Inhibition of Dopamine Conversion to Norepinephrine by Clostridia a Major Cause of Autism

Concentrations of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid, or HVA, have been reported to be much higher in the urine of children with autism compared to controls. In the same study, severity of autism symptoms was directly related to the concentration of HVA. There was a relation between the urinary HVA concentration and increased agitation, stereotypical behaviors, and reduced spontaneous behavior. Furthermore, vitamin B6, which has been shown to decrease autistic symptoms, decreases urinary HVA concentrations. Excess dopamine has been implicated in the etiology of psychotic behavior and schizophrenia for over 40 years. Drugs that inhibit dopamine binding to dopaminergic receptors have been some of the most widely used pharmaceuticals used as antipsychotic drugs and have been widely used in the treatment of autism. Recent evidence indicates that dopamine in high concentrations may be toxic to the brain.

Dopamine is a very reactive molecule compared with other neurotransmitters, and dopamine degradation naturally produces oxidative species. More than 90 percent of dopamine in dopaminergic neurons is stored in abundant terminal vesicles and is protected from degradation. However, a small fraction of dopamine is cytosolic, and it is the major source of dopamine metabolism and presumed toxicity. Cytosolic dopamine undergoes degradation to form 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) via the monoamine oxidase pathway. Alternatively, dopamine undergoes oxidation in the presence of excess iron or copper (common in autism and schizophrenia) to form dopamine cyclized o-quinone, which is then converted to dopamine cyclized o-semiquinone, depleting NADPH in the process. Dopamine cyclized o-semiquinone then reacts with molecular oxygen to form oxygen superoxide free radical, an extremely toxic oxidizing agent. In the process, dopamine cyclized o-quinone is reformed, resulting in a vicious cycle extremely toxic to tissues producing dopamine, including the brain, peripheral nerves, and the adrenal gland.

It is estimated that each molecule of dopamine cyclized o-quinone produces thousands of molecules of oxygen superoxide free radical in addition to depleting NADPH. The o-quinone also reacts with cysteine residues on glutathione or proteins to form cysteinyl-dopamine conjugates. One of these dopamine conjugates is converted to N-acetylcysteinyl dopamine thioether, which causes apoptosis (programmed cell death) of dopaminergic cells. These biochemical abnormalities cause severe neurodegeneration in pathways that utilize dopamine as a neurotransmitter. Neurodegeneration is due to depletion of brain glutathione and NADPH as well as the overproduction of oxygen superoxide free radicals and neurotoxic N-acetylcysteinyl dopamine thioether. In addition, the depletion of NADPH also results in a diminished ability to convert oxidized glutathione back to its reduced form.

What is the likely cause of elevated dopamine in autism? A significant number of studies have documented increased incidence of stool cultures positive for certain species of Clostridia bacteria in the intestine in children with autism using culture and PCR techniques. All these studies have indicated a disproportionate increase in various Clostridia species in stool samples compared to normal controls. In addition, metabolic testing has identified the metabolites 3-(3-hydroxyphenl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA) and 4-cresol from Clostridia bacteria at significantly higher concentrations in the urine samples of children with autism and in schizophrenia.

Treatment with antibiotics against Clostridia species, such as metronidazole and vancomycin, eliminates these urinary metabolites with reported concomitant improvement in autistic symptoms. In addition, I had noticed a correlation between elevated HPHPA and elevated urine homovanillic acid (HVA). The probable mechanism for this correlation is that certain Clostridia metabolites have the ability to inactivate dopamine beta-hydroxylase, which is needed for the conversion of dopamine to norepinephrine.

Such metabolites are not found at only trace levels. The concentration of the Clostridia metabolite HPHPA in children with autism may sometimes exceed the urinary concentration of the norepinephrine metabolite vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) by a thousand fold on a molar basis and may be the major organic acid in urine in those with severe gastrointestinal Clostridia overgrowth, and even exceed the concentration of all the other organic acids combined. Dopamine beta hydroxylase that converts dopamine to norepinephrine in serum of severely retarded children with autism was much lower than in those who were higher functioning. Decreased urine output of the major norepinephrine metabolite meta-hydroxyphenolglycol (MHPG) was decreased in urine samples of children with autism, consistent with inhibition of dopamine beta hydroxylase.

Many physicians treating children with autism have noted that the severity of autistic symptoms is related to the concentration of the Clostridia marker 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA) in urine. These are probably the children with autism with severe and even psychotic behavior treated with Risperdal® and other anti-psychotic drugs, which block the activation of dopamine receptors by excess dopamine. I have identified a number of species of Clostridia species that produce HPHPA including C. sporogenes, C.botulinum, C. caloritolerans, C. mangenoti, C. ghoni, C.bifermentans, C. difficile, and C. sordellii. All species of Clostridia are spore formers and thus may persist for long periods of time in the gastrointestinal tracts even after antibiotic treatment with oral vancomycin and metronidazole.

How do the changes in brain neurotransmitters caused by Clostridia metabolites alter behavior? The increase in phenolic Clostridia metabolites common in autism significantly decreases brain dopamine beta hydroxylase activity. This leads to overproduction of brain dopamine and reduced concentrations of brain norepinephrine, and can cause obsessive, compulsive, stereotypical behaviors associated with brain dopamine excess and reduced exploratory behavior and learning in novel environments that are associated with brain norepinephrine deficiency. Such increases in dopamine in autism have been verified by finding marked increases in the major dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA) in urine. The increased concentrations of HVA in urine samples of children with autism are directly related to the degree of abnormal behavior. The concentrations of HVA in the urine of some children with autism are markedly abnormal.

In addition to alteration of brain neurotransmitters, the inhibition of the production of norepinephrine and epinephrine by Clostridia metabolites may have a prominent effect on the production of neurotransmitters by the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal gland. The major neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nervous system that regulates the eyes, sweat glands, blood vessels, heart, lungs, stomach, and intestine is norepinephrine. An inadequate supply of norepinephrine or a substitution of dopamine for norepinephrine might result in profound systemic effects on physiology. The adrenal gland which produces both norepinephrine and epinephrine might also begin to release dopamine instead, causing profound alteration in all physiological functions. In addition to abnormal physiology caused by dopamine substitution for norepinephrine and epinephrine, dopamine excess causes free radical damage to the tissues producing it, perhaps leading to permanent damage of the brain, adrenal glands, and sympathetic nervous system if the Clostridia metabolites persist for prolonged periods of time, if glutathione is severely depleted, and if there is apoptotic damage caused by the dopamine metabolite N-acetylcysteinyl dopamine thioether.

Depletion of glutathione can be monitored in The Great Plains Laboratory organic acid test by tracking the metabolite pyroglutamic acid, which is increased in both blood and urine when glutathione is depleted. In addition, The Great Plains Laboratory also tests the other molecules involved in this toxic pathway, the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA), the epinephrine and norepinephrine metabolite VMA and the Clostridia metabolites HPHPA and 4-cresol.

In summary, gastrointestinal Clostridia bacteria have the ability to markedly alter behavior in autism and other neuropsychiatric diseases by production of phenolic compounds that dramatically alter the balance of both dopamine and norepinephrine. Excess dopamine not only causes abnormal behavior but also depletes the brain of glutathione and NADPH and causes a vicious cycle producing large quantities of oxygen superoxide that causes severe brain damage. Such alterations appear to be a (the) major factor in the causation of autism and schizophrenia. The organic acid test now has the ability to unravel a major mystery in the causation of autism, schizophrenia, and other neuropsychiatric diseases, namely the reason for dopamine excess in these disorders.

In the past, some physicians would order the organic acid test once a year or less. With the new knowledge of the mechanism of Clostridia toxicity via inhibition of dopamine beta-hydroxylase, it seems that the control of such toxic organisms needs to monitored much more frequently to prevent serious brain, adrenal gland, and sympathetic nervous system damage caused by excess dopamine and oxygen superoxide.

Reference:

Shaw W. Increased urinary excretion of a 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA), an abnormal phenylalanine metabolite of Clostridia spp. in the gastrointestinal tract, in urine samples from patients with autism and schizophrenia. Nutr Neurosci. 2010 Jun;13(3):135-43.

Schizophrenia Now

When I was a child, I had a cousin named Helene. Beautiful and talented, everyone in the family knew what a bright future she had ahead of her. Then, at age 22, everything changed; Helene suffered a nervous breakdown. It was thought to be triggered by the dissolution of her marriage, which had lasted less than a year. However, instead of recovering from the trauma, her condition continued to deteriorate, until one day, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. It was devastating: that life of promise disappeared and was quickly replaced by meds, counseling, and painful electric shock therapy. Back then, the methods were nothing less than draconian-the stuff of horror films. She never got better and died young, a tragedy from which her parents, my aunt and uncle, never got over.

Since then, scientists have made incredible advancements in shock therapy and other treatments for psychiatric disorders; however, they are still often dispensed in a so-called "cookbook" fashion. One pill fits all. But as the research clearly shows, one pill does not fit all. What's more, these treatments do not always work. A recent report disclosed the findings of a decades-long study on schizophrenia; namely, that premature deaths and convictions for violence crimes has risen during this period. There is also a higher rate of suicides among schizophrenics and people with related disorders. In Sweden, nearly 25,000 people with these diseases killed themselves between 1972 and 2009.

