Paranormal influence on mental health

[drewiduk]

Hi everyone,

This is my first forum discussion, so please don't be too harsh

I'd like to hear everyone's opinion on the paranormal influence on mental health, and also how the mental health can influence the paranormal.

I'm interested in this as I have always been sensitive to my surroundings and have a history of mental health issues, namely BPD and clinical depression.

An example I can offer to start the topic off is: Before I was on medication, my home had a very dark and oppressive vibe, that was not just noticed by me, but by others who had no history of mental health issues. It felt oppressive, so I am wondering if my depression was somehow projecting itself externally and influencing my surroundings. Also, strange things occurred, that would possibly be attributed to poltergeist activity, but only when I was at my lowest. So, eventually, my point is, that my mood projection could possibly manifest in what could be classed as paranormal activity.

On another note, I have always felt sensitive to ghosts, spirits, entities (whatever the PC term for the afterlife is now lol), and negative energies have always brought me down. It could be my empathy, or my sensitivity, but some external force has definitely affected my mood. When I have spoken to mental health professionals, they have literally dismissed and also avoided this subject, so I would like to know what you guys think, being a community of open minded people.

Cheers, Drew

[AbyssWalker]

Mental health could easily be mistaken for the paranormal, especially when people can't seem to find any explanations for it.

[Davros of Skaro]

Focus on the animal first.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=263453&st=15#entry5099803

[White Crane Feather]

It's possible to affect your environment in many ways. But before jumping into metaphysics you should make sure your chemistry is sound.

A decent amount of strenuous exercise, lots of organic vegetables and clean water. Vitamin b complex plenty of vitamin c, and plenty of sleep. Don't forget sunshine when you can find it. With these things in order, you can start to explore the metaphysical side of your senses. You may be surprised what you might find. If you have seen councilors and psychologists that dismiss this aspect of yourself, then you have not found the right person. A psychologist with a certification in transpersonal psychology may have both clinical and personal avenues to take, and absolutely knows better than to dismiss any aspect of your personality and thoughts.

Might I suggest a meditation practice. I have found very few things with people that meditate can't make at least moderately better. Especially when it comes to the mind.

Edited March 9, 2014 by White Crane Feather

[drewiduk]

John, I agree, but although not all psychology has been identified, could an external force some how influence and/or be the cause of these issues that would be classed as paranormal.

And Davros, my cat is my best form of therapy

White Crane: I agree, although I am now stable, this topic is something that has always fascinated me. Metaphysics is largely unexplored and yes, good body chemistry makes for a sound mind, I am just wondering if something science has not defined, can influence our mental health. It is widely known that only a small part of our brain is consciously used, so could some part be susceptible to something science has not yet identified?

Edited March 9, 2014 by drewiduk

[White Crane Feather]

John, I agree, but although not all psychology has been identified, could an external force some how influence and/or be the cause of these issues that would be classed as paranormal.

And Davros, my cat is my best form of therapy

White Crane: I agree, although I am now stable, this topic is something that has always fascinated me. Metaphysics is largely unexplored and yes, good body chemistry makes for a sound mind, I am just wondering if something science has not defined, can influence our mental health. It is widely known that only a small part of our brain is consciously used, so could some part be susceptible to something science has not yet identified?

I'm certain of it

[AbyssWalker]

John, I agree, but although not all psychology has been identified, could an external force some how influence and/or be the cause of these issues that would be classed as paranormal.

Well I don't think so, but there's really no way of knowing if the cause is indeed an external force.

even If there were external forces at work, what else could the victim do except seek medical help from professionals?

[Brian Topp]

I don't want to be the "that guy" but look at the legal side of this.

Scenario one: So, Let say we had a guy with documented health problems (i am not going into detail on that) and he kills/hurt someone. He could blame it on paranormal, demons etc. So if a Judge says, yep it was a [one of those things] that guy doesn't get the medical attention he needed.

Scenario two: Guy kills a woman, Gets arrested, passes the examination as being sane. He goes to court and say "A [insert entity] caused it and the judge went "Yep" and let him go. Could you imagine the excuses for n not taking their own responsibility?

"I got fired because a ghost made me steal",

"I did cheat on my wife, with the nurse, the housemaid, the neighbors housemaid because slander man influenced me"

"I punched a man from road rage because the anger of a famous spirit told me"

Edited March 9, 2014 by Brian Topp

[Patient Zero]

I don't want to be the "that guy" but look at the legal side of this.

