Tracing The Roots Of 'Irish Madness'

For more than five generations, Patrick Tracey's family has been plagued by what he calls "a perfect storm of schizophrenia." In his new book, Stalking Irish Madness, he traces his family lineage — and the roots of the disease — all the way back to Ireland.

.......... I'm here with my own hellish story of sorts, because I know of at least three ancestors who suffered — as two of my fifth-generation Irish American siblings do now — from schizophrenia, a savage psychosis for which there is no cure or effective treatment. Statistics reveal that one of every four people worldwide suffers from some type of mental illness — one in one hundred from schizophrenia, the most severe form, its victims typically tortured by voices and other hallucinations that give rise to bizarre and demented behavior.

NPR, USA, full story here

Family members claim Jorge has been hearing voices for the last 5 to 6 years.

KSEE, CA, 18/08/2008


"... Banda's father says, without a doubt, his son should be punished for what he did, but asks that his mental state be considered before a decision is made.
Ignacio Banda: "When he was living here, a lot of the time, he would hear voices and the voices would tell him to do things."
Fernando Banda, Jorge’s brother: "It’s really scary because, like my dad said man, everybody knows, he wasn't right in the head."
Family members claim Jorge has been hearing voices for the last 5 to 6 years.
But some, including clinical psychologists, who have evaluated Banda, believe such voices may be caused by years of chronic meth use.
But his brother Fernando says the problems began much earlier.
Preston Phillips, KSEE 24 News: "You think its possible meth caused the voices?”
Fernando Banda: “No, even before, when he didn't know about that stuff, he started hearing things."

Full story here

Muslims believe the Quran is literally the word of God

From The National, Abu Dhabi, 28/08/2008

Muslims believe the Quran is literally the word of God, and that the first word revealed to the Prophet when the messenger descended upon him was “read”.According to tradition, the Prophet had a habit of contemplating for hours by himself in a cave in Mecca. During one of these periods, the Prophet heard the voice of the archangel Gabriel, revealing to him the first word of the Quran.

The Prophet was frightened to hear the voice. He was also astounded at the irony of the command “read” given that he was illiterate. Many Muslims believe this revelation came after months of him seeing prophetic dreams and hearing voices.

See full article here