Red alert..!! Spacetime & the ever-dreaming mind..

Hi ATS,

I wasn't sure if I would ever divulge the information which follows in the form of an OP on ATS - I think I've mentioned it a couple of times in different threads over the years, but it's not typically the sort of thing you'd want to reveal about yourself 'publicly'. There's no shame in it, but people have differing views of reality, society, health & care issues, and so on, such that prejudice can arise where mental health is up for discussion.

Sometimes I struggle with my diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which to explain, can bring periods of hyped up, even frenetic mental activity when the symptoms of mania reach a peak. This typically lasts from a day or two, to a week - following that, there are slightly longer times when I will be depressed & lethargic, unable to properly motivate myself, feeling pissed off about everything & nothing. It's truly a destabilising condition, though thankfully in my case these days it's under much better control than it once was, and I have much greater understanding of myself than I did even ten years ago (I'm almost 40). During the hyped up times I feel great, on top of the world - so much so, that it's almost a surprise to me when the dopamine & serotonin over-dosing ceases, which had been marinading my brain at its peak in the experience.. And then, the inevitable, interminable low follows the quixotic, elusive high. I have learnt to cope better with the lows than I used to, but at the worst times I can experience literally existential fear, uncertainty of a cosmic nature, weighed down, crushed even, by an invisible force of oppression bearing down on me. I take the meds as instructed, and thankfully those actually help a lot, I had a great doctor who really took time to understand the cycles I go through, and he prescribed something which is really effective, balancing me out far better than I ever was before 2011, the year I had a breakdown, when I was hospitalised for a little over four weeks.

In the modern world it has become possible to be open regarding one's mental health struggle, and that's a wonderful, liberating thing. As any person who has had mental health issues will tell you, it's not nice to be at the mercy of wild & untameable facets of one's own mind, which for some reason aren't functioning properly, leaving us stressed & sometimes unable to cope with the basics of life. Despite the appearance of lacklustre, which can be interpreted negatively by unthinking people as being due to poor character, laziness, a lack of pluck - it is sometimes not possible to manage one's own daily processes due to the heavy impact of symptoms.

As we all know, many of the mental health conditions known at this time have a biological basis; some part of the brain, or the endocrine system, etc, have structural or functional problems with a role decreed by genetics alone, or as the result of some disease (such as Parkinson's). Other people may have reached a breaking point following severe or systematic trauma.

All conditions, whether genetically or socially interred in the patient's mind, typically give rise to a range of symptoms which overlap across several key areas of the diagnostic categories. These will include periods of low or high mental activity & feelings, as in my own case. Others may include hallucinations of various qualities, such as the classic 'hearing voices', whether audible or internal, this can lead to an experience of the perception of terrifying & relentless persecution within the patient's own mind, usually the result of the brain's failure to properly compute & mediate the patient's perceptions of reality. The traditional explanation for conditions such as schizophrenia is a glib statement to the effect of a 'chemical imbalance in the brain', which really is a non-explanation. What causes the imbalance? How would the stated imbalance lead to the failure of some key aspects of the patient's mind? Why is it not possible, in the great majority of cases, to prevent it from happening, if it's just a matter of measuring and correcting the imbalance?

Worse still, worse than hearing audible or internally perceived voices, is when the patient literally sees things which are not actually there, in reality. Full visual & even pseudo-tactile hallucinations can be the cause of a horrifying 'bad trip' existence for the sufferer, and make no mistake, this isn't the funfair ghost train. Reviewing the testimonials of patients who experience this state of existence will give a greater understanding of why many of them attempt suicide over & over again.

The key problem, as regards how we help & bring hope back for such people, is centred on the matter of providing a better explanation of what is happening in their lives, in their minds, in their brain. That is the reason for this thread - my purpose here is to provide an explanation which brings hope, the chink of light at the end of a dark & frightening tunnel. When patients are told that their hallucination are the result of brain chemistry imbalance, it is tantamount to a failure in explanation which I believe must be corrected, in light of new research & new methods of thinking about sensory-affecting hallucinations, which if unmanaged will often boost delusional thought processes which can lock a person within the fortress of a fantasy that provides the sufferer with a false 'explanation' which they use to cope with what they experience. So the young man who hears voices & sees moving shadows, who feels electrical tingling on various of his fingers/ thumbs at various time, decides that this must be the action of demons, and he locks himself in an excessively heightened state of religious fervour, because that gives meaning to what he believes he is experiencing. Now I'm not saying for one instant that I don't believe in demons, because frankly I do - I've seen the effects caused by genuinely demonic manifestations. However, psychiatrists with experience in these matters say that only in around 2-5% of cases of severe schizophrenia do they sense that something preternaturally dark, malevolent & truly evil is demonstrating its presence. In all other cases, they believe that it is a malady of brain structures & processes which give rise to the frightening hallucinations described by their patients.

