Schizotype

[cubbex]

Thanks for the information obyvatel

This reminds me of an analogy on brain programming and rewiring explained on the video Your brain in porn. He was explaining that addiction changes the brain like a process of creating a path in the grass as you walk more and more through it. If the process was coupled or due to strong emotions, i.e. anxiety, shock, humiliation, shame, guilt... it was the equivalent of creating a path with a weed wacker. The path is very strong and every time you feel shame or guilt, you run the program that makes you crave the addiction and walk through the path of less resistance. This was the reason why it was important not to feel shame or guilt, but to realize that the addiction was simply not helping.

So I was thinking that perhaps those who regardless of anything, still can't let go feelings of hypohedonia or anxiety, shame or guilt that make them walk the path of less resistance are those who are the Authoritarian Follower types.

Mmm interesting, I remember this too. I have this idea that, if some ghost or paranormal activity is just a reproduction of some kind of electric activity, or some sort of strong energy that surrounded that environment, i tend to think that the same may happen to the brain where there's a lot of electric activity, the ghostly lover, the addiction, is just some sort of electrical path that activates when there's the right conditions, like memories, sensations, thoughts. Is like the brain itself forms a web around it and i've found that EE program helps you to break those in a great way... I just want to know how.

Anyways, I bought the book "Dairy of a Schizophrenic girl" I'm going to read it along this thread.

All of this is definitely enlightening. In a way, it is kind of like the person who always sees the glass as half empty vs the one who sees it as half full.

I had the same thought since I started reading the first part I don't know why, but as it reminds me about it also remind me about another book or paper about psychology that I was reading and two friends that I have, damn I don't remember where I read about it.

Something I want to point out, is that if someone has doubts about it, I don't think having a nice, illusive and naive perception of the world is healthy, though being optimistic works wonders when you need to solve a problem, sometimes facing truth and reading about what is going on, when you get the picture, you can't just deny that things are not that beautiful as they are presented. The difference seems to lay that some people without having all the knowledge presented on SOTT.net or here, or on Laura's books, have a very pessimistic view about everything, and some of them classify themselves as realistic when what they are doing is just putting everything down.

 

[Keit]

Saw the following article today:
_http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/sp-ilh102913.php

Is left-handedness higher among those suffering from psychosis?

Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2013) Researchers have long studied the connections between hand dominance and different aspects of the human brain. A new study out today in SAGE Open finds that among those with mental illnesses, left-handers are more likely to suffer from psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia than mood disorders.

"Our results show a strikingly higher prevalence of left-handedness among patients presenting with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, compared to patients presenting for mood symptoms such as depression or bipolar disorder," wrote the authors.

Authors Jadon R. Webb, et. al examined 107 individuals from a public psychiatric clinic seeking treatment in an urban, low-income community and determined the frequency of left-handedness within the group of patients identified with different types of mental disorders. They found that 11% of those diagnosed with mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder were left-handed, which is similar to the rate in the general population, however, 40% of those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were left-handed.

The authors discussed additional factors that might be tied to the connection between schizophrenia and left-handedness such the variation of brain lateralization, scholastic achievement or race.

"Our own data showed that whites with psychotic illness were more likely to be left-handed than black patients," the authors wrote. "Even after controlling for this, however, a large difference between psychotic and mood disorder patients remained."

And while, as a left-handler, it's good to know what my mental disorders are, ;) I am also reminded of the following research:
http://www.sott.net/article/264996-Researchers-debunk-myth-of-right-brain-and-left-brain-personality-traits

[N]ewly released research findings from University of Utah neuroscientists assert that there is no evidence within brain imaging that indicates some people are right-brained or left-brained.[...]

Lateralization of brain function means that there are certain mental processes that are mainly specialized to one of the brain's left or right hemispheres. During the course of the study, researchers analyzed resting brain scans of 1,011 people between the ages of seven and 29. In each person, they studied functional lateralization of the brain measured for thousands of brain regions - finding no relationship that individuals preferentially use their left -brain network or right- brain network more often.