Scenario one: So, Let say we had a guy with documented health problems (i am not going into detail on that) and he kills/hurt someone. He could blame it on paranormal, demons etc. So if a Judge says, yep it was a [one of those things] that guy doesn't get the medical attention he needed.

Scenario two: Guy kills a woman, Gets arrested, passes the examination as being sane. He goes to court and say "A [insert entity] caused it and the judge went "Yep" and let him go. Could you imagine the excuses for n not taking their own responsibility?

"I got fired because a ghost made me steal",

"I did cheat on my wife, with the nurse, the housemaid, the neighbors housemaid because slander man influenced me"

"I punched a man from road rage because the anger of a famous spirit told me"

A demon told me to slaughter my entire family while they slept comfortably in their beds.

Truth (As DeFeo saw it) is stranger than fiction.

[coldethyl]

Well I won't be too harsh because you have a pic of Old Greg as your avvie and I love the Mighty Boosh.

First off, I'm BP type 1 and OCD with anxiety blah blah, so I know what you go through. I don't think however we can project our feelings into the atmosphere or anything like that. We do affect the people around us, the people that care about us, but it's not through any type of projection.

You should meditate. That is great for everyone. You'll feel sensations like you never have before. Not paranormal, just natural.

If you ever need anyone to talk to about your mental health you can pm me, I am a wealth of info on the subject.

[OrdinaryClay]

Also, strange things occurred, that would possibly be attributed to poltergeist activity,

Hi, I hope you are feeling well.

Do people other than yourself witness this activity?

[DancingCorpse]

There's the theory that poltergeist activity is commonly caused by virulent teens or excess emotional energies, I have no idea how true it is but I've read a lot about experiences, it's interesting if nothing else. Obviously one can superimpose their irrational and jumbled cognitive base onto random noises with logical explanations and believe they have spirits attaching to their negative unfolding portion of life. Then there can be actual hauntings with no correlation with mental health. Then there could be activity attracted by the excess energy.All three are possible in my opinion, there's endless documented experiences from everyday folks, each with their own interpretations between the three, just depends what ya personally believe since there's no single answer to each case.

[Geminiwizard]

Greetings everyone,

I'd like to add to this discussion... a little late as I've just joined this site. My wife an I have been doing spirit releasements for the past 22 years and we are aware of how entities can and do affect people in this physical reality. I'll post a blog shortly on some of the effects that can be attributed to entities; for now I'll share a short excerpt from the blog here:

A few years ago I was talking to someone about the paranormal and subsequently I became aware that a young man had overheard the conversation; he approached me, asking if I knew anything about schizophrenia. Not to alert whoever was with him that I only had a slight understanding of the condition. I explained that the only way both of us could have a better understanding, would be through a hypnotherapy session. Not wanting to elaborate because I sensed those dis-incarnate entities that may have been with him would endeavor to keep him from obtaining help. He told me that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and the only help he received was through medication.

He came to my office and during the session we found out that as a baby, whenever he cried, his father wielding a long wooden ruler slapped and poked him through the bars of his crib. This caused the child to leave his body in order to avoid feeling the pain. In turn, this leaving his body for prolonged periods of time, left the body wide open for entities to jump aboard, which, I suspected had caused his current condition.

The entity with him thought he would have a little fun at my expense and after a long and challenging session I managed to get the controlling entity to cross-over. I had to get that entity to change his perception in order for him to want to leave and this was achieved by having him come to terms with its own anger and rage.

[Whisperer]

Theres a lot to be said for physical condition influencing the state of mind, particularly when gut microbes are imbalanced or when ongoing viral infections that are barely noticeable are prevalent.

The adage, 'feed a cold and starve a fever' has some bearing if you considered the thought that the body being comprised of a wealth of these organisms as part of the whole of being an animal (or a person if that's more palatable) actively contribute to the 'collective mind' of being human by influencing the environment they live in (your body) to cater for their own survival and or society and therefore your thought processes

.

Parasites also do this and one of the elements that help to diagnose such an influence is the willingness or lack thereof, of the person to change diets in order to become well again as a whole functioning being.

