Been thinking about schizophrenia in relation to the Aurora theater shooting since Holmes was under the care of a psychiatrist who specializes in it. Why is it the case that the auditory hallucinations they hear are often so violent and brutal? I've never heard of a schizophrenic having auditory hallucinations telling her to buy her next door neighbor an ice cream cone? Am I just mistaken and actually the hallucinations are typically a mix of kindness, compassion and brutality? It's easy to see where people could mistake schizophrenia for demon possession if the voices typically spur people to painful deeds? In fact, I can see where schizophrenia may have given rise to the whole idea of demon possession to begin with. Anyone have experience with a kind, gentle and compassionate schizo?

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It's only diagnosed when it is a negative overall experience for those around them. Often only discovered after some disturbing antisocial behavior.

I would bet there are just as many schizophrenic's out there who hear voices telling them to do nice things. Just that no one minds what those crazy people do because they are.... well... nice.

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Don't know......DT's with drugs are the same way. Guy in the business told me they are always bad.....why/how he couldn't explain other than being caused by swelling of the brain causing pressure inside the cranium w/ drugs.

People with auditory hallucinations have brain swelling?

Schizo or not, good deeds are simply not going to show up on the radar so there's no metrics for you to work with.

But, the questions I think I'd be asking is: "Why are these crazies repeatedly showing up in Colorado?"

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I'm not so sure about the 'not showing up on the radar' argument. I think if someone started buying everyone ice cream cones and when asked 'why', said that he was hearing voices telling him to do it, it would get around. If your kid or your mother or your aunt started doing this kind of thing, wouldn't you get them some mental health assistance?

Maybe it's the altitude here in Colorado. Think about how many religious figures hear voices up on mountains. Suicide rates are higher here.

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If my mother started giving people anything other than a hard time, I'd have to be hearing 'voices' and I'd seek out mental health assistance for myself.

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I have a brother in law who is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He's never hurt a fly to my knowledge. When off his meds he wanders around town talking to the voices and does odd, but not violent things.

I recently read, or possibly heard about a therapist who treats patients by having them confront the voices and take control of them. Apparently he has success and has documented cases where patients were able to make them completely stop.
I have no doubt this is at least part of the root of the idea of demonic possession.

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Good lecture. Really starts around 25 minutes in.

24. Schizophrenia - YouTube

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1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Good lecture. Really starts around 25 minutes in.

24. Schizophrenia - YouTube

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1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Burn The Priest - Chronic Auditory Hallucination - YouTube

Wait this should have gone here

\m/ \m/

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My wife is a psychiatrist and she says that there are definitely individuals with pleasant or benign auditory hallucinations. My guess is that these folks usually aren't disruptive or so disorganized that they can't interact with society in a constructive fashion.

The other thing that may be going on is that schizophrenics usually pick up on the fact that they are different from non-schizophrenics. "Normal" people usually color their interaction with the obviously mentally ill with a combination of concern/fear/avoidance/judgement. In the eyes of someone who already has some psychotic and mood disturbances, it's easy to see how this could be interpreted as the world having it out for you. There was a psychologist on CNN the other night whose brother is schizophrenic, and he basically said as much when explaining how to interact with a psychotic person - don't lie, don't endorse the hallucinations, but also don't be judgmental and try to acknowledge that the person is indeed experiencing what he thinks he is experiencing, even if you know that it isn't real.

My long-term gf a neuroscience and experimental psych M.S., another close friend a PhD in the area (jeez...humbling!!). A lot of times it manifests itself as sort of an antisocial or anti-physiological sort of thing because it itself IS antisocial and antiphysiological (physically harmful). There are a lot of theories as to why, but the brain is sort of subversive in these sort of malleable processes. It's weird AFAIK there isn't much of an answer except that the brain, when not functionally operative, interprets social cues as negative and somewhat threatening (like any of us if we were really confused, like a lot in Alzheimers and such). Basically if the brain doesn't understand it, it's sort of threatening. IOW, the jury is still out. It is absolutely fascinating, I followed my lovely lady through her thesis and I love this wild stuff (now her turn on my thesis....) but its really ultimately a mystery. I thrive on this stuff. I'd take Anthony's opinion over mine though, being closer to the practicing side.

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I immediately thought of the movie/play "Harvey" where the main character talked to a giant kind rabbit all the time.

Of course it was fiction but perhaps based on a real person or persons.

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To me simplistically the new developed non responsible personality was totally dominate. Or his background knowledge allowed him to pre plan and engineer a good possible defence for his actions. He would have the knowledge.

Something of a sporatic nature being commited I would more easily understand. In this case the amount of planning to do it seems unusual. It takes quite a bit to stay organized and do something like this. People with mental disorders in the serious disease areas cannot usually keep it together long enough.. They just are not stable enough. This at the same time may be an exception.

The examining doctors might eventually present quite a picture. I hope they are wise enough to examine his past very carefully. I think the standard allowing trial is knowing or being cognizant of right from wrong.

His best bet defence wise may be them finding someone else in his bloodline with the disorder as well. Distant relative or whatever. Otherwise there may be suspicions.

Anyway I think he is going to have a lot of testing so I expect a delayed announcement of any findings. Other than a rapid commitment by the court for extensive evaluation..We wil just have to wait and see.

To me it was still a very sick incident to happen. Imagine one of your children or other immediate family member going to a theatre. Then a knock on your door that they were gunned down with many others at the theatre.

If nothing else he has done something that many people will just not really get past. I have compassion for the sick but very little to none in a case like this.

There was a guy recently that blipped a couple of news sources because he went and stood at an intersection with a cardboard sign to the effect of "if you're broke I'll give you money" and was handing out $5 bills to anyone who asked. The gist of his comments to the reporter was that he had a good job and a good home and a good car and just wanted to help those who might not.

I wondered how many people drove around the block to pass him again...


More to the point, trying to find a satisfying rational explanation for inexplicably irrational behavior is a lost cause. Not that we shouldn't study these awful tragedies to see what we can learn, but there is unlikely to be anything that could be said about the guy that would make a *rational* person go, "Oh, yeah, now I understand it."