"It's absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain. Language tends to be on the left, attention more on the right. But people don't tend to have a stronger left- or right-sided brain network. It seems to be determined more connection by connection, " said Jeff Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study, which is formally titled "An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity Magnetic Resonance Imaging." It is published in the journal PLOS ONE this month.[...]

"Everyone should understand the personality types associated with the terminology 'left-brained' and 'right-brained' and how they relate to him or her personally; however, we just don't see patterns where the whole left-brain network is more connected or the whole right-brain network is more connected in some people. It may be that personality types have nothing to do with one hemisphere being more active, stronger, or more connected," said Nielsen.

So I wonder if there is any merit to the left-handedness and schizophrenia research, and if there is, why and how exactly. Thoughts?

 

[Gaby]

So I wonder if there is any merit to the left-handedness and schizophrenia research, and if there is, why and how exactly. Thoughts?

I think it has to do with the functions of each hemisphere and which can be observed for a "lack of" during strokes which affect specific regions.

Certain aphasias ("an inability to speak") is caused by brain damage, and is produced by left brain hemisphere damage in right-handed people. Right handed people have a strong left hemisphere dominance for the linguistic functions (more than 99%). This is the reason why in right handed people, only left hemisphere brain damage will cause aphasia. Left-handed people will have a different hemispheric brain pattern, so their linguistic functions will be represented in both brain hemispheres. As a result, damage in any hemisphere will produce aphasia which will be less severe than those with the same damage in right-handed people.

Now, this video is very interesting in terms what the person describes when she had a left hemisphere stroke and the right hemisphere went into "overdrive", that is, it was not hindered by the left hemisphere:

https://youtu.be/UyyjU8fzEYU

My 2 cents!

 

[obyvatel]

So I wonder if there is any merit to the left-handedness and schizophrenia research, and if there is, why and how exactly. Thoughts?

It is an interesting point. I have been thinking about high functioning schizothymy, Gurdjieff's comments about learned beings of the new formation with hasnamussian (psychopathological) properties who have the propensity to discover new sciences and the possibility of having a disproportionate number of schizo-characters among famous people. The left-handed attribute adds more correlational data to the puzzle.

Some sources report a disproportionate presence of high functioning left-handers in the history of the world acting as iconoclasts or agents of change credited with making unorthodox moves and lateral thinking abilities. Around 10% of the population is said to be left-handed with men more likely to left-handed than women. Some research raises the possibility that on an average, there is more variability in the cerebral processing of left handers compared to right handers. This variability, if real, can have different consequences. On the one hand, they could be high functioning scientists, conquerors, artists, politicians or be more susceptible to illnesses like schizophrenia, dyslexia as well as criminal behavior. Some people report unusually high rates of non-right handedness in psychopaths and pedophiles.

Handedness and Psychopathy
Handedness, criminality and sexual offending

Synesthesia is also correlated with non-right handedness. There is some limited evidence of correlation between BPD and non-right handedness as well. Synesthesia, temporal lobe epilepsy and bpd was discussed briefly in this post .

In his "A Left-Handed History of the World", Ed Wright reports ancient prejudice against left handers. The proto-Indo European language from which Greek, Latin and many European vernaculars are said to be derived, apparently did not have a word for "left". When subsequent languages evolved a word for left, in Latin it was sinistre from which sinister is derived; in Greek skaios which refers to both left-handed, ill-omened and awkward. In Mandarin, apparently "left" is correlated with dishonest. Many other languages have words which indicate "left" is weak or awkward. Due to the bias against left-handedness, it is possible that natural left-handers would start using the right hand and get more ambidexterous. BTW, "dexter" was the Latin for right side.