I have built my practice on the belief that many diseases can be controlled and even cured treated by with holistic treatments, with better results and fewer side effects than traditional medicine. Over the years, I have put my money where my mouth is, using these methods to treat everything from food allergies to fibromyalgia. In the mid-1990s, I treated HIV patients for the intense side-effects of first generation protease inhibitors. This allowed them to take their meds, drop the viral load and prolong their lives. I have also treated mental ailments such as depression and, more recently, bipolar disorder, which is notoriously difficult to regulate. Most bipolar patients take harsh drugs like lithium, whose with its litany of side effects that are almost as traumatic as the disease itself. I have gotten excellent results without medication; however, despite these successes, I have traditionally stayed away from schizophrenia-until now.

I plan on treating this disease with specific nutrient therapy. The research bears this out: of 25,000 documented cases, 85% report a better quality of life after specific nutrient therapy; 75% report that they were able to reduce their medication.

I am not advocating that people throw away their anti-psychotic prescription; however, I do believe that the application of clinically proven nutrients can help immensely. A study of one-million blood and urine tests shows that there are 5 types of schizophrenia, each with causes rooted in the brain chemistry. Seventy percent of schizophrenics have a methylation (genetic) problem, which is an epigenetic issue.

Right now you might be wondering, what is epigenetics? Essentially, they are switches that turn our genes on and off. Have you ever wondered why some people get certain diseases, while others-even those in the same family and who engage in the same behaviors-do not? They may all be genetically predisposed to mental disorders, but the epigenetics control whether a particular individual exhibits the symptoms.

Pyrrole disorder, which affects 20% of schizophrenics, is something I can treat rather quickly. Pyrrole metabolic dysfunction occurs when pyrroles bind with vitamin B6 and zinc, causing these essential nutrients to be excreted from the body in large amounts. Decreases of B6 and zinc are associated with a wide range of psychiatric problems, including extreme irritability, depression, memory problems, and explosive anger.

Statistics show that one in five Americans have a mental disorder. While medication offers symptomatic relief for some, many others are left in despair. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with mental illness, please consider having a consultation. The public does not know that schizophrenia can be treated without medication.

I can test to see whether a person's individual biochemistry will respond to the proper vitamins, minerals and amino acids, and then treat them accordingly.

Antipsychotic Medication - What You Need to Know

Medications used to treat psychotic disorders are called antipsychotics. They have also been referred to as neuroleptics and major tranquilizers. The first antipsychotic, Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) was discovered in 1952 by French psychiatrist Pierre Deniker. At the time, it was considered a miracle drug because it helped many people with schizophrenia be able to live outside the institution for the first time.

Antipsychotic medication is the most important aspect of treatment for schizophrenia and quickly becoming a first choice for Bi-Polar 1 (not Bi-Polar 2) disorder. These drugs do not cure these illnesses but rather manage and control the symptoms just as medication and insulin can do for diabetes.

There have been many questions lately about use of these medications "off label". This means using the medication for illnesses it is not yet approved by the FDA for. This is not as bad as it sounds. The FDA is very slow and potentially political and it could take years to get approval for other uses that clearly help patients. Clinicians are often on there own about how to best use these medications. Good clinicians keep up with the latest research and information from colleages.

The other to me more serious concern is the overuse of these medications, especially in children and older adults. There has been lots of much needed discussion of these issues recently.

How Antipsychotics Work.

Antipsychotics are dopamine antagonists. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that allows messages to pass between cells in the brain. It is believed that an excess of dopamine in the brain can cause too much stimulation between brain cells and that results in confusing messages and symptoms of psychosis. Dopamine antagonists block the reuptake of dopamine from the blood which results in decreased dopamine in the cells.

Antipsychotic are classified as typical and atypical

Typical Antipsychotics. These were the first drugs to treat psychosis and schizophrenia in the 1950s. They are also referred to as conventional ot first generation antipsychotics. Typical antipsychotics are very effective but have worrisome side effects especially tardive dyskinesia. The typical antipsychotics are relatively inexpensive and are still used.

Typical Antipsychotics include:

• chlorpromazine (Thorazine)


• haloperidol ( Haldol)


• trifluopeazine (Stelazine)


• Thioridazine (Mellaril)


• fluphenazine (Prolixin)


• molidone (Moban)


• thiothixene (Navane)


• loxapine (Loxatane)


• perphenazine (Trilafon)


• mesoridazine (Serentil)
  
  

Atypical Antipsychotics

These are the newer antipsychotic drugs that are equally effective but have fewer side effects then the typical antipsychotics. They are also referred to as second generation.

Clozapine was the first atypical antipsychotic introduced in the US in 1990. The risk of TD is said to be ten times less with these new medications. Atypical antipsychotics are the drug of choice in the US. They are very effective but are also expensive. They are the drugs of choice in the US. As time goes on however, we are learning that the atypical antipsychotic drugs also have significant side effects. There continues to be growing concern about weight gain, metabolic syndrome and endocrine changes.

Atypical Antipsychotics include:

• ziprazodone (Geodon)


• risperdone (Risperdal)


• quetiapine (Seroquel)


• olanzepine (Zyprexa)


• aripiprazole (Abilify) is the latest antipsychotic medication to hit the market. It is said to be different from the others in that it balances dopamine levels in the brain rather then simply decreasing it.

References:

Torrey, E ( 2001). Surviving Schizophrenia. Quill, NY

Physicians Desk Reference (2008) American Psychiatric Association,

Stahl, S. Essential Psychopharmacology 2nd ed. (2004)

Four Good Things I Have Found About Being Bipolar and Schizophrenic

There seems much written by professionals on these two illnesses, there is much being spoken about at conferences by professionals on the subject and every good conference will have a consumer speak. I am a consumer who suffers from both these mental disorders and I want to give you some light into my mind and perhaps a positive spin on what seems a very sad subject for some.

The first Good thing

Because I can hear voices, I can hear God and Jesus speak to me very clearly.

Professionals call what I hear "voices" and they call them auditory hallucinations. They assume my overactive and ill mind is making up the dialogue between me and the "voice." In all my14 years of being ill I don't think one doctor has really believed what I am hearing is really real and that God really is speaking to me.

Though when I have done lectures people have seemed to be impressed at least as I am convincing them when I speak of the "voices" and perhaps because the people I address are total strangers they are more open.

Doctors would say mediums and Clairvoyants are mentally ill but people who visit them certainly don't hold that view and many people seemed put at peace and given much hope from people that seemed to know all about them and yet they are total strangers.

I run a prophetic web-site where I give people personal messages from God for free. From some of the wonderful feedback I have received I know something impossible is happening, my "voice" seems to be very accurate in talking to people about their lives and their current situations.

I can meet people in the street and tell them good character traits that they have and give the encouragement in areas where they are currently struggling and they will listen kind of glued to what I am saying until I am finished and their friends will all be nodding that what has been said is so true.

I once had a workshop with ten pharmacy students telling them about my illness and I told them I would test my "voice" on them and said that I would say one positive character trait about each of them and they could have the opportunity to say if I was right or not. I started around and by half way you could tell it was like some party novelty trick and they were all converts to my uncanny knack of picking them, and my so called ESP. At the end, when I had picked ten out of ten, ten different traits a different one in each, I asked them if in their opinion should I stop listening to the "voice" that told me that information and I got a resounding NO!

What you may think you are medicating might really be God.

Let me also say, many Schizophrenics in my travels have opened up to me and told me the things their voices were saying to them and their voices were nasty and saying very ugly things to the people. When doctors think these people are saying these nasty things to themselves they are kidding themselves. I am not an idiot and I know what a demon is.

One time I asked a friend of mine who was Wiccan and wearing black to confirm she had an interest in the "dark side", if she was interested in knowing more about Jesus. She readily agreed to meet and talk with her mother and my mother present. I told everyone I knew she had a friend in her mind that spoke to her and I asked her if I could ask her friend three questions. She agreed and with the help of my "voice" I asked her three questions that she was to put to her "voice" and then with the help of God I discussed with her that each of the answers of her friend in her mind was an outright lie. Before long she was telling her friend she never wanted to speak to him anymore.

"Voices" are real.

The second good thing...

I have big dreams and a mind that can handle them.

As a bipolar I can have visions of grandeur. I have don't have the same limitation on the mind that many people have. I can for instance believe that I could write a film script good enough for a movie to be made and to make me famous. They say that the line between genius and being crazy is a thin one. I believe that when they say that they are speaking of bipolar people. Many famous creators and people who did huge things in the history of the world were bipolar.

To think you could speak through thin air between two cities is what one inventor thought and he was locked up for that thought. Telling people that you could write three films and radically turn around some of the world's worst problems has me being labeled a person with visions of grandeur and yet when I write the three films and talk a producer into shooting them and releasing them to the world I will be hailed a genius!

Bipolar people think big and when they are not deluded and yet have just been so out of the square and creative and see their creation come to pass the whole of society is better for it.

Some people think atomic science is genius. But now the Nuclear bomb is the most feared weapon in the world? Who is the genius, the person who split the atom or the people that made that bomb that the USA dropped on civilians in a war they couldn't win and ever since have feared some people might do it back to them?

Yes one Internet site, a few films and a few books could transform the world and I have got the insight, the wisdom and a mind that could do all of them. You call me ill and yet a dreamer in the Bible called Joseph saved the whole of Egypt in a severe famine and his family which became the Jewish people we know today.

Another crazy man, Moses, went to the leader of Egypt and set free millions of slaves and dropped ten plagues that modern man doesn't want to even admit really happened.

I love my Bipolar visions of grandeur. I take my medication but I dream bigger than most and I have the ability to write those books, those films and that internet site.

The third good thing

I hear positive messages that guide me through many sources.

On my first hospital admission the doctor taking me up in the lift was asking me if I was getting any messages from television.

