I am schizo-affective. I was not raised religiously, but I had been Buddhist for about 8 years or basically all of my adult life and all of schizophrenic life, up until the point of my last psychosis. I basically was fed up with my spiritual and religious beliefs causing psychosis. So I started studying Atheism heavily, and it was a relief to know that I can still have a great life without the need for religion.
I especially love studying skepticism, which is not specifically only atheistic, but it is great to hear about all that science can do to debunk commonly held myths, with everything from telepathy and telekinesis, to ghosts and alien abductions, to pseudo scientific claims of all kinds, and even how to live skeptically myself. It also taught me to be wary of “scientism” where you basically have 100% certainty of the scientific claims, and wind up worshipping science, and lose the ability to think critically of the claims being made.
I have also been studying philosophy of science, and the history of science, trying to understand how scientists know what they know, and how they justify theories as either true or false.
It has been very liberating from my delusions, and I have learned how to apply this to my weird beliefs. My question is has anyone here, or anyone you know, tried taking this path for helping their delusions? If so, how successful can this be for reducing delusions? Is this an uncommon path for schizophrenics to take? Do delusions occur, regardless of what you hold as core beliefs? Can critical thinking skills improve the life of someone who has a history of delusions and psychosis? Or is it ultimately futile? Do you have any examples of delusions in your own life that would be immune to applying skepticism?
I don’t really know what wonderdunk you are saying that is relevant, other than science being evil and I shouldn’t believe it because it destroys a sense of wonder about the world. I disagree with that. I hope someone who can help me out with my questions is not discouraged from the discussion by your post.
i apply skepticism to all areas, even to my diagnosis of sz.
it is use ful in having a logical core - but not all about the world is understood.
science is constantly growing in knowledge - it is not a perfect tool. just a method of obtaining answers.
I understand you. I just don’t want to have the entire debate about Theism/Atheism. I would be willing to have it, but I think this forum is not intended to have that problem. I’m just interested mainly in the skepticism for the sake of the conversation, and whether or not schizophrenia will eventually overpower any efforts one might make in this direction.
Wonderdunk, I read an article recently about statistical data about Atheists from the Pew Research Center, and it is interesting relating to your comment:
Unsurprisingly, more than nine-in-ten self-identified atheists say religion is not too or not at all important in their lives, and nearly all (97%) say they seldom or never pray. At the same time, many do not see a contradiction between atheism and pondering their place in the world. Three-in-ten (31%) say they feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being at least weekly. A similar share (35%) often thinks about the meaning and purpose of life. And roughly half of all atheists (54%) frequently feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe, up from 37% in 2007. In fact, atheists are more likely than U.S. Christians to say they often feel a sense of wonder about the universe (54% vs. 45%).
So I can safely say that I disagree with you about Atheism destroying wonder. I heard it put once that it is actually because they do not have definite answers to the big questions about life, and are more happy to continue looking for the answers, rather than settle for wrong ones. It can be uncomfortable to live without answers, but maybe more rewarding in the end. He said “it is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied”, because Socrates was happy with admitting his ignorance, rather than claim he knew the truth.
@maxwelldunn89, I think to practice a moderate skepticism is good an healthy, but I am not sure whether in schizophrenia, and delusions specifically, a lack of skepsis is always the culprit. This may differ from person to person, but my experience with psychosis actually featured a lot of unhealthy skepticism, I take it. For while it is true that the delusions that troubled me were pretty much fixed and sure for me, I did not stop reflecting on my beliefs at the time. And doing so took the form of a thorough skepsis, aimed not so much at my delusions, though these were not entirely exempt from doubt, but all the more at everything else. For me it was not the case that I was simply not aware of my delusions being at odds with commonly held beliefs, many of which would easily pass as knowledge. Instead, whenever I would reflect on my delusions, I would notice this tension between them and these commonly accepted beliefs, and skepsis would turn on the latter. How did that common knowledge become so sure, what is the proof for it and can I be sure of that very proof in turn? As I am sure you are aware of, knowledge is quite complicated. A claim to truth is rarely exhaustively supported by a single further claim - instead it seems as if to support a single true proposition, one needs a vast network of other truths or assumptions to be in place. My psychoses would have me running through such networks of proofs and proofs of proofs endlessly, casting skeptical doubts on these and effectively tearing my world apart.
That’s really interesting flybottle, I can see that as something that could happen in my life. The most important thing no matter what I choose to believe, is to stay on medication for my illness.
I have only stopped taking my medicine one time for a long period, it was about 9 months. I think I had to do it for myself, to confirm that I was actually sick, because I stopped believing I was ever sick. Now that I’m taking it again, I can see in hindsight how awful I got. The worst part about it is I thought it was all fine, and that I didn’t need treatment. I am sure that I have it now, and I am happy to have medicine that can help.
I also took this path. I feel better and more focused instead of dreaming about impossible stories being true.
Although I recognize spirituality can be beneficial for some, obsessing over it and explaining our issues, ours and the worlds like acts of the spiritual, is definitely not.
My motto now is “I don’t know” so … I don’t know, won’t make it up or follow blindly.
I’m just interested mainly in the skepticism for the sake of the conversation, and whether or not schizophrenia will eventually overpower any efforts one might make in this direction.