pointed that out.

We learn from each other and we also feed off each other but don't become a vulture!

The psychosis always seems to be there in the most terrible frightening ways I wake up to people looking like things and cars turning into transformers and fighting in the middle of the road and paranoia someone is stalking me and anxiety that builds. So I stay inside and hide in the tub some times from bugs and and the incessant buzzing sound in my ear. Then reality strikes there is fighting in the hallway doors slamming most unpleasant thing to hear is a door slamming. Right when ya nod off to sleep!

Anyways that's just my take!