And it is to the matter of a better explanation than 'chemical imbalance' that I now turn, because I truly believe that if we are ever to hope that we can cure illnesses such as schizophrenia, then we need that better explanation, something that will serve as the launch platform which can take us to new heights of understanding in matters of brain structure/function & mental health. So what is that better explanation?



DREAMS.

What do I mean by that? Well, new research has suggested that the schizophrenic's mind is, lo & behold, not functioning properly. But not because of a chemical imbalance - that is merely a side effect of what is truly going on, rather than being the casus belli provoking the condition's symptoms. No, what is genuinely causing this condition is that one brain process is functioning very well indeed - in fact, it is over-achieving. The ability of mammals, and humans in particular to dream vividly & sometimes lucidly while sleeping is a mysterious & fascinating riddle in & of itself, with many layers & tangents which provide for facets of a practically supernatural 'reality simulator' which operates according to the well-documented process in sleep studies known as REM sleep, withe REM standing for Rapid Eye Movement.

Typically, a person goes through not one but many types of sleep during the normal overnight resting phase of our existence. Some of our sleep is very deep, from which it can be harder to wake up - this is delta wave sleep, which is responsible for restorative processes in operation throughout the body. Some sleep is much lighter, when we can be awoken more easily. Most of the sleep we experience is deep, delta wave sleep, with these waves being among the five typical categories of BRAINWAVES. Check out the link, it's quite a decent rundown of the processes we're talking about here. The only time we dream is during REM sleep, which in the context of brainwaves produces Theta waves. Relaxed, semi-alert state of mental process which issues from the prefrontal cortex. If we were physically awake & experiencing Theta wave expression, we'd most likely be daydreaming, or resting/meditating deeply.

Remember though, that the brainwaves do not produce the experiences at a fundamental level. Just as noted with regard to the oft-quoted 'chemical imbalance', the brainwaves are a side effect of processes in the brain, rather than processes in themselves. It is the synchronised electrical activity of our neurons firing in large groups, with a repetitive pulsing effect.

Now you know a little bit more about dream states (& I admit it's not a great deal, but with a little research, starting with the 'BRAINWAVES' link, you can find a large amount of research into sleep stages, as well as the various waking processes we experience). But even so, the little bit of info I've provided should help you to contextualise what I'm going to say next:

Schizophrenics & others who experience anomalous events in their state of consciousness are not 'bad' or 'crazy', or 'demonically oppressed' (at least, not in the majority of cases - incidentally I have a theory which ties in with all this, connected to the occult - but I'll leave that out for now). Instead, they are simply stuck between worlds - their brain is constantly producing REM-state experiences, which they are left to interpret as they will. When combined with mania or depression, delusions can result which have made it all the harder for researchers to get to the bottom of what a supposedly 'psychotic' person is experiencing. Their confusion & delusion is in fact a mask which has been stuck to them, which prevents us from seeing the person beneath it, and in fact it is as though a tent were erected around their brain, such that we cannot see exactly what processes have led to their abnormal thought, belief & experience. If they are indeed stuck in 'REM sleep mode', without the sleep or the rapid eye movement, then their unusual thoughts, beliefs & experiences make perfect sense!

The mind that is constantly dreaming, cannot - without sufficient explanation - even begin to see the way out of the maze, the puzzle box which their own narrative has become in the years since the anomaly first occurred, in the depths of their billion neuron matrix, in the twisting turns & loopss which prevent them from seeing themselves as they really are, or at least, what they would have become without this permanently firing Pseudo-REM brain state which they've been locked into for who knows how many years.

The good news, as I see it, is that there is potentially a way out of the matrix that can eventually be grasped by the patients themselves, if we start to counsel them regarding what may be occurring, giving them sufficient credit that they can understand & describe their own anomalous experience to a far greater degree than any doctor has ever had the patience to offer them in the past. If they are told that they are indeed 'dreaming awake', then they might start to offer up clues that can be grasped by the researchers who will ultimately help to develop treatments - both medication-based & counselling-based, almost certainly such a dual approach would be needed. In fact, it's probably likely that they need a symphony of treatment modalities to twist, turn, push & pull at the various levers & dials on the puzzle box which is representative of their lived experience. I'm certainly very pleased to know that some researchers are starting to pick at this thread with lucid & vigorous thought, gleaning insights from a range of areas connected to the mystery which they seem to have stumbled upon in most fortuitous fashion.

