Do you think this is the cause of bipolar or schzophrenia?

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   schoolgirlforrealposted 14 years ago

   This may sound strange,
   I didn't know whether to post in in Religion or here,
   
   but have you ever thought
   if you had bipolar or mental illness that you could be possessed?

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      Never_Forgetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Are you aware that MRIs, Cat Scans and EEG's have been in existence for over 2 decades?

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      Baileybearposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely not, although some religious folk may believe so.  My own mother telling me I was possessed when I had clinical depression was one of the catalysts to start my deconversion from christianity. And then a christian girl told me if I committed suicide I would go straight to hell and christians avoided me (uncomfortable because afraid I was possessed?)   Those attitudes and behaviours put me off christanity

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      Brummlinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Do demons hate Lithium ions or Dopamine antagonists?  Because they tend to work better than faith based treatments.
      
      However, there are reasonable hypotheses that hold that prophets' visions could have been due to manic psychosis or schizophrenia.  And the same could hold true for those who believe they are possessed.
      
      These days, however, paranoid schizophrenics tend to focus their paranoia on other malicious sources of power.  While it may have been the devil years ago, now it's the CIA, KGB, FBI, NSA, or aliens. 
      
      Conversely, people who stare at the television looking for coded messages that only they are fit to deliver are not regarded as prophets.

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      pylos26posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      My girlfriend is possessive with me...but i don't have any polarization problems.
      unless she feeds me too much beer.

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      SwaggeretteMomposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I recently have found an interest in this topic as a psychology major and the daughter of someone whom is diagnosed with bi-polar and not diagnosed with what
      I feel could be histrionic personality disorder. I have seizures due to epilepsy that have left me wonderding the same thing.
      Many people will argue that there is no "Scientific Proof" of mental illness, but with a little research it is obvious through something as simple as a CAT scan that there are major differences in brain activity and function as well as chemicals in the brain that are imbalanced. I do not blame anyone who questions this, especially those who suffer from a mental issue because at times I imagine you can literally feel "possessed."
      I know that from watching others have seizures, its like watching scenes out of the exorcist. I do feel that there are demonic presences in this world that can tempt us and taunt us and lead us down the wrong path but as far as an actual diagnoses of bi-polar, no... medication and therapy would be a better answer than an exorcist.

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         Ken Crowposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Dear SwaggeretteMom:  You are 100% correct and I really like your answer to the question. You are very much "right on" when you say that a CAT scan is in order and can either detect very obvious problems or it can rule out problems. Historically their have been actual possessions however. I watched one on the history channel not  2 weeks ago that was very highly documented by both the medical community and the religious community. Possession was the only obvious answer and after the "Exorcist" was over, the seizures stopped and the other manifistations stopped as well. I would submit that this person needs to rule out the medical and if the symptoms are still occuring, then maybe, just maybe it might something out of this world that is the answer. But first seek a doctor. Good Anwer.
         Ken Crow (author of Raised in Hell)

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      kimberlyslyricsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      

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2. 0

   lambservantposted 14 years ago

   I am glad you brought this topic up. I am one of those "born-agains" as an unknowing friend called we Christians. Many years ago I was in a mental health crisis. At church one day I leaned my head onto my best friends shoulder and cried through the service. Another very dear friend who just didn't get it came up to me after the service and with great care and compassion in her eyes and voice said, "Lori, do you think you may be demon possessed? Maybe we can get some people together and have an exhorsism."
   
   I was truly baffled because she had never witnessed any behavior from me that would look like biblical descriptions of demon posession. It's funny. I should have been outraged. I should have dissolved into tears, I should have had hurt feelings and like I was some sort of freak. But all I could think about was her lack of spiritual understanding. I forgot all my troubles and we found a quiet spot to talk and I got out my bible and explained to her that a person with faith in Jesus Christ has God's Spirit dwelling inside them. Satan and Christ cannot indwell someone at the same time. A light went on for her and she thanked me for teaching her that. At that time, mental health issues were very new to me and I did not have the knowledge I do today, but for a more complete response to her is that just because someone has a mental illness does not indicate demon possession. I do believe in Satan, I do believe that he can harrass and make life difficult for the believer, but only by what God allows him to do. Like when Satan went to God and asked to take Job down. God gave him a bit of leeway, but there were limits and Satan could not pass those limits.
   
   I have not had any personal contact that I know of with someone who has been demon possessed. I have heard some stories from some very mature, stable people in ministry, and I think in extreme rare cases people can be possessed. Certainly that is true. And I believe that some of the behaviors of the demon possessed could look similar to extreme mental illness. But I think for the most part that is a fear or assumption that a few people out there who are just not informed or mature enough to make.
   
   I don't know what your behavioral symptoms are, and I don't know what your spiritual condition is, but I do know the agony and darkness of mental illness. It is powerful darkness, full of foreboding and fear. But as one who is in a fairly stable condition right now, I have to say in looking back over my darkest moments that God was there with me every step of the way. I was too sick to see it on my own, but in retro-spect I see many evidences that God was working in my life through that horrible dark night. Severe mental illness symptoms can sure make you feel like you have a demon in you trying to take you into the firey realms. And he may possible be using our weakness to take us even deeper, but I feel that demon possession is a very, very, rare thing.

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   Cagsilposted 14 years ago

   No.

