Julian Jaynes Society Discussion Forum: Exploring Consciousness and the Bicameral Mind Theory since 1997

I hear voices that tell me to kill myself. I have been on many anti depressants and anti psycotic meds and I still hear them plus the most recent one they put me on makes it to where I can bearly stand up without falling down or spilling something. I also have fallen asleep during a conversation. Are there any mental excersizes I can do to make these stop. Please please help me I'm losing everything including my husband.

Hi graceful,

I am not an expert in this kind of mental problems. But I read from a women, who also heared voices and wanted to test them. She was asking these voices questions which she didn't know at this moment, but was able to testity after the voices have given her the answer. The voices answered but they erred. The women stopped to pay attention to them.

May be you could thy this out.

Good luck,
Holmes

Thanks for your reply Holmes,it is greatly appreciated.

Hi graceful,

I hope it works. Tell me about your experiences.
The topic reminds me also to a german movie called "Das weisse Rauschen" = The white noise.
It is about a young man who startet to hear voices. One solution for him is to get a shower or to sit on the beach and hear the white noise of the water.
May be this could also be a kind of approach.

CU,
Holmes

Thanks,I'll give it a try.

I have a friend also suffering from schizophrenia.

Have you looked online for a support group in your area? It could be a good place to share experiences and also find out about a good doctor, the latest treatments, etc.

Don't give up completely on the medication. It can take a lot of experimentation to get the right drug and the right dosage that works for you. There was just something in the news about a new drug that may be more effective that Risperdal.

There are alternative therapies for schizophrenia but I'm not sure how effective they are. Two books you should read are "How to Live With Schizophrenia" and a follow-up booklet called "Orthomolecular Treatment for Schizophrenia" that describe successful treatment of schizophrenia with massive doses of Vitamin B. Both are on Amazon.com

While other doctors were unable to replicate their results, it might be worth a try. Based on the reviews on Amazon, it looks like it may work for some people but not for others.

I read a book written by a lady who suffered from schizophrenia throughout college and medical school. She went on to become a doctor and she was able to describe in detail what it was like to suffer from this disease. Interestingly enough, she was helped by dialysis, which led me to believe that a blood factor may be involved in some cases. The experiences of a person suffering from schizophrenia are remarkably similar to someone who has taken a psychadelic substance. It is known that the body naturally produces such compounds as DMT. Maybe schizophrenic people produce too much of this or too little of the counter-balancing compound.

Fisherman, that is an interesting idea. I love the idea of isolating other somatic causes to chronic mental illnesses other than the trite neurochemical imbalance ideas. One of my questions to the dialysis is "what if it is the stress of the dialysis process that is overloading the (or belittling) the stresses that cause the schizophrenic symptoms?" Also, what symptoms did the doc have? In my own experiences (schizoaffective, bipolar) and close experiences with other schizophrenia-type illnesses, the severity and combination of symptoms were major factors in levels, methods, and effects of therapy.

Graceful, schizophrenia is a very difficult hurdle, and one that most likely won't go away even with the proper meds. It is something that can be a daily struggle, but with the proper therapies (pharm, cognitive/dialectical and potentially others) you can turn it into a weekly, monthly, or annual problem. You're problem with losing your husband is regrettable, since it will most likely only worsen your symptoms. I know the disastrous effects of losing a significant other while losing yourself to yourself. Here's to recovery, and if you ever would like to talk with someone who also has dealt with his fair share of hallucinations, delusions, and irrationalities, don't hesitate to send me a message.

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Hi, I presume you have read some of the discussions about the Bicameral Mind. I think this is what is happening to you. I have also had some experience of this and you have my sympathy! I have also witnessed others, in a normal home environment, going through similar experiences with no conscious understanding of what was happening to them. Why it happens I do not know, but a good practical tip is to realise that these "voices" are your own conscience. The reason they are at odds with your natural, normal, self is the conditioning you have received in the past from parents, religions and past collective consciousness. Imperceptibly, a guilt-trip can be placed onto a person, so they do not believe they should have a happy life - YOU deserve to be here! You may have made mistakes in the past - so don't we all - but you need to sit quietly and think hard - would you put what you are suffering onto another person? Of course not! We are here because we are Human Beings and we do the best we can as we go along. Forgive yourself, truly, any mistakes you may think you have made in the past and go forward using your own rational mind, ignoring the "voices" of accusation!!! You sound as if you have been much harder on yourself than you should have been. With our conditioning, this is not hard to do, but change your thoughts to self-acceptance, approval and love and realise your own worth as a human being and your absolute right to LIVE, for yourself as well as others. With all best wishes, Truthsearch