I told him that "A certain shampoo has pro vitamins that do you a lot of good and you can't see them but they are in there."

One of the police escorting me cracked a smile.

"And oh, if you have Décoré shampoo you have a better sex life." (The advertisement was a very sexy on TV)

"Oh and if you give a girl a Maccona coffee at your home on a date she will know you are a man of distinction and she will most probably stay the night with you" (The ad was saying Macconna made you a man of class and suggestive that it was the coffee invitation that was most likely to lead to sex)

The two police were laughing so hard they kind of didn't want to lock me up anymore.

At the time, I had no clue what the doctor was asking me. Now I know what they were talking about and I do get special messages from the radio and television.

It's not an illness though people who suffer with my illness can have their voices saying things that cause them distress. People who have no illness can have the same thing happen to them.

Let me just go through a few with you so you can get some insight

Once I dreamed that my former wife and her new husband came around to my place and the husband said that God had told him he was wrong to marry my wife and that she was back to move in with me. He then brought my son inside and left my wife and son with me. The dream ended as my clock radio woke me up and the lyrics of the song playing said, " Don't give up on your faith, love comes to those who believe."

I took the song as a promise from God that one day my wife might return. I also took the song's advice to focus on my faith and not give up on my faith but to obey God in all He asks me to do. Later that day God asked me to throw out a novel that I had written ten years before and was getting ready to self publish. The song played in my ears as a memory and I threw the novel out. I rang my mother, a very spiritual person and told her I threw the novel out and she cried and told me it was an answer to her prayers as the novel had a lot of "darkness" in it and was not good to publish.

Can you see how one line in a song gave me hope and confirmed a dream that my wife may one day come back, then the same line in the song gave me direction and hope for a future when I had to make a hard decision to throw a "dark" novel out, a decision that was an unvoiced wish of my mother.

Just imagine:

A young girl is thinking about her lover, as she feels he isn't respecting her and treating her with the honor she is due, and then a song plays on the radio that says, "You have to love your way through to the hard hearted and not weep but change them with your love." Suddenly the girl stops her pity party and goes back and loves her man even more. She got a message of the radio too, but no one calls her ill!

Here is another

One day I was walking down the street with my whole life's worries on my shoulders and a bus went past with a big advertisement on the back, "Take one day at a time, use such and such"

The take one day at a time pert of the advertisement really blessed me and I stopped worrying about a future that might not happen and as I was settled the words of Jesus in the Bible came to my mind, via my thought/ "voice" which said. "Take no thought for tomorrow for today has enough worries of its own."

I was suddenly free of anxiety and worry.

Would you take that form of communication away from me? Well your medication tries to do it but it doesn't stop it.

The fourth good thing

I see many wonderful things most people don't.

I see angels dancing in my church each week. I have seen Jesus 45 times and have been to heaven five times. I have seen things that have blessed my heart so much. I have even seen hell. Doctors call these experiences hallucinations. In Christian circles we call them visions.

One day I am going to get a Digital camera and tell the world a detailed account of all these encounters and then going to make it into a DVD and have people transcribe it into a book and many thousands possibly millions will be blessed and encouraged in their faith through it.

I have met Michael the archangel four times in visions, Gabriel three times, the prophet Daniel once, the man Joseph once, I have met many of the saints in Heaven in visions.

I have met God in heaven and conversed with Him. My faith is not blind faith I have eyes where I can see things within my mind like a movie playing in there but it's a real person standing in front of me or an angel. It's a blast, and I wish other people could see like me.

I have prayed for people and God has opened their spiritual sight like me and they haven't been mentally ill. They have been able to tell me the color of Jesus' robe he had on and the sash and anything he had in his hands and I was able to confirm they were seeing it right. You should see a Christian person's faith jump through the roof when they can see Jesus Christ standing right in front of them and speaking to them through my mouth.

Is your medication going to stop these visions? No

The "dark side" (I.e Lucifer and his fallen angels) give people visions( What you call hallucinations) also and these are very ugly and dark to hear about. A person needs more then a pill to stop these from occurring.

I am on a disability pension and on medication until the Lord Jesus tells me to stop taking it, but if you are a Christian I encourage you to have your loved one who has one of my illnesses to read this document.

I hope you learned something. It was a pleasure addressing you and I would be happy to email you and answer questions.

PLEASE NOTE:

This article was not written to convince doctors in mental health that God and Satan exist, as they cling to their knowledge, science and lack of belief in all things spiritual, it was written to victims of mental illness, and Christian's who suffer or care for the mentally ill.

I have been ill for sixteen years and I know quite a lot about the Bible, and one thing I know is that Christian church does not seem to understand mental illness as well as they should. Often times a person who suffers from voices can be introduced to Jesus and his gentle, quite and reassuring voice can soothe the suffering that comes from demons speaking awful things to you. I am a prophet and each week the pastor of our church allows me to address the whole church during worship time with a short encouraging message from God via my "voice". I am stable on medication but the doctors in mental health that I have encountered really have not much insight into the sources of voices and the reality of real visions. They would say the book of Revelation was a hallucination and yet as Christians we all know it was a vision.

We all break down for a reason yet I find it most interesting that in my sixteen years in the system of mental health that not one professional has ever talked about my core issues and the reason I had my first breakdown, nor have they been interested.

God bless you

The Sociopathic Spouse - 9 Signs Your Husband Or Wife May Be a Sociopath

Marriage has its ups and downs and requires effort on the part of both partners to be successful. However, there are situations where it seems no amount of effort on your part improves your relationship. If your partner is affected by a personality disorder such as sociopathy or psychopathy (many use the term interchangeably), the relationship can be a bewildering, hurtful, and destructive experience. Sociopaths differ from the rest of us in their mental "hard wiring," leading them to behave in ways we may not be able to understand or relate to, and that hurt us very deeply. While only a licensed mental health professional can diagnose a sociopath, here are 9 signs that you can look for if you have suspicions about your partner:

1. Failure to conform to social norms. The sociopath often believes that the laws of society simply don't apply to him or her. There is a tendency toward criminal behavior and pushing the boundaries of what is socially acceptable behavior.

2. Lack of remorse. A sociopath does not have the same "conscience" that the rest of us possess. Guilt is a foreign concept. As a result, a sociopath may actually feel entitled to take advantage of and hurt others, because they look down upon the weak who "deserve" the treatment. If the sociopath tries to mimic guilt, it is just that, an acting performance, and is typically geared toward convincing you they care for their own benefit and advantage.

3. Poor impulse and behavioral control. Sociopaths are big about instant gratification, and tend to behave compulsively. This may lead to drug or alcohol addiction, and/or sexual promiscuity.

4. Consistent irresponsibility. These individuals may have difficulty holding down a steady job, paying bills on time, and/or honoring commitments.

5. A tendency toward boredom. There is actually some research that suggests that the fight or flight response in sociopaths may be muted or altered. This may lead toward risky behaviors and a need for greater stimulation.

6. Aggressive behavior, as evidenced by fistfights or other violent behavior. Not all sociopaths are physically violent, however.

7. Deceitfulness, conning, and manipulation. The sociopath may be an accomplished liar, using deceit to get what he or she wants. Frequently, sociopaths adopt a parasitic lifestyle whereby they exploit and con others into taking care of their finances and other needs.

8. Shallow emotional depth. There may be oodles of charm and charisma there, but true depth and substance of emotion is lacking.

9. Exaggerated sense of self worth. The sociopath may exaggerate accomplishments, behave disdainfully toward others, and have a sense of superiority.

Schizophrenia Naturally

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately one percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime - more than two million Americans suffer from the illness in any given year. Although schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency, the disorder often appears earlier in men, usually in the late teens or early twenties; women are generally affected in the twenties to early thirties. People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These symptoms may leave them fearful and withdrawn. Their speech and behaviour can be disorganised and strange to the extent that they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others.

How is Schizophrenia Diagnosed?

There is currently no physical or lab test that can conclusively diagnose schizophrenia - a psychiatrist usually makes the diagnosis based on clinical symptoms. Physical testing can rule out many other conditions (seizure disorders, metabolic disorders, thyroid dysfunction, brain tumour, the effects of street drug use, and so on) that sometimes have similar symptoms.

What causes Schizophrenia?

Although the exact cause of schizophrenia remains unknown, experts agree that schizophrenia develops as a result of interplay between biological predisposition (for example, inheriting certain genes) and environmental factors. These lines of research are beginning to converge: brain development disruption is likely the result of genetic and/or environmental stressors early in development (during pregnancy or early childhood), leading to subtle alterations in the brain. Environmental factors later in development can either damage the brain further and further increase the risk of schizophrenia, or lessen the expression of genetic or neurodevelopment defects, thus decreasing the risk of schizophrenia.

Treatment for schizophrenia

The American Psychiatric Association publication 'Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients with Schizophrenia' states: "Antipsychotic medications are indicated for nearly all acute psychotic episodes in patients with schizophrenia."

There is also a significant overlap in terms of the medications for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Manic Depression).

There are two main classifications of medications (from a layman's perspective); the traditional antipsychotic medications (Haldol, etc.), and the newer, 'atypical' antipsychotic medications that have come out in the past decade (Clozapine, Geodon, Seroquel, Risperdal, Zyprexa, Abilify, etc.). It is recommended that sufferers or their carers speak to online support groups to get in touch with others, and to hear about their personal successes and problems with the different medications. It is also a good idea to read as much as possible regarding the medications available, and talk with a psychiatrist, to identify the medications that may be appropriate. It should be kept in mind that whilst both the older and newer medications can greatly help a person with schizophrenia, they all have significant side effects that vary according to the individual. No medication available, unfortunately, constitutes an actual cure for schizophrenia.

