by Bob Trowbridge

Created on: August 25, 2010

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (manic-depressive) are very different creatures. Bipolar disorder is more likely to be connected to brain chemistry than schizophrenia. The symptoms are very different as well.

Bipolar disorder is characterized by wide mood swings from depression to mania and back again. The depth of the depression and extremes of mania vary from one person to the next and vary somewhat within the same person. Also the time period between these swings, where the individual can behave quite normally, go from daily swings to months apart.

Bipolar disorder can be successfully treated with lithium and other drugs in most cases. For schizophrenics, anti-psychotic drugs simply mask symptoms and do little to impact the actual illness.

I would be surprised if many people suffering from bipolar disorder are victims of intense spiritual experiences.

Spirituality & Psychosis

Great creativity and psychosis are often linked in popular belief. Vincent van Gogh is one prime example. It is also believed, in popular culture, that genius and madness are separated by a fine line. Thus we have the ever-popular mad scientist.

But what about intense spiritual experiences and schizophrenia? Two opposite positions can be suggested and supported with arguments. One is that an intense spiritual experience can lead to schizophrenia and the other is that schizophrenia can cause intense spiritual experiences.

Another famous example from history is the story of Joan of Arc. Theologians and psychologists still ruminate over whether Joan was crazy or inspired. Were the voices she heard divine or was she suffering from dementia praecox?

Our answer to that question might be informed more by our culture than by any rational arguments or explanations. Speaking to spirits, gods, goddesses, and even to the flora and fauna has been normal behavior for thousands of years in certain cultures. What has been normal in other times and in other cultures would be considered pathological in ours.

Even today, in modern America and around the world, individuals are having intense spiritual experiences without exhibiting any symptoms of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Thousands have seen or heard from dead friends and relatives. Many others claim to be channeling individuals from the other side and thousands follow the teachings of these non-physical beings.

Some have seen angels and even claim to have been helped by an angel or two. Again, there are no associated symptoms of any mental

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