A number of American presidents are said to have been left-handers or ambidexterous, including Truman, Ford, Reagan, George Bush Sr, Clinton, Obama. Among more historical figures, Alexander the great (or the arch vainglorious in terms of Gurdjieff), Julius Caesar, Napolean are said to be left-handers but I do not know whether there is good evidence to back this up. Scientists like Newton and Einstein are said to be left-handers too. Wright states that the left handed genius is blessed with lateral thinking abilities which could be adaptive and take up a chameleon like quality or be transformational in nature. As in other things, the law of three and the analysis of context would determine the effect of such abilities which could be used for the benefit or detriment of others.

There does seem to be some statistical correlation between handedness and difference from "normal" in practical terms. Correlation does not imply causation; but it is interesting to look at such coincidence especially when spread across a broad category of difference from normal. So maybe there is something at the foundation of cerebral processing mechanisms that is different in natural left-handers and depending upon a number of other genetic and environmental determinants, can make one susceptible to abherrations of which schizo-spectrum disorders are a part.

 

[monotonic]

As in other things, the law of three and the analysis of context would determine the effect of such abilities which could be used for the benefit or detriment of others.

I have read about the Law of Three recently in ISOTM, and I am curious how you would apply it here.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

As in other things, the law of three and the analysis of context would determine the effect of such abilities which could be used for the benefit or detriment of others.

I have read about the Law of Three recently in ISOTM, and I am curious how you would apply it here.

In this sense, the 'law of three' refers to a kind of tertium quid, a third option. So instead of a black-and-white choice, there is a third factor - context - that determines which is which. For example, some might view money as strictly evil. But there are situations and motivations where making money and spending it is useful towards serving a purpose that is good in nature.

 

[monotonic]

Oh! I thought it was something more technical, for instance identifying which force was which and coming from where.

I did think of what laura said about "good and bad and the specific situation that determines which is which". But I couldn't figure out that is what Obyvatel meant. Now the whole post makes sense.

I think "the law of three" is one of the most hand-wavy and mysterious ways that could have been said, although I can see how the connotation in this case has evolved from the forum.

My suspicion of this is that there are people which have a highly active neurochemistry for whom thoughts are like food on their mental tongues, each possessing its own qualities, some which are addictive and others that are bitter medicine. Like a chef would try to eat what he wanted, according to his knowledge and being, so might such a person be driven to fill this inner space with livable things. They may wish to create benches and workstations and appliances there with which they would process the incoming impressions, pleasant or not. Point is, conflict in this space is felt like an injury, so there is a drive to reduce friction some way, potentially maladaptive or not, depending on the third force. It could end up being a gaping hole that wants to swallow everything, or it could be a factory hard at work.

But, I may be projecting or just not seeing this topic in an objective way.

 

[obyvatel]

Wright states that the left handed genius is blessed with lateral thinking abilities which could be adaptive and take up a chameleon like quality or be transformational in nature.As in other things, the law of three and the analysis of context would determine the effect of such abilities which could be used for the benefit or detriment of others.

I have read about the Law of Three recently in ISOTM, and I am curious how you would apply it here.

Like AI said, the usage of law of three here is following the line of the celtic philosophy of triskele which Laura wrote about.

[quote author=Secret History]

Since Plato’s times, many have sought to derive “synthesis” from these opposing elements, with little success. The “third force” of Gurdjieff has been brought up many times with little satisfaction in the attempts to understand it, and perhaps it is in what we can derive from the Celtic teachings will help us here.

According to Homer, the philosophy of the ancient world was that there was a third element that linked the opposing elements. Between the body and the soul, there is the spirit. Between life and death there is the transformation that is possible to the individual, between father and mother there is the child who takes the characteristics of both father and mother, and between good and evil there is the SPECIFIC SITUATION that determines which is which and what ought to be done.

In other words, there are three simultaneous determinants in any situation that make it impossible to say that any list of things is “good” or “evil” intrinsically, and that the true determinant is the situation.

