Schizophrenia

[analea21]

I have a good friend who is schizophrenic. We were friends when I was in college and I still visit with her once a week. However, it really seems like her life is deteriorating. She has hallucinations and hears voices. She does not really believe she is mentally ill because she claims that she is hearing the voice of God and she will see demons/angels. It's such a difficult situation because we are both religious, and I believe people can have spiritual experiences. My friend has such a great heart, but the more I learn about schizophrenia, the more I feel like I don't know how to relate with her.

Does anyone have experience with someone who is schizophrenia? Any advice?

[Kelly]

I don't have a lot of experience with this, other than having a cousin who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Everything I've heard is that the voices and strange behavior goes away when they are given, and regularly take, the right medication.

It is not normal to hear voices in one's head, or to see images like demons or angels that aren't there. Spirituality and religion are one thing, but it's a mistake to encourage her schizophrenia as a religious experience. Seeing as you are both religious and you don't have schizophrenia but your friend does, can you help her understand that the voices are not normal? They're not messages from God either. The signs you see from God in small ways are surely different from voices... you can help her relate to that.

Maybe print out some material on what the symptoms of her disease are (voices in her head, seeing images that aren't there, paranoia, etc) will help her understand and seek treatment.

kelly

[analea21]

She has her ups and downs and lately there have been more "downs." I know her hallucinations, both auditory and visual, are not real. It's just difficult to be a friend to someone like this, who has trouble admitting that they are mentally ill. I will probably talk to a counselor about how to handle the situation. Thank you for the advice.

[memyselfand?]

Your friend is very lucky to have you, believe me many people just walk away and that includes their closest family too. I would say counseling is a good idea but before that (sorry don't know her exact situation) I would speak to her family if possible and assess what has been tried already. It seems the best way of dealing with it is with a combination of prescription meds (watch for the horrible side effects with some meds + depression is likely to be present also) and counseling and ongoing support. The hardest part is getting them to admit they have the illness but if you can engage her with good specialists half the battle is won there. Also consider sharing the problem with someone else who cares for her as it can be very difficult accessing help for people with mental health problems, someone to share the burden might help in getting her some kind of treatment.

[analea21]

Thank you for the advice. I actually just started talking with her sister who was the first one to put her in the hospital. My friend has been on meds for the last 10 years, which is good. However, it seems like whenever someone tries to help her admit her illness she shuts them out. So I feel I will need to take baby steps with her, like try to convince her to see a good psychologist/specialist (she already has psychiatrists she sees). It's painful to see her like this, but I feel like I'm in her life for a reason.

[markiegloomie]

I don't have a lot of experience with this, other than having a cousin who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Everything I've heard is that the voices and strange behavior goes away when they are given, and regularly take, the right medication.

It is not normal to hear voices in one's head, or to see images like demons or angels that aren't there. Spirituality and religion are one thing, but it's a mistake to encourage her schizophrenia as a religious experience. Seeing as you are both religious and you don't have schizophrenia but your friend does, can you help her understand that the voices are not normal? They're not messages from God either. The signs you see from God in small ways are surely different from voices... you can help her relate to that.

Maybe print out some material on what the symptoms of her disease are (voices in her head, seeing images that aren't there, paranoia, etc) will help her understand and seek treatment.

kelly

I think it's a bit hasty to dismiss voices and visions as mental illness. This is what spiritual mediums experience, and call clairvoyance, clairaudience etc. Paranoia is different and shouldn't be lumped together with seeing and hearing things that others can't.

[HerbVerbage]

I am not a doctor, the only way to get legitimate advice on these things is to talk with her physician and see what works best of course. However, I have been around schizophrenia and bi-polar for a while now, and do have an opinion as well as some possibly useful advice.
I agree that voices are not necessarily a sign of mental illness, I have heard them myself on 3 or 4 different occassions throughout my life. The last time was a year ago or so, I was going through some kind of painful situation at work, involving spiritual warfare due to principles, etc. and so I went AWOL for a weekend vacation. During that time, I was awoken one morning by a very peaceful-sounding voice which simply said, "He's going to call now," no sooner than that and I opened my eyes in awe at what I had just heard, that the phone started ringing, indeed with my "boss" on the other end. It was an intense conversation which lead to my immediate termination from the job, which I trust was for the best in the long run. So no I don't think voices are always indicant of a mental illness. There are many other possible reasons actually. Joan of Arc is an example of a woman who heard divine voices which led to some amazing events in the long run, and I've experienced clairvoyence, etc. so for me I know it's real. Not saying that's the case for everyone of course.
It could be that too much adrenochrome is being produced from the adrenal gland in her system and is causing auditory and visual hallucinations, which if that's the case, could possibly be helped by Orthomolecular mega-dose vitamin treatment (3 grams daily of B3, and 3 grams daily of C, being the main emphasis, along with the other essentials; B-complex, E, Magnesium, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Zinc, etc.). Vitamin B3 in particular apparently stops the adrenal gland from adrenochrome production, thus cutting down on possible hallucinations source.
There is some research done which shows that many schizophrenics grew up in a (perhaps not so clean house) house with a cat around. Some worm (forget the name off-hand) is transmitted from a rat to the cat by, well, the cat eating it of course, then the cat passes that into its litterbox, and the stuff becomes airborne and is transmitted into the human. This is just one possibility, and could perhaps be helped by some kind of "zapper" to kill the worms which might possibly be eating into her brain.
I've heard of people being helped by a change in diet and lifestyle before. Switching to a raw organic diet of mainly fruits, but also with non-starchy greenleaf vegetables, seeds, nuts, vitamins, and herbs. Also a switch to spring and/or distilled water, as well as regular fasting from all food, according to the "Rational Fasting and Mucusless Diet Healing System by Arnold Ehret" handbook.
"Voice To Skull (V2K)" "Synthetic Telepathy" Communications are not only possible, but have been used on a growing number of TI's (Targetted Individuals) in this country. You could search on those terms to learn more, or search on Patent # 5159703 (Silent Subliminal Presentation System), just as one quick example. These have been around since Allen H. Frey discovered the technology of "micro wave hearing" back in 1962, using scalar & ELF-wave "non-lethal weaponry", as well as the work of Dr. Jose Delgado around the same time period.
In my own opinion, I think that voice-hearers have it worse than anyone I know, even the physically disabled, and I think that most cases are probably done by malevolent gangstalking humans experimenting and torturing people via synthetic telepathy V2K communications in this new "silent holocaust" as its known. In very rare cases I consider that it is indeed spirits of one form or another who are communicating with the person. There are so many possibilities, unfortunately science is lacking in this dept, but a few useful books known to me about it are:The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes, The Outsider by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, Voices of Reason Voices of Insanity by Ivan Leuder and Philip Thomas, Natural Healing for Schizophrenia by Eva Edelman, Physical Control of the Mind by Dr. Jose Delgado. It might be worth it to take a few minutes to read the reviews on those books at amazon com. Because like someone else mentioned in another post, most people are simply apathetic to people like your friend, and family/friends are famous for deserting people dealing with the voices. Don't give up, you know I wont. That's my two cents, hope it helps. :spin:

"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." ----W. H. Murray

"When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness." ----Joseph Campbell

"In the long run you only hit what you aim at. Therefore, though you should fail immediately, you had better aim at something high." -----Henry David Thoreau