That’s right the line between psychosis and spiritual emergence does not exist. There is no line, there is only spectrum of manifestation and none of it is better or worse. It simply is what is arising in that individual at the moment they are met and unfortunately diagnosed. It can change any time too. These mental/spiritual states are not stagnant and often times they’re even responses to the ineptness of the so-called professional experts we find ourselves with. …
protocols/directions, recognition of self, religious conversion vs. psychosis (collected musings)
the minute someone tells me how I should feel, think or act is when they lose me…. we’re all told how we should feel…if it’s not explicit it’s implicit…people feel wrong all the time solely because they don’t fit into socially accepted norms about how they should feel…many are pathologized and drugged because they don’t… Continue Reading →
Healing psychosis: stories, information and resources
This post may be cut and pasted in it’s entirety and shared without further permission. Stories of healing and transformation Below this updated section remains the list of recovery stories and resources for that which is labeled psychotic. See also: Drug free recovery from depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, etc… The below statements started out as a brief thought… Continue Reading →
Rethinking Madness: Psychosis and Spiritual Awakening
First posted at Crazywisefilm.com Over the past 30 years, the broken brain and chemical imbalance theory of “mental illness” has had mixed results at best. While sales of psychoactive pharmaceuticals have increased 8000%, suicide and mental health disability rates in the US have also shot up. It’s time we rethink madness. Are there spiritual aspects… Continue Reading →
Understanding and Working With Psychosis (Part II of II)
by Joel Schwartz, PsyD — First and foremost, if psychosis is indeed a process of growth and reorganization following an initial breakdown, then the primary task of the therapist is not to cure or prevent the psychosis in the person, but accompany them through their transition into something else.
Understanding and Working With Psychosis (Part I of II)
Joel Schwartz, PsyD – Psychosis is, perhaps, the most misunderstood and feared psychological phenomena – despite the fact that every person is capable of psychosis, and most of us have actively psychotic parts of our personalities.
7 Billion Paths to Awakening: healing from what is often called psychosis
In the diverse array of terms now used – extreme states, madness, spiritual crisis, kundalini, psychosis, crazy, shamanic initiation – I see my own experience in all of them. To me, they’re all expressions of what I call Shades of Awakening. Each one with it’s own flavor, meaning and transformational path to recovery. — After over a decade of soul searching, a new question emerged. How can I support others who are integrating to find their own truths, their own narratives and their own answers? (Be sure to visit the Shades of Awakening series page to learn about Dabney’s free series of interviews with many folks who’ve moved through spiritual emergence (which often otherwise gets pathologized by psychiatry) and are now thriving.) … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Learning to be with ourselves: a response to Understanding Psychosis
When I get caught up in trying to explain why I have these experiences I often realise that I am coming from a place of fear. I tell myself that I want to understand because knowing why will help me cope, help me know what to do. I may even tell myself that my experiences need me to be understanding and empathic. I want to make myself feel safer, I want to find the right way forwards – the best way. I don’t want to feel confused and powerless so I go to default mode of observing, analysing the data and coming up with an explanation that seems to best suit the issue at hand. I may return to explanations that have helped me in the past. … [click on title to read and view more]
Healing “psychosis”: stories, info and resources
Words like “psychosis” are the clinical language of the oppressor. The word gives the impression that those who use it actually know what they are talking about. The fact is they generally do not. We, who have experienced that which gets called psychosis and have gotten clear on what it actually is are the only… Continue Reading →
Open Dialogue: Alternative Care for Psychosis
On this blog there is now a nice collection of articles on Open Dialogue as it’s used in Western Lapland Finland with people who find themselves experiencing all manner of psychotic phenomena. The psychiatric hospitals are nearly empty there. The method can be learned and the results have been documented. People heal and go on to… Continue Reading →
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