A natural treatment for schizophrenia?

While the conclusions drawn range from the positive to the negative, research does suggest that people with schizophrenia may benefit by a reduction in symptoms when they take fish oil capsules that are high in the EPA (a type of Omega-3 fatty acid) form of oil. It is important to be careful about the type of fish oil you are using, as not all fish oils are effective. Researchers at the University of Sheffield tell us: "What people really need to be looking at is the amount of EPA in the fish oil they are buying. Our data from previous studies suggests that DHA is of little use in the treatment of schizophrenia, but EPA is the substance that yields the best results. Dosage wise it is suggested that about 2,000 mg/day to 4,000 mg/day (2 to 4 grams/day) should help."

A research review article from 2005 in the journal Drugs states: "The evidence to date supports the adjunctive use [i.e. in addition to antipsychotic medications] of omega-3 fatty acids in the management of treatment unresponsive depression and schizophrenia. As these conditions are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus, omega-3 fatty acids should also benefit the physical state of these patients." (Drugs, 2005; 65(8):1051-9).

Fish fats, and the oils extracted from them, contain two biologically-active omega 3 fatty acids, DHA, EPA. There are good theoretical reasons why both might be important in the brain. However, with regard to schizophrenia, evidence is accumulating that it is the EPA which is really helpful, whereas DHA may not be beneficial in this context.

The strongest evidence comes from a study at Sheffield University by Dr Malcolm Peet and his colleagues. They did a study in patients with chronic, partially treatment-resistant schizophrenia. These patients continued on their existing medications. They were then randomised on a double-blind basis to receive either a placebo, or high EPA fish oil from sardines or anchovies, or high DHA fish oil from tuna. In other words, all the treatments were coded so that neither the patients nor the doctors knew which patient was receiving which treatment until the trial had been completed and the code broken. When the code was broken, the results were very clear. The placebo patients, as is usual in such experiments, showed a small improvement. The DHA patients also showed a small improvement, but in fact a lesser one than was evident in the placebo group, raising the possibility that DHA may not be helpful. In contrast, the patients on EPA showed a significant improvement which was comparable to that seen with the newer antipsychotic drugs, yet without the side effects.

Other studies have also shown that the same EPA rich oil as was used in the Sheffield study is very helpful in improving symptoms even in those who have a shorter history of schizophrenia. It therefore seems that the best fish oils to use are those which are high in EPA.

These findings have been fully embraced by the Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain, which recommends EPA fish oil along with other nutritional supplements on a daily basis to help treat this condition.

Conclusion

The current evidence points towards this natural essential fatty acid being beneficial for schizophrenia especially when run alongside current antipsychotic medication.

Any good doctor or nutritionist will tell you that the best way to get any nutrient is to eat a very balanced diet. In the case of Omega 3 oil this would be in the form of fish. Sadly due to the pollution levels found in our oceans today eating large portions of fish every day is not advisable.

Therefore anyone with schizophrenia who wants to supplement their diet with omega 3 oil must purchase fish oil capsules that are high in EPA. Make sure at point of purchase that the capsules are free of toxins and contaminates and that they also have a high EPA to DHA ratio, as these types of capsules were found to be more effective by some leading doctors in the UK.

Copyright 2005 David McEvoy

How to Treat Schizophrenia Naturally Through Diet and Supplements

In this article I will show exactly how to relieve schizophrenic symptoms quickly and easily using natural methods.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental health condition that is more common than many people realise. It has many causes, and nutritional therapy can assist most of these. It is, however, advised that you consult a nutritionist who will test for biochemical imbalances before devising a specific programme to assist you.

Some nutrients that help schizophrenia include B3, folic acid and essential fatty acids - however, in some cases these can have a negative effect, and so it really is crucial that you consult a professional before considering any supplement programme.

Allergies are often an underlying cause of schizophrenia and, again, a nutritionist would be able to test this for you.

You will benefit from following a healthy, balanced diet containing a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and their juices, choosing organic options wherever possible. You should limit the amount of meat in your diet, as a way of reducing your saturated fat intake, and should choose fish instead for protein. Your whole diet should be made up of organic food wherever possible. You should avoid refined carbohydrates and stimulants such as sugar, chocolate, coffee and alcohol, as well as salt and foods containing added salt. You should drink plenty of water to cleanse the body.

Supplements will be very important in allowing your body to return to good health. You should consult a nutritionist to devise a supplement programme tailored specifically to your needs.

Mothers of Schizophrenics

In the interests of scholarly research for a book I am writing, I paid a visit to the local university psychology library to track down the 1961 edition of the British Journal of Medical Psychology (BJMP). It was well worth the trip. Almost the entire journal that year was devoted to the subject of schizophrenia, reminding me once again that schizophrenia used to be the exciting and perplexing main focus of psychiatric research. Coincidentally, 1961 was also the year that Carl Jung died, and there was a nice tribute to him in the Journal that singled out his interest in schizophrenia.

In one study, mothers of schizophrenics were subjected to a battery of Rorschach tests, word association tests and were interviewed by a psychiatrist. He reports: "The speech of most of the group was so rapid and spontaneous as to be irrelevant and incomprehensible. In these cases the subjects moved from one topic to another with bewildering rapidity, their replies invariably being irrelevant to the questions asked."

Elsewhere in the article she is described as controlling, manipulative, sexually frigid, and unable to remember exactly when her child began and ended toilet training.

Flipping through the 1961 edition, the peculiarities of the mother are a running theme. The descriptions of her are stereotypical of women at that time and the British woman in particular. These days with reality television and Essex girls, one has the distinct impression that all British women are sexually available and flaunting it. Not so back then. Post-war Britain was a fairly grim, repressed place. The BJMP bequeaths such nuggets as the mothers confiding to the interviewer that they couldn't stand their husbands "pawing and slobbering" over them for sex. Several mothers tried to ingratiate themselves with the interviewer by asking him personal questions and bringing him restorative "tonics" over the course of several meetings. One mother confided that her husband was such a non-entity that she almost dusted him, too, when she hoovered and cleaned the house.

The BJMP is a telling snapshot of the prevailing attitudes to women at the time perpetuated by a male psychiatrist, a British psychiatrist at that. It is also possible that the findings tell us more about the psychiatrist than the mothers. What background did he come from? Was he a product of the British public school system, removed from his mother and sent to an all male boarding school at the age of six or eight, thereafter forever frightened of women? Were his own parents talkative or was the only sound heard at dinner the clanking of eating utensils on the plate?

The study findings can also be viewed as a commendable attempt to understand the problems of schizophrenia by interviewing someone (the mother) who is a major influence on the child's early development. Nowhere in the 1961 Journal did I read anything about medication. The efforts were to link the family situation to the deep personal problems of the patients. There was an interesting anecdote of a woman who had been confined for years to a mental institution. It was only when she had to change institutions and came under the influence of the lively, warm woman who ran the nursing home where she found herself, that three months later she just up and left, beginning a active new life of volunteer work and complete recovery.

The prevailing negative attitude towards the mother (and fathers, too) lasted until the first generation of antipsychotics allowed patients to leave the institutions in greater numbers in the 1960s and 1970s. As this occurred, it became no longer acceptable to link the parents to the problems of the child. There are several reasons for this. One reason is that psychiatrists no longer had easy access to a pool of research subjects. Two, as a parent, I might prefer to believe that my child's problems were biochemical in origin, as the drug companies maintained, rather than worry that I had ruined my child through improper toilet training or being sexually frigid or being myself a diluted schizophrenic. Third, the woman's movement challenged just about everything that had been written and said about women.

I am not so sure that psychiatrist's attitudes changed about the parents, and the mother in particular. Scratch beneath the surface of psychiatrists' beliefs, and I think this is where you will find that the attitude to the mother hasn't changed. After all, once they come into regular contact with the relatives of their patients, they are going to judge them. Like most mothers of ill children, I no doubt come across to a doctor as protective, worried and manipulative. I am not there to win a popularity contest with them, and they will judge me accordingly. Institutional psychiatrists may be less judgmental as they are preoccupied with titrating the medications and barely have time for the patients, let alone studying their families. The research money is in studying the medications, so the spotlight has shifted away from the family environment as an indicator of schizophrenia.

If, indeed, the mother and the family environment are an incubator of schizophrenia in some vulnerable individuals, then serious research on this topic should once again be undertaken in order to provide more effective interventions.

US Citizenship Options For Elderly Applicants - Medical & Exam Waivers

I frequently receive calls from the adult children of US permanent residents (i.e. green card holders) who want to know how their parent can become a US citizen if the parent cannot study for the English history test and / or does not speak English very well. I have created an article for you on the two most common scenarios that I answer weekly in my US Immigration Law Office of Lena Korial-Yonan, P.A.:

1. My mom is eligible for US citizenship because she has had the green card for 5 years, and she does not have extensive travel or any criminal issues. The problem is that she does not speak or read English and cannot study for the history test. Any solution?

USCIS has specific rules that relate to an applicant's age and how long they have had the green card that can exempt them from having to take the US English History test and also exempt them from passing the interview portion of the N-400 as well as the reading and writing exam. Please see the next question for more details on this.

However, here the applicant has had the green card for only 5 years and so the only solution is to see whether the applicant is eligible for a medical disability waiver. A medical disability waiver is completed by a US licensed general medical doctor, licensed clinical psychologist or other specific doctor on USCIS form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exemptions. The form must be completed a specific way and with specific wording / answers before USCIS will approve the medical waiver. The doctor, in order to complete the medical disability form, must give your parent, the N-400 applicant, a test to determine whether he or she can learn or remember basic things. This test can include having to recite basic information just explained to your parent and may also include basic exams having your parent place a circle object with circle object, etc.

