Just wanted to say to Foreigner.. I don't think your personal experience qualifies you to say that what schizophrenics experience isn't there. Wanna know something? Just like you see their aura but not their familiars, they're probably thinking about how crazy you are for talking about energy fields when you can't even communicate with their God.
You're right. Some people who are psychic see things that I don't see. But I know, objectively, that I am not crazy because I have met others who see auras and we have observed the same phenomena simultaneously. I'm pretty empirical about my observations, even about the psychic things I experience. Two schizophrenics put in the same room experience qualitatively different things. I can also prove it to any given person who does not see auras, as painful spots on the body appear to be red in the aura. Since I know human anatomy, I can also sometimes hone in on specific organ disorders based on what the aura tells me. I'm not always right but my accuracy rate is high. Again... consult the Russian research, it's all laid out.
I do believe that mental health issues like schizophrenia probably operate on a spectrum, and I am not qualified to say what is or isn't real for someone else. Schizophrenia, as a diagnosis, comes attached to functional disorder in one's life. There are probably a lot more people out there who see or hear things regularly, but because they live an outwardly normal existence there is never conflict.
The issue of God is usually an issue of delusion; but just because it's a delusion does not mean it cannot have a profound positive impact on someone's life. I'm inclined to think this whole world is a delusion; therefore, I can shape my reality as I please. Everyone's relationship with Divinity can be different, but it's an all-roads-lead-to-Rome kind of situation. When it comes to God, people are all seeking the same truth, just in a multitude of ways. I do not believe in "your god vs. my god" - they're all the same. If God talks to you and you're ok with that, then there is no pathology. The pathology arises when the voice of a God drives a person mad and coerces them into being a direct danger to themselves or society.
Not to mention the fact that what they're experiencing is entirely too real to them.
Real enough, often, to kill and die for. This seems more real to me on every level than your crystal aura dude..
Auras aren't crystaline, though that would be cool.
The psychiatric DSM has very specific criteria on schizophrenia, and one of my best friends suffers from a mild form of it. The issue surrounding schizophrenia is not whether or not what they experience is
"real", but whether or not their experience is hindering their
function. I do not see or hear what schizophrenics tell me they see or hear and that has been universal among all of them. I have met other psychics and in most instances I also see and hear what they do. What has also been universal is how the aura of a schizophrenic tends to appear. In a crowd I can spot someone who likely has some kind of schizo-affective disorder, based on their aura. I realize this sounds foreign to you, but I'm just offering it up for discussion. If you think I'm crazy then oh well.
Not trying to belittle your experience, just ideological differences lol.
I know, and I appreciate that. I guess because I am sensitive to a lot more than others, this issue doesn't really puzzle me as much. From my perspective, schizophrenia has a lot of logical components that are applicable across the board. I would never presume to tell them what is and isn't real because it's ultimately their experience, but I would offer to help someone who is suffering from a delusion that they can't seem to find their way out of.