Saturday 12 June 2010

Bayesian theory of the mind and psychosis

My experience and reading a paper on drugs and the mind is why I think
there's an option for considering psychosis with respect to the Bayesian
theory of the mind. During my experiences of a different state of
consciousness there was nothing to prepare me. It's like being the first
person to set out to find an undiscovered country. The journey is more
difficult because its unknown.

...hmmm....that's not a great way to describe it. It's like how I
explained in the earlier blog post about how I attempted to interpret
the shift in consciousness. There was nothing that prepared me for it
and all my sense were shifted. There was no pre-information to allow the
change in inputs to be contextualised. My wide reading, knowledge and
imagination meant I wandered wildly across the different interpetations
looking for a truth.

What if people could be 'treated' by being ready for psychosis. Since 1
in 10 people go through it at some point on their life (Bentall, R.
Can't remember the paper though) there may be a hope that if people have
a way to interpret it they may be able to handle it.

In some African cultures the experience of psychosis is revered as it is
in other micro-cultures around the world (I don't know a single large
culture that still reveres psychosis). It is interpreted as the voices
of the person's ancestors speaking to them. This is part of the culture
and it is something that can be spoken about openly when the experience
happens.

Just an idea.

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We It comes in part from an appreciation that no one can truly sign their own work. Everything is many influences coming together to the one moment where a work exists. The other is a begrudging acceptance that my work was never my own. There is another consciousness or non-corporeal entity that helps and harms me in everything I do. I am not I because of this force or entity. I am "we"