How thought propagates and influence is an area which see's little in the way of testable results but could add significantly to behavioural expressions where one may in fact be or become susceptible to extraneous empathetic promptings.

I have ongoing battles with 'unknowns' trying to stop me from doing certain things or influence my thoughts about certain other things, not in any great sense of epicness but they are there non the less, and I have always sought to make 'them' desist by employing a thought shield where benign entities may in fact succeed but malevolent ones are summarily rejected.

Sometimes I remember to check my diet other times I forget but I cant say with any certainty that this actually works, its just something I noticed when responding to folks wanting my help with their little probs, often the very process which could help is the one they reject therefore maintaining the prob in the long run that they have issues with.

I do of course believe there are other worldly entities that do in fact interfere with us but there is no rational explanation yet that suits my point of view on the matter, just a lot of speculative meanderings which I and many others pursue as a course towards achieving a rational point of view on the matter....

[Occult1]

A few years ago I was talking to someone about the paranormal and subsequently I became aware that a young man had overheard the conversation; he approached me, asking if I knew anything about schizophrenia. Not to alert whoever was with him that I only had a slight understanding of the condition. I explained that the only way both of us could have a better understanding, would be through a hypnotherapy session. Not wanting to elaborate because I sensed those dis-incarnate entities that may have been with him would endeavor to keep him from obtaining help. He told me that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and the only help he received was through medication.

He came to my office and during the session we found out that as a baby, whenever he cried, his father wielding a long wooden ruler slapped and poked him through the bars of his crib. This caused the child to leave his body in order to avoid feeling the pain. In turn, this leaving his body for prolonged periods of time, left the body wide open for entities to jump aboard, which, I suspected had caused his current condition.

The entity with him thought he would have a little fun at my expense and after a long and challenging session I managed to get the controlling entity to cross-over. I had to get that entity to change his perception in order for him to want to leave and this was achieved by having him come to terms with its own anger and rage.

I will have to be very skeptical at attributing the man's condition to some kind of possession by entities. If he received a diagonostic of schizofenia and was currently under medication or decided to stop it, I find it much more likely that his condition was psychiatrical and not paranormal.

Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder (or a group of disorders) marked by severely impaired thinking, emotions, and behaviors. Schizophrenic patients are typically unable to filter sensory stimuli and may have enhanced perceptions of sounds, colors, and other features of their environment. Most schizophrenics, if untreated, gradually withdraw from interactions with other people, and lose their ability to take care of personal needs and grooming.

Source: http://medical-dicti...om/Schizofrenia

The use of hypnosis on schizofrenic is not without controversy, and if the man was under distress by a state of psychosis, it could have caused an alteration of events in his mind. That has been known to happen even in perfectly healthy subjects. Suggestions, imaginations and alterations can occur in using hypnosis.

Hypnosis is an extremely controversial intervention, the efficacy of which in schizophrenia is debated. Hypnosis may be, at best, used as an adjunct to ongoing schizophrenia medication and must be investigated in conjunction with clinician input.

Source: http://www.schizophr...ocial/hypnosis/

Edited April 5, 2014 by sam_comm

[Geminiwizard]

Greetings sam_comm and WeirdHalfling,

I could agree with you however, I have to stay with the understandings that I've compiled over 22 years of experiences of dealing with entities and Ets; deliberating, doubting, questioning my own sanity within the Unexplained Mysteries life has had me involved in. Trying to explain metaphysical/paranormal experiences with a rational mind is a challenging matter; sometimes blind faith is required when faced with supposedly impossibilities. I'm sure there are millions of religious patrons that make good use of blind faith. The old saying about having to ‘walk in another’s shoe’s holds a bit of truth to it – in order to grasp an understanding of where people are coming from when expressing their experiences.

My wife Diana is a walking testimony to just such an experience, where she was 'medically diagnosed' with a Degenerative Disk Disease along with Arthritis of the spine. The doctors wanted to fuse a couple of her spine disks together, to help elevate the pain she was constantly enduring. Some Divine intervention seemed to have taken place on a weekend course she was able to attend, a past life workshop. On the last day she experienced a one-on-one regression session where (in an altered state) became aware of a monk that was with her and the facilitator was able to help the monk cross-over and Diana was able to walk away in an upright state, completely pain free – the Deg/Disk and Arthritis disappeared, once the monk was released. Diana’s doctor couldn’t understand what had happened although he was pleased that Diana was feeling better and surgery was no longer required. Subsequently she took hypnotherapy years later with me because of her desire to help people in the way she was helped.