Applicants with dementia or Alzheimer's, for example, are eligible to file form N-648, Medical Disability Waiver, which states that because of their mental limits, they cannot study for the US history test. A major limitation for eligibility under form N-648 is that the resulting mental disability cannot be a result of drug use.

Our immigration law office has successfully completed medical waivers prepared by licensed doctors of applicant's own choosing for the mental conditions of dementia, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia. Please note that these cases are being mentioned are examples and in no way guarantee that your case will have similar results for both the mental conditions listed and for the USCIS district that you will file citizenship with. Please contact an experienced immigration lawyer of your choosing for a detailed analysis of your own specific case.

Although our immigration law office does not have any doctor(s) that we recommend for completion of Form N-648, we will let you know if a particular type of doctor can complete the form on your behalf. We also review the Form N-648 for completeness, as USCIS is strict in the language that they require from the licensed medical doctor in order for the US citizenship applicant to be approved. If the Form N-648 is approved by the US Immigration Officer, then the US citizenship applicant does not have to take any test in order to have their form N-400 approved and be sworn-in.

Also, at least in the USCIS district office located in Jacksonville Fl, we usually file a copy of the Form N-648 with the N-400 application, and we bring the original N-648 with us to the N-400 interview. You may of course provide the original N-648 in your initial filing if you wish. Just be sure to keep a copy of the form N-648, as it is not uncommon for USCIS to require a few changes to the form N-648 before your case can be approved.

2. My mom is 65 years old and she has resided in the US as a green card holder for over 20 years. Does she still have to take the English test, etc.?

No, your mom has to take a modified version of the civics test in her language of choice. She does not have to take the reading or writing test. The N-400 interview, which includes reviewing the details of the N-400 and asking whether your mom has ever been arrested, files US taxes, etc. is completed with the help of the translator that your mom brings with her to the N-400 interview. She must bring her own translator with her to the N-400 interview so that the translator can translate the civics questions in your mom's best native language.

The age qualifications that exempt applicants from the English, reading and writing tests are as follows:

· 65 years and has resided in US as a green card holder for 20 years or more.

· 55 years old and has resided in the US as a green card holder for 15 years or more.

· 50 years old and has resided in the US as a green card holder for 20 years or more.

Again, Applicants that meet one of the above categories must only take the civics test in their language of choice.

I hope that the above provides some answers to the questions asked of me weekly in my immigration law office of Lena Korial-Yonan, PA. by the adult children of elderly parents who have had the green card for 5 years and now want to become US citizens.

What Is Childhood Schizophrenia?

Childhood schizophrenia is a chronic disorder that occurs before adulthood. It involved abnormal thoughts, false ideas, strange perceptions, and unusual social behavior. This condition occurs more frequently during the teenage years.

Problems during the brain's development produce chemical abnormalities which can cause schizophrenic symptoms. When this kind of brain alteration happens, a person can have unusual emotions associated with hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. Experts in the field do numerous schizophrenia tests to rule out other possible causes. Antipsychotic drugs are the most effective treatment to control symptoms, and counseling is also important in helping patients and their family members learn how to manage the disorder.

Fortunately, it is quite rare in children under the age of 7. This type of psychological disorder normally develops during late adolescence and early adulthood. One out of 40,000 children is being diagnosed with the disorder. The sad news is, the illness comes on very gradually in children and is often initially confused with other conditions. Autism or a disorder of neural development, OCD, and even ADHD were once believed as childhood schizophrenia but they are totally different disorders.

There is a big difference between the behaviors of young people with schizophrenia from that of adults who are suffering from this illness. As the symptoms develop gradually, it is rare for them to progress before the age of 12. At the start, children may talk about their strange fears and false ideas. They may have lack of ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. Moreover, the early warning signs may include extreme mood swings, behaving younger than one's age, paranoid thoughts, confused thinking, severe anxiety, and problems in maintaining good relationships with their friends.

Diagnosis of schizophrenia usually takes months of careful observation. When evaluating a child, it is very important to consider his or her behaviors. Some children may have unusual actions such as talking about imaginary friends or hearing voices. These are common in children; perhaps they have a greater desire for companionship due to their lack of playmates or siblings. But if a child who is already seven years of age or older with these same behaviors, it is advisable to have him or her evaluated.

During the medication, children are particularly at risk to the side effects of antipsychotic drugs to control schizophrenic symptoms. They can get side effects such as tremors, slowed movements, unusual actions, obesity and abnormal levels of fat in the blood.

It is very helpful to provide the patients the effective social skills training, vocational rehabilitation, as well as psychological and educational support. These are very crucial to help everyone not only the patients but also their families in dealing with the disorder and its consequences. Schizophrenic patients must have a complete evaluation. Parents and guardians should ask their doctors to refer them to a child and adolescent psychiatrist so they can evaluate, diagnose, and treat their children thoroughly. It is necessary to have a proper medication, individual therapy, and specialized programs to help the children with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia - A Creative Response to Crisis

The New York Times recently ran an article How Nonsense Sharpens the Intellect. The study cited shows that new research is beginning to corroborate what I have long believed - that I have become more intelligent from my son's schizophrenia. The research also reassures me that Chris began looking for meaning when his familiar habits of thought came under pressure. Schizophrenia is a creative response to crisis, if you allow it to be. This is what writers like Hermann Hesse have been saying for years. As R.D. Laing says: "Madness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through."

The Times article is not about schizophrenia, but it could be. The article talks about experiences that violate all logic and expectation. Kierkegaard called it "a sensation of the absurd." The article goes on to say that "at best, the feeling is disorienting. At worst, it's creepy... Now a study suggests that, paradoxically, this same sensation may prime the brain to sense patterns it would otherwise miss - in mathematical equations, in language, in the world at large."

According to the article, "the brain evolved to predict, and it does so by identifying patterns. When those patterns break down - as when a hiker stumbles across an easy chair sitting deep in the woods, as if dropped from the sky - the brain gropes for something, anything that makes sense. It may retreat to a familiar ritual, like checking equipment. But it may also turn its attention outward, the researchers argue, and notice, say, a pattern in animal tracks that was previously hidden. The urge to find a coherent pattern makes it more likely that the brain will find one."

The previous sentence should give anyone hope that schizophrenia (or autism or OCD), properly understood and handled, is a quest for growth and that recovery is indeed likely. A caring individual can help the person with the diagnosis to find that pattern by understanding and appreciating that what is taking place is something quite extraordinary.

The study involved twenty college students who read a short story by Franz Kafka, wherein many strange and unexplainable things happened. Afterwards, they and a group of students who had read a different more coherent short story took a test of what researchers call "implicit learning" or knowledge gained without awareness. The test involved studying a series of "45 strings of 6 to 9 letters, like "X, M, X, R, T, V." The students later took a test on the letter strings, choosing those they thought they had seen before from a list of 60 such strings. In fact the letters were related, in a very subtle way, with some more likely to appear before or after others.

The Kafka readers outperformed the control group by 30% to 50%.

My own Kafkaesque experience went like this: After we got the "diagnosis" and as I struggled to stop panicking and remain calm, I started to do a lot of research about schizophrenia. The experience of schizophrenia in my son was so bizarre for me, so out of the ordinary, that in itself sharpened my intellect. I had to resort to more creative thinking after being confronted by nonsense talk and spooky behavior. I read up on and questioned everything I saw and heard. I began downing megadoses of the recommended niacin cure for schizophrenia. As a result, I found myself becoming even more focused and energetic, which allowed me to read and observe even more, putting me on a vicious cycle of intellect improvement. By observing my son and looking outward and inward, I began to see connections where previously I would not have seen any. I began to understand synchronicity as I began to understand schizophrenia better. I began to dimly perceive how the universe is connected. I took up writing. I am studying German.

The Kafkaesque journey of schizophrenia provides many side benefits.

Higher Risk of Schizophrenia - Maternal Stress During Pregnancy

It has been studied that maternal stress while a woman is pregnant is connected with higher level of risks with schizophrenia in the child. Many researchers have claimed that if a mother experiences higher levels of stress and tension during her pregnancy then it increments the probability of making the child schizophrenic in the adult age of the child. Moreover the maternal stress has also been associated with the child's lower IQ.

Of course the relationship is quiet complex when it comes to schizophrenia and the maternal stress. This risk reason of schizophrenia for sure connects to some conflicting details but there is agreement that the increment in the maternal stress increases the circulating position of stress hormones that cortisol, ACTH and CRH which further increments the usual occurrence of behavioral troubles or developmental detains in the coming offspring.

On the other hand the maternal stress has also been associated with many other elements which increments the danger of schizophrenia like less weigh of the offspring. This factor is very well acknowledged. It has also been said that this also lower the ability of the immune system of the child. Therefore it is true to say that the association between the schizophrenia and maternal stress during pregnancy is really composite. Therefore, if you go by the research that both maternal stress during pregnancy and schizophrenia are related to each other then they must try to keep the stress level really low while the women is pregnant. It will be better to keep her happy and fulfilling as much as possible. The BBC news "Pregnancy stress 'passed to baby'.." posted on September in the year 2005 is a related reading in relation to schizophrenia.

