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Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

paulmorrison.org

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Re: Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

#41

Post by jpotter »

IAmGraydon wrote: post #39
monotone666 wrote: post #4

I’ve been diagnosed with Delusional Disorder after a long term infection with the Epistein Barr Virus. I spent a period of time in a deep psychosis. What it seems like now is my brain trying to make meaning out of something traumatic. I believed I was one of the most important people in the world when I was in a state of shock. The delusion still persists despite heavy doses of psychiatric drugs.

How does the delusion persist if you’ve clearly just stated that you realize it’s a delusion?

It may be episodic.

Re: Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

#42

Post by p1mrx »

SolaceQuantum wrote: post #38
califff wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wrong. The claim that you make has been subjected to scientific testing already and it has been shown to be bogus. There is no evidence for human-god communication and there is no evidence for gods.

The above poster did not imply human-god communication existed, merely that humans had the capacity for non-ill transcendent experiences. Furthermore, a lack of evidence for gods does not mean that scientifically there are no gods. The only way for things to be disproven definitely is through mathematical proof. Because this cannot be shown in a mathematical proof (there is no mathematical way to represent godhood) t…

> there is no mathematical way to represent godhood

    SHA3(x) == 0
If we agree that the hash function is secure, and find a value x that hashes to zero, then it might be reasonable to conclude that x was generated by a god.

Bonus points if x is human-readable text.

Re: Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

#43

Post by GW150914 »

SolaceQuantum wrote: post #38
califff wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wrong. The claim that you make has been subjected to scientific testing already and it has been shown to be bogus. There is no evidence for human-god communication and there is no evidence for gods.

The above poster did not imply human-god communication existed, merely that humans had the capacity for non-ill transcendent experiences. Furthermore, a lack of evidence for gods does not mean that scientifically there are no gods. The only way for things to be disproven definitely is through mathematical proof. Because this cannot be shown in a mathematical proof (there is no mathematical way to represent godhood) t…

Furthermore, a lack of evidence for gods does not mean that scientifically there are no gods.

True, but it implies the need for skepticism, especially given how many people have desperately attempted to find said evidence. Depending on your outlook it might also imply that a degree of disinterest in warranted, because the world of “things for which no evidence can be found or is required,” tends to be enormous and frankly, not that interesting. Unless we’re very specifically talking about a god who will damn you for a lack of faith, then ignoring the whole issue seems like a safe bet, and when you die you either learn the truth, or you’re just dead. It’s not like a human can do much either way, again, unless your assertion is about a specific and judgmental god.

Tl;dr I think the whole god thing is even less compelling and worthy of attention than the Bermuda Triangle. It’s just another thing that’s possible among an infinity of possible things lacking evidence for their existence. That’s pretty boring.

Re: Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

#44

Post by tcj_phx »

stenl wrote: post #35
monotone666 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-018-0235-x

Neuroscientist here. The study shows no such thing. Maybe you refer to this: ”for the first time, identifies brain tissue macrophages proximal to neurons in over 40% of individuals with schizophrenia who are in a high inflammatory state.” But first, the authors are confused. All brains (100%) contain macrophages in proximity to neurons. Specifically microglia (which are macrophages) and perivascular macrophages. Seco…

> Third, they do not show the direction of causality. It’s easy to imagine how a life lived with schizophrenia could substantially increase your risk of inflammation.

Schizophrenia is a manifestation of "stress" (infections/drug use/injuries/emotions/malnourishment/etc) that's worsened by standard treatments. Some of the drugs used to treat "psychosis" seem to cause inflammation. Patients treated with anti-psychotics have been found to suffer more deterioration than those who are never treated with anti-psychotics.

My friend was eating a lot of soybean oil and alcohol in the months before she was captured by the mental health industry. Soybean oil is a source of Omega-6 oil, which breaks down into inflammatory prostaglandins. Alcohol contributes to inflammation too. Instead of treating the causes of her presentation, the professionals treat her symptoms. At one point they tried to label her "schizophrenic".

Sometimes medical diagnoses are helpful. The diagnosis of "schizophrenia" is a non-helpful medical curse. There are some good psychiatrists, but the profession desperately needs help.

Re: Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

#45

Post by bigbang »

ada1981 wrote: post #31

I was diagnosed with schizophrenia and ten years later, bipolar. I didn't trust that western psychiatry could heal the underlying causes so I basically just shut up about it for a decade. After about 10 years, I was suicidal and couldn't ignore it anymore. My intuition told me to find another way, so I started to research on my own. I found a way through that involved MDMA therapy, NARM therapy, holotropic breathwork…

It's great you were able to find a solution! Best wishes.

Re: Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

#47

Post by corporateslaver »

drkstr wrote: post #22

I have a good friend who was diagnosed with schizophrenia before he graduated high school. It was very tragic to watch. Who was once such a bright and capable person, can no longer function in normal society. I found it very difficult to invite him places. Often times I would need to back him up in a physical fight. He wasn't violent, simply incapable of seperating reality from what he saw, often times taking the for…

I have a sibling who’s in and out of the mental hospital. It’s easy to show support in the early days, but ten years in when they still have psychotic breaks and most around them have given up is when the real test starts. Glad to hear your story and wish you the best. For myself I’ve vowed to never forget the person who was there before the illness. You still see the glimpses here and there

Re: Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

#49

Post by jyounker »

derefr wrote: post #21
0x8BADF00D wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems more like a defect in attention, but not a deficit; it’s an overabundance of attention to irrelevant details that the brain ascribes significant meaning to. The reason I have this hypothesis is that ADHD patients tend to have lower concentration of dopamine, whereas schizophrenics have a higher concentration than normal. An example would be ascribing significant meaning to an event that is random. But for th…

On a lower level, the brain has two hierarchies of synapses: a top-down processing hierarchy, driven by the neurochemical AMPA, and the bottom-up processing hierarchy, driven by the neurochemical NMDA. These hierarchies have salience passed back and forth between them by dopaminergic and adrenergic signalling from other brain regions. Whichever side of processing is "dominant" at the time, is training its dual to res…

This is fascinating. I grew up with a schizophrenic parent and relatives. My interpretation has been that the disease is a defect in the systems that weights between internal models and external evidence.

It’s interesting that to know that there might be a fairly straight forward mapping of the to brain chemistry/neural mechanisms.

Do you any references the AMPA signaling pathways and associated neurological structures that you can recommend as a starting point?

Re: Understanding schizophrenia: What exactly is schizophrenia?

#50

Post by kaoD »

IAmGraydon wrote: post #39
monotone666 wrote: post #4

I’ve been diagnosed with Delusional Disorder after a long term infection with the Epistein Barr Virus. I spent a period of time in a deep psychosis. What it seems like now is my brain trying to make meaning out of something traumatic. I believed I was one of the most important people in the world when I was in a state of shock. The delusion still persists despite heavy doses of psychiatric drugs.

How does the delusion persist if you’ve clearly just stated that you realize it’s a delusion?

It doesn't matter if you consciously know something is false if your brain still presents it as true.

Think anxiety. Or like on the movie A Beautiful Mind (I know it's a movie but it happens IRL too). Or being under the influence of some psychedelics (you know you're under the influence but it still feels like reality).

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