The book I read in which this concept was first made known to myself was a book named HUMAN GIVENS

Psychiatric theorists are at a loss to explain schizophrenia. The various simplistic ideas that it was caused by specific deficiencies in brain chemistry, such as ‘overactive dopamine systems’, have not been supported by research, despite the strident and misleading claims of some drug companies to the contrary.

In our book, Human Givens: The new approach to emotional health and clear thinking, we described how the REM brain state, which underlies dreaming, is separate from the process of dreaming and dream content. It is also clear that the healthy brain is organised to keep the dream process separate from the waking state, which is why we find it so difficult to remember dreams. We have shown how the behaviour of a person in a hypnotic state clearly mirrors phenomena of the REM state, such as muscle paralysis, dissociation, imperviousness to pain, and amnesia for the event after ‘waking’.

A psychotic breakdown is almost always preceded by an overload of stress and severe depression in a person’s life, which, as we know, results in excessive REM sleep. We are now convinced that, when people are in psychosis, they are in fact trapped in the REM state, a separate state of consciousness with dreamlike qualities. In other words, schizophrenia is waking reality processed through the dreaming brain.

Schizophrenia & Psychosis treated with the understanding & application of the Human Givens approach

Welcome to the world of evolving mental health treatment, ATS.

This approach is going to explode onto the scene over the next decade, I am certain of it. One thing that is certain is that until the end comes, we have to keep fighting for justice, peace & a benevolent approach to people in desperate need. Those aren't comments of the Left or the Right - they are based on Impervious Truth - that Human Beings ALL have inalienable human rights/ 'GIVENS'.

Dopamine is the reason that Bi-polars get so triggered. If you eat a diet consistant in glutamines or glutamate, it helps to keep you right in the middle. Stimulating dopamine makes you happy while not enough dopamine makes you cranky and depressed.

The problem is with enzymes our body makes to break down dopamine, this enzyme goes up and down as needed, but if you eat a lot of dopamine promoting foods the enzyme activity goes up, then when you don't eat them, the dopamine levels plunge because there is more enzyme that breaks it down being created. This is fueling the swing, not the actual cause of the condition. The cause is still not fully understood. They have diets for moderating this activity on the net. Medicines used often try to balance this enzyme creation, but still foods can overcome medicines too and all medicines have side effects too. Some people need the medicines, others just have to balance their diet and avoid both low and high amounts of dopamine creating foods. People indulge in foods that make them feel great, then run out of money or the foods and then they wind up going down. Carbs and sugars stimulate dopamine, so do some food chemistries high in fast acting free glutamates or even excessive bound glutamates if consumed other than occasionally.

I do not know if you or any particular person can be treated this way, you have to do research based on your diet. These dopamine metabolizing enzymes have promoters and inhibitors too, sort of how certain meds work to control depression or anxiety or bi-polar disease. If you have one of these diseases, research diet to help to moderate your problems, but make sure the evidence you are looking at is real and applies to your particular situation. Dopamine makes you almost high, sugar will do that to me, then when the level drops I get tired. But my particular problem is that I make too much insulin, I do know that genetically, I do not break down dopamine well, so I get a headache and foggy thinking if I eat too much of the food that creates it.

Your doctor may know something about this, but remember, everyone is different. I know someone who has bi-polar, she gets money and eats all kinds of dopamine creating foods, then runs out of money and barely eats or tries to eat healthy foods because she starts to notice she is overly enthused...then crashes and gets cranky as hell. I tried to explain it to her, but she will not change what she wants to eat or when she wants to eat it. She rewards herself then crashes because she upped the enzyme too high. I have her dna and ran it through livewello, it shows she makes too much of the enzyme that breaks down dopamine, so boosting the enzyme triggers depression when she quits consuming the food as dopamine levels bottom out. There is only treatment for this available, right now they cannot change genetic snps or gensets to fix the problem. Her meds cause problems of their own, it triggers pseudo fibromialgia symptoms. She does not have the genetic risk of fibromalgia but does have a risk of the pseudo version.

But she will not fix her diet, she wants what she wants when she wants it, she cannot change. So, they have her on some powerful meds.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

I applaud your thoughts

Now mine, not necessarily helpful but... you know it touches the edges of your topic:
"Schizophrenia and psychosis" are so far and wide spread that if you'd try to pinpoint its exact location on the genome you could narrow it down to the 99.9% all humans share.
It is something everybody carries. The difference why some suffer from it and others don't is purely social.
Has your upbringing taught you strength, how to deal with stress, how to vent, etc...? Or have they inflicted additional traumas and delusions and guilt complexes etc...on you?
Plus of course some random environmental issues BPA, wrong diet whathaveyou... that doesn't help...lol

Anyhoo pretty much nobody is mentally healthy. To varying degrees but no one is free from beliefs that have no basis in reality, nobody who'd never have perceived something differently than the "consensus".
Mankind is as a whole entirely bat#crazy.
The first step to healing is to admit that, right?

a reply to: rickymouse

Thank you for the interesting comments you've made, I certainly will look into this idea of diet-based balancing, it's true that I eat a lot of sugar. To be honest it's not quite as simple as managing my diet, though I'm certain that it would work fully for many people. The reason I say this is because I'm also on a raft of medications for pain management (tramadol, codeine, amitryptiline, pregabalin & oral morphine sulphate).