In the year 2005 in the month of November, a research was made at the Imperial College London which stated that a pregnant female who experiences stress increases the chances of offspring with 2 times more risk of having IQ less than average. Professor Vivette Glover was the man who conducted this research after observing 70 pregnant females and their offspring. These children scored just 90 in the related tests whereas children of lower stress experiencing mothers scored about 100 in the similar test. Therefore, lesser IQ of the children associates with double risk of suffering from schizophrenia in the later life. You can read more material on the relationship between maternal stress and schizophrenia and the association between lower level of IQ and schizophrenia.

How To Best Cure Schizophrenia

This days the perception of schizophrenia has changed drastically If we were to compare to how it was looked at in the past. With the help of new treatments , support and constant surveillance from the family the chances of treating the patient are greatly increased. Regular follow ups are also needed if the illness is to be completely beaten.

Although all this are now available and possible it is not uncommon not to be able to find a proper doctor for schizophrenic patients, and sometimes if the doctor is found risks exist that interest is not there. But these minor setbacks can also be avoided by knowing where you can get some proper answers. Asking the right people, or even better families with patients suffering from the illness, can save you from a lot of trouble searching for the best doctor or treatment. This way you are quickly put in touch with the right people. There is even an organization , very well prepared and informed, that deals with a lot of schizophrenic related problems.

Best thing to do would be to follow a short but important list that helps you a lot in getting the right help; a doctor should always think of schizophrenia as a brain disease, take and keep a detailed log of the patient, prescribe and review medication regularly and maybe the most important thing yet: include the family in the treatment and of course properly instructing all the members what the best thing to do would be.

Treating schizophrenia is a very serious and important process. Certain parts should always be kept in mind.

Medication is very important in keeping the symptoms of the illness under control. Unfortunately it's not always known witch medicine have the best effects so regular adjustments are needed, and as always a few side effects are going to be present.

Accepting the illness and starting to know more about is also a fact not to be forgotten and something that should be taken very seriously. Patients must learn how to work with the family and the family also must give and support the patient ass best they can. The community also has a lot of activities and groups that can help in the treatment of the patient.

A good diet, physically exercises are also very much needed in a good recovery following the treatment and actually completing it. Observation of the patient is very important if the treatment is to reach its desired goal..

How Does Schizophrenia Manifest?

When a child is diagnosed with schizophrenia parents are shocked because they can not understand how come a child that is intelligent, and looks good could be that ill.

Schizophrenia comes with symptoms just like any other disease but they differ from person to person. Some people might have just one episode of schizophrenia in their entire life, but in others schizophrenia might manifest more frequent and for a long period of time.

The first who notice there is something wrong with a person are the family members. They see that the person is not like it used to be any more and go for a check up at the doctor's.

Because schizophrenia gives perceptual difficulties the ill person might refuse contact with strangers and will isolate himself from others.

They will become less interested in their usual activities including work and personal hygiene and this will alert their family members that something is wrong.

Schizophrenia gives changes in personality at first only minor changes but after some time quite obvious changes. The inability of showing emotions like crying or laughing will install after a while and if they manage to laugh they make it in a strange way that makes it inappropriate. They become indifferent to others and to social activities and they end up isolating themselves.

A disorder in thoughts will install in most of the cases and the ill persons will not be able to concentrate as they used to and will forget a lot of things. They generally develop a problem with talking, they use odd language structures. They always seem confused and jump from a topic to another. Some might become hyperactive and will develop intense preoccupations with religion believing that they have a special mission, will write non stop meaningless phrases, and might use drugs and alcohol. Some develop extreme reactions to criticism and will even try to run away from home.

Due to the perceptual changes in their brain, the ill person might see, feel and smell things that are not there, that are not real. All these manifestations are hallucinations. In the worse cases they might attempt to suicide or to auto-mutilate because they seem to hear voices telling them to do that. All their senses are turned upside down and sometimes even a telephone ring might be confused for a fire alarm and provoke agitation among them.

The schizophrenic people realize that they have problems with their senses but they try to hide all the symptoms away, they will keep it a secret. They will deny all these facts and will avoid any situation that puts them face in face with the fact that they are different.

These ill persons are even more afraid that they will be abandoned by the loved ones and that is why family must always stand beside them and support them. All they need is love, patience and a lot of understanding.

How To Teach a Student With Schizophrenia

Schizophrenic symptoms are characterized by hallucinations, delusions, thinking disorder, disorganized behavior, social withdrawal and difficulty in processing one's thoughts. All these signs can have bad effects on a person's ability to learn and grow at school.

Teaching a person suffering from schizophrenia is a huge challenge for teachers. The student dealing with this mental disorder falls under the category known as educable mentally handicapped. Educators and heath care professionals say that there are multiple levels of need, based on the person's testable IQ in a particular question, and the resulting level he or she experiences. These high functioning individuals with lower IQ than the average are known as educable mentally retarded. The IQ of the people who are diagnosed as educable mentally retarded, have noticeable delays, and usually their IQ's fall in an approximate range of 50 to 75.

Emotionally or behaviorally handicapped student is an industry-wide category that assists teachers in understanding what the student needs are. Teaching methods involves creating individual education plans and putting together specific learning guides for each student. A meeting is necessary for all teachers who guide the students, the school psychologist, therapists or team of medical professionals, guidance counselor, parents or guardians, and the student if they are able to comprehend. During the meeting, the team will create an effective place based on the student's condition and behavior. This may include using graphic organizers and textbooks.

Individual educational plan often calls for accommodations and adjustments for the student who has schizophrenic symptoms. These modifications may include using graphic organizers for comprehension and learning techniques to aid memory recall. People with schizophrenia often have troubles with understanding and memory recall. Their intellectual capacity is quite weak that is why in most cases using visual map of ideas or concepts helps them to easily comprehend. Creating worksheets for students help them organize their thoughts and understand what they are reading. For instance, some teachers use instructions like "Please click on the "Graphic Organizers" link to find out more graphic organizers". This may improve the students' ability to follow instructions and teach them how to use the graphic organizer, and then practice using it with a certain lesson. For example, using ROY G BIV to help the students in remembering the order of the colors in a rainbow and using Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally, this helps them in remembering the order of operations in math involving parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.

It is very important to put the modifications in place. It changes to what the student is expected to learn, how they perform during their lessons, and how they will be tested and graded. For instance, if a student is placed in a regular classroom, there will be small, if any, modifications since he will learn what the others are learning. Each modification has more value in a classroom which focuses on special education. Schizophrenic students will have modification like working on a lower grade level book. Moreover, a student who takes an easier standard test, would also take advantage of a modification.

ADHD and Schizophrenia Medications

Risperdal was approved by the FDA for the treatment of adult schizophrenia and approved almost fifteen years later for bipolar disorder in young adults and children. It has also been approved for irritability for autistic children with lasting aggression. The approval of this drug for aggression in autistic children was based on a study but not recommended if the child has mild aggression or a volatile temper that does not last.

Although risperdal and ADHD do not normally go hand in hand as a treatment, perhaps the child has severe aggression; obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or possibly the person has Tourette's syndrome, schizophrenia, eating disorders or a depression not able to be treated with other drugs, along with the ADHD.

When considering using risperdal and ADHD treatment make sure your doctor knows all of the patient's background. Risperdal can cause high blood sugar, so if your child is a diabetic check the sugar levels often. Also, some tablets contain phenylalanine, so the doctor needs to know if you have phenylketonuria (PKU). Risperdal can harm an unborn baby, so if you're an older person considering ADHD and risperdal tell the doctor if you are planning to become pregnant or you already are pregnant or are nursing as it might harm the baby.

As you can see this is a pretty harsh medication. Risperdal and ADHD should be used only in extreme cases. If it were me, I would ask the doctor if some other drug would be better suited. Or better yet, since most all prescription drugs have short and long term negative affects why not search for other alternatives that have no side effects, will give your child the ability to cope with ADHD symptoms and make your child stronger in the long term. How crazy does it sound when talking about children and psycho-stimulants, stimulants, and antidepressants! I have seen many people helped by natural alternatives, especially children. Their pure little bodies respond very well, especially to the minute amounts of homeopathic remedies.

Besides homeopathic remedies you can implement diets, vitamins, and behavior modification so your child can improve and grow into adulthood without harmful pharmaceuticals.

Cognitive Assessment For Determining Level of Cognitive Function

Cognitive function is the ability of a person to process thoughts. Cognition basically refers to memory, speech, reading comprehension and ability to learn something new.

A cognitive assessment is a test administered by a neurologist, mental health professional, or an educationist to determine an individual's level of cognitive function.

In case of healthy individuals, their brain has capability for learning new skills in speech, understanding a language, or memorizing things and ability to develop personal thoughts about the world. But, factors such as aging and diseases affect cognitive function of a person over time, leading to problems like memory loss, difficulty in finding right words while talking to people or writing something. Capacity to learn new things slows down with the age or prolonged illness.

A cognitive assessment involves various tests that are conducted for measuring cognitive function of a person. The person is asked to perform a series of tasks that need cognitive skills to accomplish. The assessment is split into several sections to test abilities like understanding language, delivering speech and so forth. Each section of assessment is scored separately and the results are compared with rubric of cognitive performance.

A medical professional will perform assessment if a person is experiencing cognitive impairment as a result of a stroke or brain injury or suspected intellectual disability of childhood. Pediatricians and neurologists perform cognitive assessment tests to check their suspect patients and to establish a baseline as a reference for comparison in future.

Cognitive assessment is also carried out in management of mental illness by conducting tests in the beginning of treatment and during course of it to check how the patient is responding to medication.