In any event, the symbol of this philosophy is the triskele, representing three waves joined together.
The simultaneous existence of the third element does not mean that the notion of “good” and “evil” did not exist or was not reflected in the Celtic law. What was clear was that it was understood that nothing could be “cut and dried” in terms of law, that each situation was unique and the circumstances had to be carefully weighed.

And so, we see that there is another way to consider the “three forces”. This brings us back again to “perspicacity” which is a function of knowledge. The ability to “assimilate B influences” as Mouravieff describes it, depends upon the evaluation of the Impression in the specific context in which it is experienced. A very simple way of putting it is: is it Truth or is it a Lie and if either, which has more affinity to the world of the spirit, or Love?

There are those who think that truth or lies are always static, that a lie is a lie is a lie and that to be “good”, one must ALWAYS tell the “truth”. However, it is not always that easy. For example, consider France during the Nazi occupation. Undoubtedly, many of those involved in the resistance lied daily and regularly about their plans and activities. What was different about their lies was the INTENT and the SPECIFIC SITUATION. In such a situation, speaking the truth to a Nazi soldier who would use that truth to destroy one’s fellow resistance fighters would be “evil”, so to say, and lying would be “good”. This simple example ought to give the reader much to think about in terms of the socialized belief in a “black and white” exposition of “good and evil”.

Going back to the example of baking bread: in some cases, the flour could be “truth” and the fire could be “lies” and the water could be the specific situation in which the two meet and interact. If Impressions are “food”, then this principle ought to be carefully considered when “taking in Impressions” or “assimilating ‘B’ influences”, which we now know to be the process of applying the Law of Three to any given situation or dynamic in our lives and “Thinking with a Hammer”. We also begin to understand that Love has many faces in Creation as does God. We realize also why such knowledge is reserved for initiates: how easy to twist and distort and misuse such an understanding.
[/quote]

In the example of a chameleon like adaptive quality, how do we evaluate this phenomenon? Politicians often possess this quality and they use it mostly to hang on to power at any cost. On the other hand, Gurdjieff used the same adaptive quality to appear as a different man to different people - which has led many to call him a charlatan. From what we know, Gurdjieff's aim was something higher than his own personal interests - he was serving a higher goal and used this ability to progress towards that goal. Understanding the details of the specific context in which the chameleon like quality is expressed can thus help us evaluate the phenomenon.

Mouravieff wrote about the same baking bread example as Gurdjieff to illustrate the law of three where the flour is the passive element, fire is the active element and water is the neutralizing element.

[quote author=Mouravieff]
This [analogy] allows us to grasp the sense and effect of a subsidiary law of the Law of Three. We see that with the same flour - the passive force in our example - we can experience failure due to a defective sharing of the active force (Fire), of the neutralizing force (Water), or of the two together. [...] The passive force contains all the possibilities for creating the phenomenon, while the active force intervenes as the realizer, and the neutralizing force as the regulator, of the relations between the two other forces, determining the dosage for both in an optimal way. This explains and justifies the fact that pre-eminence in the phenomenal world is attributed to the passive force.
[/quote]

From this perspective, we can perhaps say that the passive element in the example under consideration is the repertoire of psychological manifestation for the person which includes his various small "I's. The active principle is his intent to manifest a certain way which he considers most appropriate to the situation. The neutralizing or regulating principle could be his aim behind choosing the particular manifestation. Thus for a self-serving politician, his instinctive drive towards acquiring power and domination over others dictates how he manifests himself in a particular situation. For a relatively more sto oriented man, his manifestation would be regulated by what he considers to be the most appropriate response for the overall benefit of those affected by his response. As has been said in ISOTM, this third reconciling or regulating force is not directly discernible from outside - in other words we do not directly know why a man chooses to behave in a certain way though we can observe how he behaves and have some knowledge about his overall range of behavior.

Hope this makes some sense.

