Examining the Ties Between Mental Illness and the Supernatural
The intersection of paranormal activity and psychological disorders
Being a trauma therapist and an interfaith minister implies that I don’t view the psychological realm and the spiritual realm as disparate. Rather, I’ve come to recognize psychological growth and spiritual development as facets of our being that constitute the whole of who we are. This perspective is not always well-received by practitioners in the medical and psychiatric community.
Consider founder of analytic and depth psychology Carl Jung’s motivations when he kept The Red Book private. A record of Jung’s mystical experiences and encounters with the unconscious, The Red Book was created between 1913 and 1930 during a period of intense inner turmoil and self-exploration. Given the societal context of his era and that psychology was still establishing itself as a science, Jung feared that its unconventional content could damage his professional reputation. After all, his depictions of visions, dialogues with inner figures, and mythic narratives were far from accepted norms.
Consequently, The Red Book wasn’t published until 2009, nearly 50 years after Jung’s death, when his heirs and Jungian scholars felt the world was ready to appreciate its historical and psychological…