Schizophrenia - The Games of the Mind

Schizophrenia is a debilitating brain disorder affecting many Americans. It is often characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and inappropriate reactions to situations. It is a form of psychosis characterized by symptoms such as disordered thoughts, hallucinations, delusions, and social withdrawal. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that alters sufferers' perception of reality, producing delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thinking. Drugs can be effective in reducing or eliminating symptoms, such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking. Medications may not completely eliminate hallucinations or delusions.

Behavior is influence by delusions, hallucinations, or incoherent or serious impairment in communication or judgment. Disorder is thought to mainly affect cognition, but it also usually contributes to chronic problems with behavior and emotion. Schizophrenia is the most common and severe form of psychosis or thought disorder. It is a complex mental disorder that is commonly misconstrued as a split personality disorder. It is a serious brain disorder.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has been recognized throughout recorded history. It is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder than affects over 50 million people worldwide. It is a devastating brain disorder - the most chronic and disabling of the severe mental illnesses. It is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease.

Schizophrenia is categorized as a brain disease, not a psychological disorder, and drug treatment is the primary therapy. Schizophrenia is a severe disorder that disrupts the function of multiple brain systems, resulting in impaired social and occupational functioning. It is one of the most serious mental disorder that affects one's ability to function properly in society. It is a serious disorder which affects how a person thinks, feels or acts. Schizophrenia is a puzzling and disabling mental disorder that affects 1 percent of the population.

Schizophrenia is a disabling, chronic psychiatric disorder that poses numerous challenges in its management and consequences. It is a severe, persistent, debilitating, and poorly understood psychiatric disorder that probably consists of several separate illnesses. It is a very complicated mental disorder, with no single cause or cure. It is a severe, complicated illness. Schizophrenia is an illness, a medical condition.

Schizophrenia is a lifelong, severe psychotic condition. Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition that causes disordered ideas, beliefs and experiences. It is not thought to be a 'single' condition but instead a label applied to a collection of disorders. It is also more common in people with seizure disorders. Schizophrenia is a disorder that most people know about but don't know much about.

Treatment helps relieve many symptoms of schizophrenia, but most people who have the disorder cope with symptoms throughout their lives. Schizophrenia is usually classified according to the predominant symptoms or the specific course of the disease. It is a chronic disease, and you should plan for times of remission and times of relapse. It is a very serious mental illness and a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness.

Mental illness is an illness just like a physical illness. Schizophrenia is a complex and puzzling illness. Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects 2.4 million American adults over the age of 18. Schizophrenia is rarely diagnosed, but possible, before age 10 or after age 40. Medication is highly effective in treating schizophrenia, however, it is difficult to keep individuals with schizophrenia on medication.

Schizophrenia is produced by problems with brain wiring in normal individuals. Schizophrenia is a biologic brain disorder that seriously impairs a person's ability to think clearly and relate to others. Schizophrenia is a relatively common disorder, with a lifetime prevalence of about 1%. Schizophrenia is often confused with dissociative identity disorder, but the truth is that the two are completely different. Schizophrenia is more common than most people think.

Schizophrenia can cause people to do things that don't make sense, repeat rhythmic gestures, or make ritualistic movements. Schizophrenia is known to be a major cause of disability. Schizophrenia is the 9th leading cause of disability worldwide. Schizophrenia is among the most damaging and least understood of all mental disorders. Schizophrenia is incredibly complex.

Schizophrenia is not a 'very' common disease. Schizophrenia is a complex disease, and environmental factors may also alter the timing of its onset and its progression afterwards. Schizophrenia is more common than Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. Schizophrenia is not just one symptom, but a pattern of observable signs and symptoms. Schizophrenia is characterized by positive and negative symptoms.

Antipsychotics can be effective in alleviating some symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is primarily treated with antipsychotic medications, which can effectively regulate the brain's chemicals. Schizophrenia is also associated with abnormalities of the HPA axis R1602CHDHIDFE - R1602CHDFCEBE. Schizophrenia is also associated with changes in cognition. Schizophrenia is generally viewed as a disruption of normal functioning due to an underlying core illness.

Schizophrenia is NOT split personality or multiple personality. Schizophrenia is a literal mind boggling word in itself. Schizophrenia is not caused by bad parenting or personal weakness. Schizophrenia is generally divided into four types. Treatment is similar for all types of schizophrenia, however.

Treatment may be provided in-house or the resident may attend a treatment or rehabilitation program during the day. Treatment may involve psychotherapy, medication, skills training, or hospitalization. Treatment may incorporate mood stabilizer medications, antidepressants, and psychotherapy. Treatment may incorporate participation in Gamblers' Anonymous, psychotherapy, and medications like carbamazepine, topiramate, lithium, naltrexone, antidepressants, clomipramine, and fluvoxamine. Treatment may be complicated further by the presence of alcohol or drug intoxication.

Therapy is one treatment option for antisocial personality disorder. Therapy is another important aspect of treatment. Therapy can also help you cope with stigma surrounding catatonic schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is known to run in families. Schizophrenia has long been known to be hereditary.

Schizophrenia can appear in children, though this is very rare. Schizophrenia has a strong hereditary component. Studies that employed nonschizophrenia psychiatric controls could reveal whether augmented interference is unique to schizophrenia. Studies are ongoing in attempts to better define the relationship of Toxoplasma infection to schizophrenia.

Common Signs and Symptoms of Schizophrenic

Schizophrenic patients can exhibit signs of reduced physical or mental activity by sitting at one place and doing nothing for hours. The patient can also stop all voluntary activities like talking, eating, moving etc. On the other hand, Schizophrenic patients can exhibit signs of high level of excitement by shouting, talking fast and acting in a violent manner. These are two extreme symptoms of Schizophrenia out of the many listed below.

Common Symptoms of Schizophrenia include:

Hallucinations - The person can touch, feel, hear, smell and see imaginary things, which do not exist in reality. Such symptoms are because of the deterioration in the brain's reception, as a result brain responds to fake sensory input.

Hallucinations can be further classified as:

Tactile Hallucination: A person experiencing this can feel imaginary hands touching him or can feel insects moving all over his body.

Auditory Hallucination: The person who suffer from such hallucination can hear and communicate with a person that is non-existent in real life. Sometimes, he can also hear someone constantly talking to him. He might even hear an inner voice to tell him about impending danger.

Olfactory Hallucination: The person can smell things that no one can.

Visual Hallucination: The person who experiences this type of hallucination can see objects and people that do not exist in real life. He is able to share thoughts with his imaginary friends and spend time with them.

Mood swings - A person experiencing mood swings can be extremely happy at one moment and extremely sad at other moment. Such a person is very unpredictable and experiences difficulty in maintaining a good rapport with people around him.

Nebulous thinking - A person who suffers from nebulous or distorted thinking is not able to process his thoughts in an orderly manner. Therefore, he is unable to express himself properly and speak in a manner whereby nobody understands. He is unable to process his thoughts, therefore making it hard for him to go about his daily activities.

Emotional Instability and Social withdrawal - The person who is emotionally unstable and socially withdrawn is scared and lacks confidence. He prefers to be alone than to go out and intermingle with people. His personal and professional lives are affected as a result of his behavior.

Illusions - A person who has illusions tends to have compromised perception. He perceives things that are inconsistent with the real world.

Perplexed - The person will feel frightened, confused and not confident about himself. This might occur in combination with hallucination where a person is instructed or warned by a voice about some kind of approaching danger.

Delusion - The most common symptom experienced by Schizophrenic patients. Close to 90% of all Schizophrenic patients suffer from delusions. When a person undergoes delusion, he holds to his belief whether or not it is true.

For example, if a person is not rich or famous and everybody around him knows that. This person might think otherwise and behaves like a famous movie star or like a person in an eminent position. Another type of delusion is in which the person might feel as if he is being observed and controlled by some unfamiliar forces.

Christian Faith, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia - Part One

Growing up with Bible stories and the TV and movies, you come to know about maniac's. As a teenager I knew that genius and insanity were very closely related. Little did I know I would one day become insane. Insanity... being out of your mind... delusional... having visions of grandeur... deceived by evil spirits... possessed by demons... contacting the dead... trips to heaven and hell... seeing evil spirits... seeing angels... seeing Jesus... seeing people out of the Bible... all in Part One

Writing five pages without editing except for a proofreader... writing a warning from God to a nation... being delivered from demons... having demons speak to you... having a demon pretend to be the Holy Spirit and tell you lies and direct you to do things that you assume are God telling you to do... staying up for three days and three nights without sleep... sleeping for two days straight... being so depressed you can't even wash clothes, shower, shave or cook for yourself... all in Part two

These are all experiences I have had as a Christian with schizoaffective disorder. Which is Manic depressive (Bipolar disorder) and Schizophrenia bundled into one illness.

One thing I have found in the church is that FEW people understand mental illness. I also have never met a born again Christian in the mental health services I have been part of and so I am in limbo.

One time about five months ago when I was in hospital I prayed for a Schizophrenic patient to be able to hear from God, and asked her to repeat about four sentences that I would have God speak to her. The message was a message I wanted to hear from God but didn't have the faith to ask Him myself as my own head was in a bad place with deceiving spirits going rampant. She was half way through the second sentence and tears were streaming down my face. God gave me a very comforting and reassuring message of hope in the midst of my crisis.

The patient who delivered the message was astounded that I was so affected and told me that she was so in love with the voice that had spoken the message to her. She said the voice was so soft and so full of love and so different to the voices that spoke to her. I told her that she could always ask God to speak to her and He would comfort her.

Everybody thinks Schizophrenic patients are possessed. Every one has half answers. Ask the same believers to cast the demons out of these patients and they are first to admit that they haven't got the gift.