My list of side effects is sort of balanced out at the moment, with the exceptions being my weight & my skin. After being put on pregabalin in 2015, I suddenly piled on about five stone, within literally a few months. No major dietary changes were made, and from the limited research I've done, it's a common problem with pregabalin. My skin frustrates me a lot p I used to have good skin, it was easy to manage its appearance.

Unfortunately after a pulmonary embolism earlier this year, the blood thinning medication they put me on seems to have really messed with my skin. It's dry, it peels, it's itchy, I go red in blotches - I was told I have seborrheic dermatitis, and I use a particular shampoo to help manage it, but since being put on the blood thinner (rivaroxaban) I ended up in a total state, unable to manage it even if washing regularly with the necessary shampoo (which had worked before), even with moisturising with the oatmeal & shea butter moisture cream which my sensitive skin had always found helpful in the past. It's really frustrating & demoralising when you feel like how a street person may unfortunately appear.

In summary, I thank you for the diet info, I will get into some research, but I do believe there is an avenue of pure psychology that should also be explored, as you noted the causes of the conditions are not fully understood at this time. The Human Givens approach is attracting attention & gaining momentum, I see it as a compassionate, novel, revolutionary therapy, and I sincerely believe that the 'locked-in REM state while awake' theory explains mental illnesses in several areas. We've come a long way, ut we have much further to go..

a reply to: Peeple

Or have they inflicted additional traumas and delusions and guilt complexes etc...on you?

That one!

You wouldn't believe some of the stuff they put in my head. My father told me, at age 17, that I should kill myself to save 'all of us' the trouble of my presence in their lives. My mother made every effort to foist delusions, paranoia & satanic oppression at 17 years old as well. This went on year after year, and in slightly more limited measure, it's still going on today. They've kept edging towards some way they can destabilise me in every single interaction since then. And I'm nearly 40 now, with two sons of my own. I almost pulled the plug on letting them have any sort of interaction with my boys, but the boys had come to know & love my parents & stepfather by the time I was wise enough to realise that I had to limit their exposure, to prevent a replay with their lives. And they really have tried a couple of times to do something similar, especially with my youngest, which I had to shut down very quickly. But they do it all beneath the veneer of respectability & the appearance of familial love. It may yet come to the point when my boys are out of school & independent, that I cut the family off, but I couldn't force that on my sons at their relatively young ages, they wouldn't understand what's been going on, and why.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

It is pretty hard to use a psychology aproach with an imbalance of enzymes in the body....they refer to this as a chemical impalance many times, because these enzymes are chemicals.

All I usually talk about can be correlated to what doctors tell people with multiple types of diseases. It is a Metabolic issue that causes the majority of issues dealing with thinking or personality problems. What triggers the metabolic issue can ge genetic though, gene expression causes fluxuations in enzyme creation even though the enzyme protein is actually created by a different gene. They have been studying this epigenetic relationship for years now, but are far from close to figuring how to fix the problem.

I am glad I do not need any pain meds, they constipate the hell out of me.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

I was more talking in general, but yes that's kind of how it works from your parents' parents to them, to you and the question is if you'll be able to break the "family curse", some can, most don't.
The tricky thing is watching yourself, how you may be perceived by your little ones, all the small things that slip through... can be a very thin line to walk.
Do you explain your actions to them? Or is "they wouldn't understand what's been going on, and why" your general approach to them?
Because I bet they struggle with it already.

Don't be offended, I don't think you're "bad" or worse than everybody else, I'm just an idiot on the internet.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

Excellent and well written thread! So the TLDR is that schizophrenia is a form of dreaming while awake. This does make sense, I have had all kinds of bizarre dreams which have left me deeply puzzled and curious to investigate the workings of the mind and what’s going on.

I have come to the conclusion that there are different categories of dreams, I think most are the subconscious mind processing daily life, but others are connecting with archetypes or what Jung refers to as the collective unconscious. Perhaps even what others refer to as an ethereal or astral plane. I say this because I’ve had some dream experiences that I’m convinced aren’t coming from my subconscious or any part of my my mind. More like my mind has dialled in to a different station so to speak.