Science, along with occult, metaphysical explanations are both within this reality and to try and plausibly explain either one, leaves us with a daunting task of sifting through the many more question that arise after some other ‘unexplainable’ experience occurs. In reality a Realist and the Skeptic will invariably try to prove their beliefs and validate their experiences; everyone is right and we all are walking in separate shoes. What’s right for the goose may not be right for the gander.

[coldethyl]

*SNIP*

Science, along with occult, metaphysical explanations are both within this reality and to try and plausibly explain either one, leaves us with a daunting task of sifting through the many more question that arise after some other ‘unexplainable’ experience occurs. In reality a Realist and the Skeptic will invariably try to prove their beliefs and validate their experiences; everyone is right and we all are walking in separate shoes. What’s right for the goose may not be right for the gander.

People who mix the mentally ill and the paranormal really bother me. I am bi polar type 1, ocd, and I have anxiety issues. My therapy and medicine helps. I do not have bad spirits or demons 'attached' to me. You put a thought like that into a schizophrenic and you can have devastating consequences. I know because both my natural father and uncle were schizophrenic.

Mental illness is like diabetes or cancer. It's not asked for or something that can just be cured with a hypnotherapy session. It's an actual real life illness, that no one understands except the people who have it and sometimes their loved ones.

[Anton25]

I'm a psychic and seen images and had communication with spirits... The doctors think I'm mentally ill for saying I'm psychic I was given med and I found it suppresses psychic.. You don't need med to change your energy med wont work for that.. I had hauntings when going through a rough time it's ther way of letting u know your not alone.. Wot the med will do will block whatever happens when u think spiritually.. I was in hospital and mentioned to the doctors about spirits and that I've always Beleived it.. Next min I had polergeist moving sheets on bed throwing stuff about I was just laying there thinking it was someone p***ed of.. The certain was drawn this time I opened the curtain and seen things moving I walked out the door straight the way and ther was a blind moving back and forth swinging slowly with visable energy behind it.. I put my hand on the blind as it swing back and forth was amazing.. Everyone seen it but wudnt go near it.. The staff were sitting with towels round them.scared telling me to stay away.. They let me out the next day lol

[Geminiwizard]

Greetings,

Having firsthand experience with a possessing entity and having felt the effects such as mood changes, physical aches and pains which includes an altered perception of things, I can relate with someone that has/is involved with entity attachments. I'm not mixing anything and I've been dealing with entity attachments for 22 years. The story that I'll add here is an example of how easily one can become attached and also how help is available. I'm just relaying a personal experience which can accepted or rejected by those who choose to read this.

My wife Diana and I were doing one of our early surrogate sessions where I was the surrogate and Diana was the facilitator. We had been requested to do a surrogate session for a boy who had been admitted to hospital and placed in a psychiatric ward and the mother (a psychologist) was concerned that her son would be diagnosed as being bi-polar because of his actions and symptoms he was displaying when they took him into custody. As we were starting our learning curve of doing this type of work (following the procedures we had been given,) we were unaware of how easily we were susceptible to being jumped, during the session. Diana became aware later that evening that something wasn’t right. What appeared to Diana was that I had a complete personality change that caused me to become belligerent and I had stormed out of our house in a rage; so angry that I completely left our relationship and caught a plane to another city.

While on the plane flight and the announcement came over the speaker system that we were now descending to 25,000 ft. and approaching Vancouver; an excruciating pain shot through my left eye, like an ice pick and went straight out the back of my head. I tried everything I could to get rid of it but to no avail. The pain completely stopped after the plane landed. I was also aware that the muscles across the back of my shoulders were aching almost as if I had suffered from whiplash.

I contacted Diana after about 3 months and fortunately we were able to sort things. I told her about what had happened on the flight and the conditions that I began having after I left and we both realized we needed do a hypnotherapy session. What we first thought was a past-life of mine, turned out to be the past-life of an entity that had jumped me during the session we were conducting for the boy.