So how do I cope?

Man, I have to tell you this with all honesty.

I go to dark places and I cry. I cry a lot.

I pray.

I read my Bible.

And I chat to God.

Let me address each of the topics briefly that I mentioned above.

Insanity... being out of your mind.

Whenever you dream, daydreaming is being out of your mind. Where it crosses over to insanity is when you start to believe the reality is true. Many mentality ill people get help from inside their heads as an inner voice to think insane thoughts. I have in the past been quite convinced I was talking to Mary Magdalene in heaven. I used to speak to her for an hour each night. I was thrilled to be speaking to a person so close to Jesus. This is insanity.

Delusional...
Delusional as I understand the term is just like being out of your mind. In the year 2000 I began to speak to my ex wife in my mind. I was told by a spirit that was pretending to be Jesus that through my ex wife I was going to contact a whole lot of witches and convert them to Christianity and because they were gifted in the dark arts they were going to be very effective and powerful in the Christian world when they are operating out of love.

I asked who I thought was Jesus how to do it and he stepped me through it. Soon the whole 144,000 of the book of Revelation were converted and all were ex witches and I was the leader. I had a number of girls that I was speaking to in my mind and one was appointed as leader. Without much sleep I would preach to the 144,000 converts and teach them things and then I would ask them questions and we would do a count of the answers in percentage of which the lead girl would do a tally. Most of them were yes and no answers. When I started wanting to meet the Australian girls and the ones in my city and started to ask for phone numbers and email addresses I was told that it was a whole lot more convenient to speak like this.

If you have a Schizophrenic friend, ask them the answer they got from their voice they are speaking to when they asked for the phone number, mailing address, or email address.

The most common demonic response is that it's cheaper and more convenient to do it through telepathy. I never pushed it further to the second and third level lies from demons.

Having visions of Grandeur... deceived by evil spirits.

I have thought I was one of the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11. A human being who isn't one of these two last days prophets who is convinced that they are, is most often mentally ill. When people said I wasn't, this only made me more confident as I said, "No one believed in the prophets of the Bible, and so having no one believe me makes it more credible." The only thing that brought my thinking back to reality was medication.

Many mentally ill people have low self esteem and so thinking they are a modern John the Baptist or Jesus or one of the two last day's prophets makes them feel important. These delusions that the patient takes on makes them a person that is important and they will fight not to let go of this through of importance. All the way though my delusion I had a "Jesus" voice speaking to me that wasn't Jesus. I never considered that Jesus would lie to me and so nothing my parents or friends said could be convincing to me.

God had grace on me though,as he allowed the Jesus voice on two occasions six years apart say something that turned out to be a lie. I never forgot the lies and could not reconcile I am the Way the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) of what Jesus said of Himself and the lies my Jesus had told me. I had simply forgiven Him and tried to forget it. Then two years ago anointed preacher from Malaysia told me my Mary Magdalene, the God the Father voice and the Jesus voice that were speaking to me were demons and that I was not to speak to them. I obeyed.

Possessed by demons.

On four occasions I have been delivered of demons. On only three of the occasions did I feel any better afterwards. As I have had an addiction to prostitutes I have always had a vessel full of all sorts of demons that have sex with me and fill me back up again. Touch wood by faith I have conquered that addiction so in months to come when I am delivered again they will stay out of me.

Much of the Christian community does not believe in demon possession. Fewer still believe that a born again Christian can be possessed. It's as if demons disappeared 2000 years ago.

I have a number of demons still in me. I have to spend time on my faith, in the Word and in prayer and healing before I am ready for them to come out.

At present I know a man with a spirit of murder in him and he wants to kill me. Of late this has caused me some distress and put me into a depression. I have to avoid a whole block of my city for my life's sake and this has upset me. Demons are real. Most times it's a demon that is speaking to a Schizophrenic. But it's not easy to turn that voice off even for a Christian with that illness.

Fear, lust and a spirit of Masons have been cast out of me. The Masonic spirit leaving made my whole head seem free. The spirit of fear had a big difference on my personality and is trying to re-exert itself through the man who wants to kill me. The Lord himself lifted the spirit of lust one day after I repented in tears and touch wood I have not been with a sex worker since.

Contacting the dead... trips to heaven and hell.

Often times when in conversation with a stranger the Holy Spirit will direct me to ask them if they have a question for Jesus. Sometimes the person will ask how a dead relative is. On many occasions Jesus will give me a message to share about their relative. On some occasions the relative has spoken. I know in the Law a medium is condemned yet each time it comes a surprise to me the question, and in almost every case the person's eyes fill up with tears. I know this could be a familiar spirit but on most of the occasions I can describe the house the relative has in heaven and all the furniture and they are able to confess that features in the house I describe are exactly what they person would love but never had the money to own on earth or something like that. I see visions of the house and the people when this happens.

On many occasions I have been to heaven. I have been into a throne room at one time and seen a big ball of light like I think Isaiah saw. I explain that in more detail in my article Modern Prodigal Goes to Heaven. One time I saw a whole park full of children and Jesus told me it was all the children in heaven that had no parents. Most of them were abortions on earth. That was a memorable trip. One time in heaven Jesus put a big diamond the size of a soccer ball in my hand. Later on the Father said that diamond that I held would run the USA government for 200 years. He told me that was what he thought of money as the wall I took it out of was hundreds of feet high and miles long all of which were diamonds of that size. Bill Gates with all his wealth wouldn't even be able to buy one of them, such is the verse Jesus said, "Beware of greediness, life does not consist of the abundance of one's possessions." And also when He said, "what does it profit a man if He gains the whole world and loses His own soul?" That wall of diamonds showed me the reality of those two verses.

Yeah I am no one great. But each time I have been to heaven it has been memorable for me. A month ago I took a guy to heaven in his mind in a vision where he met his wife that had died a year before. He saw her sitting with Jesus in a meadow full of yellow flowers and a waterfall in the distance. She smiled at him and spoke to him. I was pleased that he could tell me what she had said and done as I watched it happen and was able to confirm it.

I have been to a part of hell for two fifteen minute trips. It's not a place you want to visit. If you are reading this and you are not a Christian, I invite you to email me and tell me so, I have a few passages in the Bible I want you to look up.

Seeing evil spirits... seeing angels... seeing Jesus... seeing people out of the Bible.

I have only once seen an evil spirit of lust on a girl. It did not look nice. The best I can say is it looked like one of those dragons, people like to collect in popular shops. It gave her an attraction to all the guys and she was very attractive also. One of the Christian men I was with pointed it out and when he did I saw it.

I once asked Jesus, "How come I see angels all the time and I don't see demons?" He said, "Matthew if you saw the demons around you most of the time, you would not get any sleep." I laughed, understood and never once complained since. Sometimes I have discernment of spirits and I can tell the name of a demon a person has inside of them, but I don't see the demon.

However I have seen so many angels it would take a whole article to share all of them with you. Five times I have had the honour to see Michael the archangel. All but one time, He was in the company of Jesus. One time a few weeks before I went to hospital he was with me walking down the street. I saw two big guard dogs back off when I walked toward them as confirmation he was with me. The same day I had a six year old girl confirm that he was with me and when I told her Michael was a fighter, she started to have a play fight shadow boxing into the thin air as her mother wondered what had come over her daughter. With my two confirmations I felt convinced yes on that day I walked with Michael. I have felt a strong presence of God in a church and many times seen angels worshipping God in my church. On some special occasions to me I have seen women angels dancing.

Six years ago I was on a beach at 2am in the morning and Jesus had told me to move away from my family and go 400 miles and to Sydney where I had no friends and 800 miles from my son. On that night I asked Jesus where He was I was so caught up in my love for Him. He told me He was just beyond the breakers. I knew sharks like to cruise right behind the breakers for fish and night time was the wrong time to be swimming there, but I pushed the fear aside and went to swim out. As soon as I took a step toward the water the water receded 100 feet. I asked Jesus what was going on, and he said, "Not tonight, but you will meet me real soon."

I said, "You said in the Book of Revelation that you are coming soon and that has been 200 years. How soon is soon?"

He said "very very soon Matthew."

Three weeks later I met Jesus in Sydney in the flesh. He was dressed as a hungry, homeless man, dirty and forsaken by men. He did three things is my presence that were miracles to prove that He was who I thought He was. One of them was disappear into thin air.

I have seen Jesus in heaven, seen Him on many occasions in visions on earth and not less then ten times with one of my good friends. I once have been knighted by Jesus with a sword. I do not know what that means. When He spoke for ten minutes in the flesh on His ideas on the Gospels, the speech was so rich, so profound that I know it would take many years' study to understand the depths of it.

In heaven I have met people out of the Bible. I have also met Daniel and the Apostle John on earth in visions on earth. I know I will have some role to play in these end times simply because both these men wrote visions of prophecy about these last days. Daniel came and comforted me in hospital.

Seeing evil spirits, seeing angels, seeing Jesus and dead people would have a sane person committed to a psychiatric ward of most hospitals, but to me these are regular experiences and you can't have me put away because at present my mental health workers are very happy with my state of health. I am in a major depression and they can't even tell.

As you can see I have not covered all of the topics. The rest: of them being:

writing five pages without editing except a proofreader... writing a warning from God to a nation... being delivered from demons... having demons speak to you... having a demon pretend to be the Holy Spirit and tell you lies and direct you to do things that you assume are God telling you to do... staying up for three days and three nights without sleep... sleeping for two days straight... being so depressed you can't even wash clothes, shower, shave or cook for yourself... will be covered in part two.