 

[Gaby]

For a portrayal of a schizophrenia case, you guys might want to watch "Possessed" with Joan Crawford, a 1947 movie. Here are some interesting observations on the movie:

_http://www.legendaryjoancrawford.com/possessed1947.html

Nominated for her second Best Actress Oscar this film, (confusingly the second with that same title that Joan did in her long career), is often overshadowed by her wonderful Oscar winning performance in her first Warner film in 1945 "Mildred Pierce". Coming two years later "Possessed" involved in many ways a far more complex acting task for Joan Crawford in a role involving many layers of expression dealing as it did with the tragic issue of schizophrenia and its effects on the mind. Joan rises admirably to the task and throughly deserved the Academy Award nomination for her work here...

This performance is no simple reading of a characters lines but a full bodied depiction of an individual who through distressing circumstances experiences a gradual slide into mental chaos. Joan's characters progression from capable nurse to an individual capable of murder regardless of the consequences is a memorable piece of acting that I feel very few other actresses of her time would be capable of achieving. She is at times loving, desperate, frantic in her illusionary world and lack of control of it, and heart wrenching as her character progressively looses her grasp on reality...

It is the tale of an unbalanced woman - a schizophrenic, as they point out - who develops a persecution complex when her lover refuses to marry her. (All of this clinical data is orally noted by the doctors attending the case, and it is to them that we are indebted for keeping us posted as the story unfolds.) ... As a visualized psychoanalysis, this film has its fascinating points, even though it does leave some broad areas of the lady's neurosis unexplained. Her crack-up is fairly documented, within the frame of a primarily fictional film, and the efficiency and dispassion of science are suggested in a rather credible way. Stanley Ridges, as the psychiatrist, is the one person in the film whose preoccupation with his problem can be reasonably believed.

_http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039725/

As a film noir it is not your average amusing movie, but an interesting classic nonetheless.

 

[Anamarija]

My father has schizofrena paranoya, at least this is his diagnose.

He came in the marriage with my mother witouth telling her that he has this disease.
He was very narcistic type of person, mathematician. I don't remember the good things about him from my childhood, but I don't have many memories from my past.
Very aggressive, he beat my mother all the time and she tried to fight back.
When my mother was alive (she died from cancer when I was 18years old) he was more ill then after, at least what I could realize.
He doesn't like to move from his place, living in two fazes - in the spring and beginning of the autumn he is very ecstatic, talks a lot, he is very religious so you can guess what is his main subject. He talks like he is some emperor, like Hitler, you have to listen him and he doesn't want to let you go, feeling very exhausted after that session with him.
After that he always fall in down in depression. Don't want to talk, sleeps a lot, very grumpy. Don't like to clean him self. Pretending that he is ill, having cold or pneumonia. In one fase even he was capable to wash himself, I had to wash him, ok, maybe that was my choice. But trough the years I couldn't find the way to deal with bad energy he always give me, so I tried many things, good acting, bad acting.
When my mom was alive he had a much more faces of strange acting. Couple of times he went to city or my mom's job and talks to her colleges or people on the street about the space, aliens, god, dimensions and etc.Scared them away. Once he called school and said to them that they have a bomb inside.

When I was thinking that is my obligation to stay with him because of his illness (like my mother fought and that's way she didn't divorced him) I stayed and tried to learn how to deal with that, but when I have met someone and her family I realized that my mother and father wasn't a parents at all, if this is right to say like this.
Now, he is very alone, I don't know how to talk with him or help him. He can take care of himself, it is not like that he is in bed or something like that.

 

[Palinurus]

Hi Dakota,

I have to guess of course, but from what you described I would hazard the diagnose of bi-polar disorder rather than schizofrena paranoya like your father thinks.

Here is a list of symptoms (use the arrows and hyperlinks to navigate): _http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20306885,00.html

Hope this helps a bit. :)

 

[Anamarija]

Doctor gave him that diagnose.
I forget to mention that he use xanax at first and then zyprex. He was feeling depress and sleepy but he didn't act in the weird way ;).