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      kimberlyslyricsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hold me cag's

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   A la carteposted 14 years ago

   Absolutely not

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5. 55

   telecommuterposted 14 years ago

   Nope. Know a few bi-polar people. They manage just fine and only half are religious. All medicated though.

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6. 63

   Lisa HWposted 14 years ago

   People thought the Salem "witches" were possessed too (that is before anyone knew any better).  It is now known that people (and animals) ate bread made from a toxic, moldy, rye crop and had effects from it.  Throughout history, people have attributed things to "being possessed" until they learned better.
   
   No.  I don't believe in people "being possessed".  Fortunately (for any victims of mental illness), psychiatrists/scientists now understand mental illness better than that.  It has now been seen that some sociopaths (not mentally ill but often evil people, and it makes the point I'm making) have a part of the brain that is under-developed.
   
   Anyone who has mental illness or has a family member or friend with mental illness needs to know that mental illness is not caused by being "possessed".

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      Baileybearposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      the whole "possessed" thing is one of the reasons there was/is so much stigma about mental illness and epilepsy

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   L a d y f a c eposted 14 years ago

   This.
   I have been battling bipolar for years and have had to deal with the stigma that goes along with it. The idea of being 'possessed' lumps in with all of the other things people think about us. While I can say that it feels like you are possessed sometimes, it is simply a way of describing the feelings you have towards your condition; not what is happening.

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      schoolgirlforrealposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      thanks, Ladyface. this is basically how i feel, i think.
      I don't think I am possessed.
      
      But you know, you think of it,,,,when you feel so yucky
      But (I would know if I was)
      
      I just wondered
      You know sometimes I feel scared, and my Mom told me alot of stories about the devil
      I'm ok
      thanks!

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         Ken Crowposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Schoolgilforreal: I dropped a response above to a lady that gave you an outstanding answer. I just wanted to drop a note to you and offer this.
         
         Bipolar is an actual medical condition. It is caused by a lack of "Lythium" in the brain. Lythium is actually a metal found in some soil. You know the old addage "ashes to ashes, dust to dust". Yes we are largely made up of materials found in good old mother earth. A daily dose of this will stabalize a person and stop the massive mood swings in someone that is medically diagnosed as "bi-polar".
         
         Spiritual: Yes a person can be possessed. Their have been actual recorded cases throughout history of this occurance. It is possible. That is not to say very likely.
         
         Suggestion: I could get into a very long winded explanation here, but there is a God. Believe it, it is true. My suggestion is, talk to him. Talk to him as a child and ask him to help you and fill you with his peace and love. He will, I promise. He is your father in heaven and he loves you. The qualifcation is this. You must be open in your heart to feel and hear him. Open you heart, let your guard down and talk to him. He will listen, I promise.

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   psycheskinnerposted 14 years ago

   There is no single cause, but no, I don't think possession has anything to do with it.

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9. 75

   Mighty Momposted 14 years ago

   I think you posted this to the correct forum. Bipolar is a mental health condition.
   It is a chemical imbalance of the brain. In other words,there is a physical, metabolic cause. It can be managed (not cured) with mood stabilizing and antidepressant drugs.
   
   It does sometimes feel like your brain and body have been possessed, tho. Still, for the best relief of bipolar depression or protection from mania, I'd go with a psychiatrist over an exorcist any day!

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   1. 75

      schoolgirlforrealposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      

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    L a d y f a c eposted 14 years ago

    I completely understand. It's part of having this illness; you don't understand why you're doing something, you don't want to be doing it, but you lack the control over yourself to stop yourself from doing it. It's the scariest thing I've ever had to deal with. It's like you're watching yourself being controlled by someone else, and condemned to silence.
    
    
    
    You're so right. This can't be cured, and I don't understand why it's so hard for other people to get that. During one particularly bad time my psychiatrist told me that it's like any other illness. You can't control that you have this any more than you can control having anything from asthma to ulcers. Like all of them, sometimes medication is required to help balance the chemicals that are unbalanced, like medication is required to help peoples' stomach valves close when their body won't do it for them.
    
    

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    JayDeckposted 14 years ago

    No, not a chance!
    Absolutely!
    I am so upset about this topic, I couldn't be happier.
    
    Seriously, people have tried to suggest different reasons and causes for a peoples' mental illnesses for years, including the worst of all, "It's their own fault."

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    klarawieckposted 14 years ago

    I think many people who feel they are possessed might be schizophrenic or bipolar. It's more comforting, I think, to blame someone else for one's self-destruction than assume the reality that you have a mental disease and no one to blame for it.

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    carilposted 14 years ago

    Hey is there a difference between two, i.e. bipolar and schzophrenia?

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       JayDeckposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       A good answer to the question can be found here.
       http://pendulum.org/diagnosis.html#bpschiz

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    mega1posted 14 years ago

    Having had plenty {and more than I want} experiences with people who are and were bipolar - I can say that the thought of possession never entered my mind.  Not a day goes by that I don't pray that the scientists work even more quickly - hurry even - to solve these problems = they are making such great progress with mental illness and the chemical and physical imbalances that seem to be the causes and maybe someday soon we will know what to do to immediately reverse the effects of these horrible conditions.  Perhaps some truly effective medication, or diet, or a meditation method or something, anything, that can relieve the very real pain of all sorts of mental disabilities - not only bipolar conditions.  Maybe we can all send our positive vibes out to help the healers find the solutions!  seriously, its really a matter of life and death.

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