On Empathy
Many people falsely believe that a lack of Empathy is a Symptom of Schizophrenia: it is not. I believe that this misconception comes from the conflation of the terms “Psychotic” & “Psychopath” in the vernacular, creating a crossover Stigma of Schizophrenia/Psychosis & Antisocial Personality Disorder. While a lack of Empathy is not a direct Symptom of Schizophrenia, this does not mean that having Schizophrenia cannot affect the way one experiences Empathy & perceives the Empathy of others.
Angels & The Aurora Borealis; Or, The Crossover Of The Supernatural & Psychosis
The hour is late and the moon is full. I have driven alone with my tour guide, an energetic old man, to the isolated low hills near Keflavik International Airport. On one side of the “road”, over the horizon is a huge full moon, one of biggest & brightest I have ever seen; on the other is us & our setup, and a small pond. We are trying to see & photograph the Aurora Borealis
Spirituality & Schizophrenia: Where Lines Blur & The Fabric Breaks
Trigger Warning: Heavy Discussion Of Religion & Spirituality, Discussion of Suicidal Ideation
I have Schizophrenia, and as I have discussed extensively here & on my other platforms, my life has filled with extraordinary as well as extreme experiences beyond normal reality. Throughout my life, going back to early childhood—just as my Schizophrenia does—are experiences of the Transcendental & the Sublime, experiences that straddle the line between Unreality & Beyond Reality
Embodiment, The Self, & Schizophrenia
At its core, Schizophrenia involves a distortion of the sense of Self from what is considered “Normal” or most common. Schizophrenic people experience a break between our sense Us and Not Us, of the Preconscious and the Conscious. We do not carry a cohesive narrative of the Self the same way that others do, experiencing intrusions in the form of Delusions. The lack of differentiation between the Inner & Outer Self might also be responsible for symptoms like Thought Projection, the belief that others can read your thoughts. We do not experience the Embodied Self the same way non-Psychotics do, not connecting to our own bodies or others’ the same ways seen in Non-Psychotics. This leads to Symptoms such as Depersonalization, many of our Social Differences, and some Cognitive issues. (Szczotka & Majchrowicz, 2018; Tschacher, 2017)
But what does all that mean in real terms?
I Don’t Fight Schizophrenia; I Am Schizophrenic
Trigger Warning: Suicide, Eating Disorder, Abuse Mention
How do you “fight” Schizophrenia? You see this terminology used sometimes, mainly by non-profits and non-Psychotic loved ones of Schizophrenics, and it always rubs me the wrong way for a variety of reasons (British Columbia Schizophrenia Society--Example). How do you fight something so integral to your own Neurology, and not lose? I tried to fight my body for a long time, and lost. Let me take you back in a little, and show you why I don’t “fight” my Schizophrenia anymore…
On The Philosophy of Delusions
Is a delusion a belief? It seems like a simple enough enough question to answer on face value; yes of course I believe my delusions, but is actually a quite hefty question. What constitutes a belief? Do delusions meet these standards, or do they represent some other cognitive process? How do we obtain beliefs, and do delusion follow this pattern? We will discuss these questions together promptly.