Well I started taking the medicine because I was afraid of the spirits I was seeing and hearing. My psychiatrist labels them as "hallucinations". I tend to think differently considering other people have been able to see them at the same time I do.
People are going to have very strong opinions about this and I am sure my comments will evoke the wrath of many members.
Personally, I believe that sometimes when people see 'spirits' they are not really spirit and are hallucinations, as mental illness is a genuine thing and can be caused by natural means. If your medication is stopping these spirits, perhaps you were suffering from halluicinations.
Saying this, seeing spirits is generally not a reason I would go to see a psychiatrist for....I also do not agree with medication which effects the brain.
You may be seeing spirits, you may be suffering from hallucinations, your psychiatrist may actually care, or he may just be giving you pills and getting paid for fobbing you off.
This is a controversial topic, and whilst I feel strongly, must for the sake of you possibly suffering mental illness, state that an advice given to you here, must not effect the diagnosis of a doctor, unless you can competently ensure your health will not be damaged in exploring an alternative to your predicament.
I would see a psychotherpaist/clinical psychologist, if you ask around you will find one who is spiritual and does believe in spirits who will be better equiped to deal with you. It is is better to find the correct therapist for you.
Quite a few clinical psychologists and psychotherapists actually practice magick, I can think of at least 4 who are in print, and I am sure there are a lot more out there not in print.
Of course, all is opinion, I am not mental health expert.
Yes this is exactly why I was so hesitant to bring this to the forum. I figured there would be a lot of fighting over hallucinations vs spirits. To be honest it bothered me so much that I had to classify them as hallucinations myself. But when other people see the exact same thing at the exact same time it gets to me a bit. I can say though that mental illness was bothering me before spirits. I have dealt with depression for over 7 years. The official diagnosis is bipolar with psychotic features. The psychotic features are another way for them to say I have hallucinations. I will take you up on your suggestion and attempt to find a therapist who is also spiritual.
I forgot to mention that my psychiatrist has made it very clear he doesn't care about me. Every month is just a status report. If I start going into detail about my issues his quote is "I'm not paid to hear that". What I'm guessing he means by that is he just needs to know if the meds mess with me too much.
It is not just the debate over spirits vs hallucinations, I subscribe to both, and it could be both at the same time- which makes things even more complex.
It is the fact that if you are on medication for your depression, there is no way you can automatically come off of that straight away. If you are on any medication and it has heavy effects, you have to wean off of it and make sure you can cope- often having a medical practitioner can help you know if you can cope.
It is not necessarily finding a spiritual psychologist which is the main problem, it i finding the right therapist for you who can help you....and that can be hard, most will probably offer an introductory session either free, or at a lower cost, just to see if you are right for each other.
