A loved one may have Schizophrenia...

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How does someone know if a loved one has Schizophrenia or is just a Medium/Clairvoyant/Clairaudient? Is there a difference? How can you convince them they have a problem and should you?

Someone I care about deeply has told me they are Clairaudient and hear things... I didn't want to ask what, but they mentioned "spirit guides" and sometimes hearing whistling etc. I don't know if I believe them and I'm worried they need serious help...

Anyone out there suffering from Schizophrenia or have a loved one suffering from it? What do you think I should do?

To me, it would depend upon how the person is actually functioning. Does he/she have a job? Is he/she able to live independently. Is he/she able to control his/her emotions in the street and with friends?

Duplicate post deleted.

Last edited by faithfilly on 19 Jun 2014, 9:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

Duplicate post deleted.

Last edited by faithfilly on 19 Jun 2014, 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

This is a delicate topic that comes with differing opinions, even among professionals in the mental health field. That being said, here is what I've observed from living almost 6 decades and spending 4 of them extensively studying theology and psychology:

Schizophrenia and being a Medium/Clairvoyant/Clairaudient can be the same thing depending on perspective. For example, Dr. Karl Augustus Menninger (who founded the Menninger Foundation and the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas), said the word Schizophrenia means nothing. Basically, the term is generic and used to describe behavior that doesn't fit other mental health categories.

Having had a loved one (who is now 31 yrs. old) receive a diagnosis of Schizophrenia years ago has me speak from experience. Her "case" was so unusual the doctors in my area had no clue how to "treat" her. Their solution was to drug her up. That's what doctors do when faced with things they don't understand correctly. When I didn't intervene, she progressively got worse (over a couple of years). The drugs didn't improve her thinking. In fact, they were performing a chemical lobotomy on her brain. When I saw her almost die from the effect it was having on her body, I intervened! I cannot say I "saved" her, but others (my friends and relatives; not the professionals) think I did because they saw my progressive counseling loaded with probing questions (over the span of one year) changed her way of thinking (without drugs). They watched her transform from being super bizarre in her behavior to becoming a very normal and functional adult able to resume taking care of her children. Mental health professionals who knew her from being hospitalized were shocked this was still the same person. They'd never want to know what turned her life around, because they are not trained to think beyond what they're programmed to believe.

Your question as to what you should do depends on too many things unknown. Most people don't know what to do. A lot believe they do know. In my case, I didn't know BUT because of knowing how my Christian faith has affected my life and those in my life, I trusted God to lead me. He did, but it took a year before the faith matured the fruit. In hindsight, I now see how I became equipped for this situation.

It does sound like your loved one needs help, but it sounds like this person has already embraced a dangerous way of thinking. Maybe he or she needs a harsh wake up call before become ready to change. Watch for it and be ready to be there for them. You can never go wrong with being loving, forgiving, and strong against getting sucked into distorted thinking yourself.

Most mental health professionals (and many nominal Christians) do not believe spiritual things exist. The mind is symptomatic of the heart. When a person's heart is genuinely right with God, God promises a sound mind as a consequence.

Schizophrenia and being a Medium/Clairvoyant/Clairaudient both are consequences of pride gone wild in the human heart. All people are vulnerable, but most people don't go off the deep end hearing voices.

Not sure I agree, what exactly does that mean? from what I understand the first thing you mention would be more along the lines of psychic abilities or whatever(lots of perfectly functional people belive in that kind of stuff and don't have schizophrenia), and the other is a mental disorder and yes they can exist together in some people I am sure. But if they only mentioned spirit guides and hearing whistling sometimes, I doubt that is enough for a diagnoses of schizophrenia there would need to be a ton of other symptoms as far as I know.

Anyways though I don't get how pride has anything to do with either one of those.

Faithfilly, the Bible says that rain falls equally on the heads of the righteous and the unrighteous. Personally, I think that the idea that a person will never get sick and/or have anything bad happen to them if their faith is strong enough isn't Christianity at all but more like American folk belief. It wasn't until about 150 years ago that preachers like Mary Baker Eddy (founder of Christian Science) started pushing the idea that God will heal people miraculously if only they pray loud and hard enough. Personally, if somebody wants to lessen the voices, I would tell them to cut out toxins like wheat and refined sugar, then see a psychiatrist. I have schizophrenia myself, and cutting out those foods coupled with antipsychotics has really tamped down the voices. Also, I realize that the voices aren't real. Another item to avoid is multivitamins, my mom insisted for a while that I take Centrum and it really aggravated the voices.

My mother and I have heard things before, like whistling and such, sometimes at the same time. It isn't necessarily a spirit guide, it could be another kind of entity. I don't think spirit guides (if they exist) would make themselves out in such a way. They would be there to help you, not to make random noises.

Since they mentioned that they're 'clairaudient', they may want to talk about it with you. Maybe you could just ask off-hand about it, and ask what sort of things they hear, and whether any of it has proved to become true (without them greatly exaggerating links to events).

Without knowing more I can't say, but yes, there is a very big difference

Whether they are Schizophrenic or not I don't think you can easily convince someone that their beliefs are a problem. If they are truly Schizophrenic it should be quite apparent in the irrational and VERY chaotic behaviour they display in multiple areas of functioning (having a few strange beliefs and hearing things probably isn't Schizophrenia if they are lucid and rational in most other areas). The whistling could also be tinnitus.

Read about Schizophrenia and if you are concerned get them assessed by a psychiatrist.