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ON MENTAL ILLNESS: Karma, Coincidences, and Paranoia

Jack Bragen
Friday January 06, 2017 - 03:21:00 PM

People with paranoid schizophrenia frequently suffer from delusions of conspiracy. Some of this might be narcissistic, but most is due to a malfunction in the brain. People who suffer from paranoid illnesses do not really have much choice about this tendency. The brain has a design flaw, and nobody can run away from his or her brain.  

When odd coincidences happen to us, it feeds into the paranoia. Yet, life is full of odd coincidences. This could be attributable to the effects of Karma.  

For example, I frequently end up in the same place and time as former girlfriends. This is due to no action on my part--they are odd coincidences only. Yet, I do not have very many ex-girlfriends. There have recently been two incidences of this at the county hospital. And there have been a number of other sightings. This is far more common than encounters with the Loch Ness Monster or a UFO sighting.  

Another example--near disastrous mishaps, in which dumb luck and a certain amount of skill have allowed me to avoid a personal calamity. I won't go into detail, but there have been a lot of these. And, in the recent past, there has been no recklessness attributable to this--these have mostly been random events.  

It is easy for the mind to develop conspiracy theories when these things happen. However, we should factor in the system of the mind's filtration. If we presume in our minds that there is a plot to do something to us, it tells the brain to look for evidence of that. Thus, we are functioning with skewed consciousness that ultimately leads us to think we have overwhelming evidence proving us right.  

In my life, I have experienced a massive number of coincidences. Some scientists theorize that a person's energy field has a funky way of warping events. If someone's energy is stronger, (although not necessarily better) more odd things may happen to that person. 

More odd, bad things may happen to a paranoid person, with no apparent explanation. Also, when people consider you "a problem" whether this is baseless or for a good reason, you could get life imitating paranoid delusions. People, when they feel threatened by someone, may talk to each other and formulate plans to deal with that someone. Then, even if there was no conspiracy to begin with, a person's paranoid behavior brings about some amount of conspiracy.  

The rule of thumb for someone with schizophrenia is to never rely solely on one's own judgment. The ability to judge truth versus an incorrect conclusion is compromised by the brain malfunction. This includes times in which we think we have overwhelming evidence to support an unusual belief.  

This is why it is good to talk to people, whether they are therapists or family, and bounce ideas off people to find out what they think. 

In today's world, there is more convergence between paranoid thinking and accurate thinking, compared to twenty or thirty years ago. However, we may need to err on the side of naiveté if we are to remain in non-psychotic territory.