Christians, How do you know if someone is mentally ill?

I have worked in mental health for many years. I was responsible for assessing if clients were healthy enough to live in group homes.

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder of which neural hormones are misfiring. It will show up in a pet brain scan , if it has progressed far enough.

The content of the delusions and hallucinations are erratic and lack logical content. It is similar to an LSD trip. This drug was used in the research for schizophrenia for this reason.

Mystical experiences are usually coherent and have some logical content eventually: ). You read some of the prophets and assess this as illogical. I concede to that.

Biblical interpretations of dreams and visions also takes into consideration symbols and types within the text. If I see a vision of a man holding a bowl of fruit . I can assume he is someone who has a fruitful life and enough fruit left over to share with others. If this proves true, I can know I saw something that was fact and not delusion. As a personal example, I saw a young man playing with dogs or some small animals, who lives in the UK when I was answering his question about suicide and mentioned he was kind to animals. He wrote "how did you know I want to work with animals.?"

Spirituality in psychiatric fields has been subject to the same prejudices that homosexuals have suffered . Homosexuals were thought to be ill by the psychiatric field for many , many years. Pastoral counselors are less likely to think you are insane but would use the same testing. In my area they used the Minnesota MultPhasic Personality Inventory as a testing method. If you work in mental health , you may be required to take this test prior to consideration for employment.

What I would consider logical and coherent might not seem logical and coherent to an atheist.

I also worked in a state hospital with a client who drowned her two children performing a home baptism.

As a Christian , I have seen examples of severe mental illness in a variety of settings. I have known a few people who have been diagnosed with bi polar disorder and schizophrenia and two of them have been Christians.

In fairness, they were ill before they became Christians and this is what probably provoked conversion. Christians come to Christ many times out of desperation or after trauma in their lives.

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Joseph Campbell.

"The mystic swims in the same waters

the schizophrenic drowns in. "

Is the person swimming happily along?

Are they able to function in society , hold responsible positions? Do they have long term successful relationships?

Are the given over to violent behavior?

Do they believe they Jesus or Moses and have returned to the Earth?

I would question this person's sanity.If they walked on water, I would re check the text.

Does the content of their visions or dreams agree with any version of the Bible?

Do the things they proclaim or dream bare out to be true?

The Bible discusses prophets and says they spoke two to three in the meetings and the others judged.

In churches that embrace visions and prophecies are still possible, this criteria is used to judge the validity of the experiences.

Some will undergo psychiatric testing of their own volition . The first response to a supernatural experience is usually " I must be losing my mind." Insane people do no consider this possibility. It is one way you can know if the person is ill or just very heavenly minded.

So the content of the delusion or revelation should have some significance rather it is personal or one which is also edifying to the larger spiritual congregation.

I don't think Christians are mentally ill , I think they either have a great spiritual connection (which is good by the way ) , They might have high levels of cognitive dissonance (which basically means they believe in something irrationally to rationalise the reason for there belief and life) or they might just go along with the religion because they think it is right because they were born into it : but this does not make sense because that would mean people born into Hinduism by example are damned to hell because of the circumstances Im not Christian any more

Everyone is religious because everyone believes in something or someone.This

being true,doesn't mean everyone is a Christian because they claim to be.Religion

is the practice of rituals.

A relationship with Jesus Christ is having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.This comes

from being born again.John chapter three.Jesus said this is a must.You must be born

again.We all belong to someone according to the scriptures.We are not our own as

many believe.We are guided and influenced by a Spirit or spirits whether we want to

believe it or not,according to the word of God.

God does change the heart when one truly believes on his Son,Jesus Christ.Here is the

fruit of the Spirit of God in Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Know anyone like this?

To be honest, there is no real way of telling. There is only what we believe to be true, and the Christian believes that there are certain signs to indicate that there may be demonic activity taking place inside a person. Now, you ask the same question to an Atheist psychologist, and you'll get a very different answer.

There is no absolute truth, only that which we believe.

We only have one way to determine truth and that is by the Bible. Demons do influence people according to the Bible but that does not exclude mental problems and medical probloems. To say that all irresponsible behavior is demonic would be way out of line. Some people are able to lead other others are not, There is a gift of prophecy today which is proclaiming God's truth but often it is confused with the gift of revelation which is God speaking to men, and that does not exist anymore.

I don't make judgments about the condition of others. I believe the Holy Spirit leads me to an understanding of things I hear, if something is not in line with what I believe to be true, I disregard it. I think most people who are "religious" are not necessarily Christian. There is a big difference between serving the Lord and being religious.

Its faith, no one knows for any logical reason if people are sane or insane. It is all based on the belief that they are right and that you should follow them because you believe in them. As a christian I would say the line between sanity and insanity is thinner than that of a sheet of paper. All of this is totally subjective and in so is up to interpretation.

Witches are made out of wood. Wood floats. Witches float. If you put a person in water and they float you know that they are witches.

Watch Monty Python's the "Search for the Holy Grail." You'll get the idea.

schizophrenic people suffer from depression and for the most part are not very happy. True Christians on the other hand are filled with the fruit of the spirit which is:

Gal 5:22-23 KJV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Do schizophrenics have these traits in their lives? I don't think so. Does God speak to us? Yes he does not in a audible voice but with our spirit.

Rom 8:11-17 KJV But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. (13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (15) For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (16) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (17) And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Heb 3:6-12 KJV But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (7) Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, (8) Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: (9) When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. (10) Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. (11) So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) (12) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

Have you heard the voice of God speaking to your spirit..... He only speaks to those that will listen and obey .....

1Ki 19:11-12 KJV And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: (12) And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

I know what you mean; if Mosses really existed I suspect that he might have been schizophrenic ...

I mean seriously; what would be today say about some fool who only speaks to "God" when he's alone?