It was a Union soldier who died in an ambush as he had been shot in the eye; the cramp in my neck I associated it with the whiplash effect that occurred when he received the shot in the eye; causing the head to slam backwards. The union soldier panicked on the plane as he realized where he was/I was, at 25,000 feet in the air – which, probably reminded him about dying and his thoughts and feelings of his death, brought on the whiplash and pain in the eye. Talk about learning the hard way! But, who was doing the learning as I hadn’t a clue that he was with me at the time?

After that we modified our routine for ‘setting up our protection’ before embarking upon any ‘spirit/entity releasement’ or ‘rescue work.’ With experience, it's relatively easy now to determine whether it is one's own past life experience or an entity's. Pardon the pun but it’s a ‘dead giveaway’ when knowing how to determine who belongs to a past-life.

We soon found out that no matter how well we tried to protect ourselves, we occasionally do get ‘jumped’ while we are otherwise preoccupied in doing sessions for other people. It certainly can and does happen from time to time, although we are lucky to have each other for help. I was the recipient (the surrogate) doing my very first session with Diana as the facilitator and we are both glad we took our training together. Diana related to me after I had left, that the mother of the boy called her to report that her son was released from the hospital in fine condition and without being labeled bi-polar.

[coldethyl]

Nice story bro. You got a migraine and the kid wasn't bi polar.

[Whisperer]

I wonder if your sessions of being 'jumped' are actually episodes of past life or co existing realities manifestations.

Another consideration is perhaps related to a susceptibility for dual states of being, just musing , given the experiences posted...

[Skep B]

People who mix the mentally ill and the paranormal really bother me. I am bi polar type 1, ocd, and I have anxiety issues. My therapy and medicine helps. I do not have bad spirits or demons 'attached' to me. You put a thought like that into a schizophrenic and you can have devastating consequences. I know because both my natural father and uncle were schizophrenic.

I gotta side w/ Chill lady, I'm crazy cause I'm crazy. Spirits and what have you have nothing to do with it.

I don't carry the same diagnosis as her, and I'm not going into what I'm diagnosed with, but nothing supernatural influenced me to be what I am

[SHaYap]

It really depends on the culture one grows up with ~ I am familiar with some native dwellers of the jungle and everything are spirits and ghosts to them ~ so much so that if they dropped money (coins or notes ) no matter how much or how little they have ... they WILL leave it behind ~ because it belongs the 'spirits' hence forth ~ you don't take it back ~

In the jungles there are even more spirits that 'talks' to them ... they'd be separated out of sight or hearing but they have this uncanny ability to know what the other is doing ~ and when I ask it is always 'this spirit or that spirit' told me what you were doing or where you were moving towards ~ it is no joke in the jungles ~ vision is very very limited ~ and most times it is just a small matter of verging on life and death situations ~ get lost in that part of the forest and it will take weeks for you to come out in one piece ~ on top of all that the don;t have time keeping devices but they seems to know what time of day it is .. a perplexing skill that I only recently have shown some success in getting ~ I am down to the half hour and they consistently gets it right to the quarter ~

~

[MadManMalone]

In my experience, It makes all the difference. At the time everything started going down. I had mild anxiety and clinical depression. When things escalated I started hearing voices and seeing things. False memories and emotions set in and I almost committed suicide. Twice. Then I was sent to a ward. Where they confirmed I had Severe anxiety, my depression had worsened, They diagnosed me with PTSD and psychosis. I heard one of the doctors throw the term borderline schizophrenia around as I was leaving one of our sessions. So, I would say Yes. It makes ALL the difference.

[JesseCuster]

While on the plane flight and the announcement came over the speaker system that we were now descending to 25,000 ft. and approaching Vancouver; an excruciating pain shot through my left eye, like an ice pick and went straight out the back of my head. I tried everything I could to get rid of it but to no avail. The pain completely stopped after the plane landed. I was also aware that the muscles across the back of my shoulders were aching almost as if I had suffered from whiplash.

Violent painful headache while a plane is descending? It's a headache brought on by pressure difference between blocked air pockets in sinuses or other internal cavities and the changing air pressure inside the plane as it descends. I've had it before while on the final descent on a flight home from a trip abroad and it' s not something I ever want to relive. I genuinely thought I was having an aneurysm or something like that.

Why attribute to the supernatural what can easily be explained by known natural causes given that the symptoms and situation explain it so well?

Edited April 14, 2014 by JesseCuster