I watched a really amazing study on a girl with schizophrenia. She hated, really hated, to be left alone. They do. New research is actually linking autism to psychotic disorders. They are opposites of each other, so just as there are ASD phenomenon, there are also PSD. (ASD= autism spectrum disorder, PSD = psychotic spectrum disorder)

She had many, many, many of what others called her imaginary friends and if left alone they would tell her to hurt herself. It was very sad to see her that way, but for the most part she was accepting of her illness even for such a young age. You learn to accept being different when you have no choice. This leads to accepting a lot of things and a really expansive imagination. To be honest is she really “the crazy one”?

I would not call anyone with a mental illness crazy if they can take responsibility for getting treatment when they are able to be aware of such things. Well, it is also possible they should have the right to reject some treatments? And maybe education is more important than treatment?

But yes, they have even identified a savant syndrome in both spectrums. The person, having had part of their mind altered, funnels their energy into another area of their mind. What they find, though, is that their talent differs between PSD savants and ASD savants.

In the case of the psychotic savant, they tend to have excellent imaginations but they lack some control of them. So instead of trying to be “normal”, they learn a way to seem normal. They become very good at interacting with people in general, until their weak spot is hit of course. This sound like anyone you know?

A cousin of my husbands. He will make a joke about someone and when they make a joke back he will flip out. It can be very draining having him loose his temper every time he hears something he doesn’t like. He may have a PSD. He is not “faulty”, but he could stand to benefit from some education so he could work around his weakness.

In the case of an autistic savant, they cannot demonstrate the sensitivities of a normal person to social interactions so they cannot develop psychotic traits. In their case, their talent is with systems. If it has a cause and effect, mechanical organization, you will find an ASD savant who has it all figured out, but they will act sort of like the thing they are so fascinated with. Meaning they can’t be moved to wildly imaginative responses to situations. Sound like anyone you know?

I would say yourself. I take it as a compliment. To me, those in the middle of this spectrum seem crucified. Even a psychotic makes more sense to me than a “normal person”.

No such thing as normal. True, there is not. It would be more accurate to say “more evenly balanced”. The blurry field of gray that is most peoples lives. To the psychotic savant, everything is mysterious and scary because it’s all meaningful. To the autistic savant, everything is mysterious and scary because little of it is meaningful. But like writing a text, at least either of those has a clear margin. What is the middle field like?

Everything meaningful, nothing scary. Oh, the word nonsense is popular with the midlanders. They like to call things fake and foolish so they don’t see everything as meaningful.

But yes, now back to the actual topic of imagination. I can move away from my autistic margin because I can imagine what other ways of functioning are like. I have all sorts of images in my head for states of feeling and inspiration. The psychotic savant, when asked, can tell you what a “normal” behaviour would be, and for a while they can even go there and live that way. But their emotions tend to take them back where they were, just as a “healthy” persons emotions tend to keep them centered. But with imagination you can go anywhere in the field. All potentials of the human mind are open to the imagination of anyone.

Empathy is imagination? Yes. The autistic tends to lack empathy, but not sympathy.

Your thoughts are welcome. Be well friends.

Travis Saunders
Dragon Intuitive
~science,mysticism,spirituality~