Schizophrenia, premonitions, extra-sensory ability

[rbnyc]

I just told these two strange and related stories at lunch to my colleague because the subject of animal attacks had come up. I had never really thought about it before, but these are very strange stories.

A little background: my mother is mentally ill and we’ve been estranged at times for years at a time. I cannot confirm her condition because all my information comes from her. She has said she’s bipolar. She’s also said she’s schizophrenic. I tend to believe she is schizophrenic based on her characteristics and behaviors and my experience with her. She has also said that she is a witch and that every first born daughter in her family has psychic abilities.

On to the animal attack stories: When I was about 7 or 8 years old my mother told me, out of the blue, what I should do were I ever attacked by a dog. She said I should hold out my forearm and let the dog try to bite my arm, then thrust it back so that the dog cannot bite down without breaking its own jaw. Then the dog will be stuck there and I can scream for help without getting badly hurt. Shortly thereafter, I was walking home from school and a big dog jumped out from someone’s yard and attacked me. I did just what my mother had said and it worked. The owner came and got the dog off of me and I was not hurt, just some little tooth scratches on my arm.

Sometime when I was a teenager, my mom told me what to do were I ever attacked by a wild pig. We were living in Chicago at the time. She said that if a wild pig attacks you, don’t run away, it will catch you. Stand still and jump out of the way when it gets close. Wild pigs are fast but they can really only run straight. They are not good at making sudden turns. It will run right past you. Move toward safety, stand still again, let it charge you again, step aside and keep progressing toward shelter in this way. Many years later, I moved to Arizona where I was actually attacked by a wild pig, and I did just what my mother had told me and was able to get inside in just this way.

So, that’s pretty fucking weird.

Here are the questions: Is my mother’s psychic ability misunderstood as a mental illness? Does psychic ability incline a person to become mentally ill? Does mental illness incline a person to become psychic? Are these just two strange anecdotes that in no way confirm any claims of psychic ability and it’s just sad that my mom is sick? Are all or some of these conclusions true to varying degrees?

What do you think?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. I think I'll have another beer

:beer:

:D

:scared:

:hi:

:yoiks:

[rurallib]

2. I think I will join you

set 'em up.

[some guy]

3. ooh, Wednesday afternoon Five Questions!

:bounce: This game is always interesting! :D

(cool stories)

Is my mother’s psychic ability misunderstood as a mental illness?
Not enough information to determine. She has said she is bipolar / schizophrenic. She's also said she's a witch. Any and all of those could be true, and completely separate from psychic ability.

Does psychic ability incline a person to become mentally ill?
It would depend on the individual. If they simply embraced psychic ability as something useful, they could be fine. If they either feared the ability, or went to great lengths to convince others of their ability, this could lead to illness.

Does mental illness incline a person to become psychic?
I have no idea.

Are these just two strange anecdotes that in no way confirm any claims of psychic ability and it’s just sad that my mom is sick?
I think they're more than just strange anecdotes. Parents say lots of things to their children. It's interesting that she told you how to fend off a dog attack, then you did so soon afterward. This incident may have caused you to better retain the wild pig information, which you found useful years after receiving it.
It is sad if your Mom is sick. I remember when she used to post here. I haven't seen her for a really long time. :hi: flama if you lurk, or I just don't see you.

Are all or some of these conclusions true to varying degrees?
Yes? :P

:hi:

[rbnyc]

5. That's so cool that you remember my mom.

I'm in touch with her on facebook now.

Thanks for answering the questions. I think it's fascinating. I like the idea that the one incident caused me to remember her advice on the other.

:loveya:

[Duer 157099]

4. I think your intuitions are correct

My personal opinion is that there is a connection between "mental illness" and "psychic" abilities. I think that when the veil between our visible material world and the unseen one is permeable to certain people, it can often manifest as what many consider mental illness.

I very strongly believe this to be true.

[rbnyc]

6. I remember reading somewhere once...

...that if our schizophrenics grew up in a different culture, they would be shamans.

[Duer 157099]

7. And conversely, the shaman of tribal cultures

would surely be locked up (or homeless) in America.

[rbnyc]

8. indeed (nt)

[snagglepuss]

9. I have a similar story. I was at a bus stop with a friend who was in her early 30s,

a woman who lived on the streets and seemed to be schizophrenic came and stood near us. She started talking very loudly about hemorrhoids and continued to do so as we all boarded and she kept talking about someone having a lot of painful hemorrhoids and going on about it. It was comical. My friend suddenly got up and dragged me off the bus saying she left something behind. When we got off she said she was suffering from very painful hemorrhoids and couldn't bear to hear the woman. Was this just some weird coincidence or did that woman have a psychic ability. It was very weird.

[Duer 157099]

10. I've witnessed similar events also

I think these people are able to tune in to frequencies that the rest of us cannot. They've got the 5-band receivers when most the rest of us just have AM/FM.

[pitohui]

11. there's a known link between schizophrenia and shamanism

it is pretty well known that the shamans of many remote/primitive villages tended to be the guys who had these visions and weren't fit for anything else

i've heard of this in africa, south america, and even if you go back far enough, north america, so i think there is a link we just don't know what it is

the metaphor is that your brain has to be cracked to let the information in from the outside universe, but that's just a metaphor, not science

i am sorry for your mother's suffering but glad she at least got a couple of insights that gave real help to you

i have encountered schizophrenics who are able to at least sometimes channel their shamanic knowledge and help themselves and others, i have encountered others who gain nothing but suffering from their condition, there is no guarantee that you will be "cracked" in the right place to let any useful info flow thru

[BlueIris]

12. Here's my non-M.D. holding take on it: Schizophrenics may be mentally ill, but that doesn't make

all their claims of E.S.P. irrelevant or untrue. I think we all have it to some degree, schizophrenia or no. But I don't think that makes your mother any less schizophrenic, though.