Are demons real? How do they afflict the mentally ill? What sorts of illnesses are associated with demonic activity? How do you differentiate demonic manifestations from symptoms of mental illnesses? This book provides the answers to these questions and more. Written from a Christian standpoint, Mental Illness or Demonisation? Similarities and Differences unveils the demonic influences in the lives of men and women who could be mistaken as suffering from mental illnesses. It also debunks the misconceptions concerning the various mental illnesses, helping those with psychiatric problems to identify the symptoms and seek treatment early. Practical tips in dealing with the mentally ill and in handling deliverance make this book a valuable tool for ministry, while penetrating case examples furnish vivid descriptions of the deliverance process.

This book is interesting in the sense that it reminds people that psychiatric diseases could be a manifestation of demonisation (and vice versa) and it gives a good summary on the different psychiatric conditions (especially as mental illness is still stigmatized in Asia).

However, it is slightly unclear on how to differentiate between the two, as the symptoms assumed to be caused by demonisation could also be due to psychiatric conditions (ie suicidal ideations and attempts, visual hallucinations). The authors also did not take into account the fact that psychiatric management is still at its early stages, hence lack of response from medications rather than being due to demonisation could be due to human variation or possibly the 'wrong neurotransmitter' was treated. For example, some patients with schizophrenia do not respond to antipsychotic A but do very well with antipsychotic B and the only difference (known) is that they react with the different neurotransmitters (5HT:dopamine) at different levels.

The book also seem to assume that doing sinful things (like gambling, lying) and having sinful thoughts are because of demons. While it is true that we are in a spiritual warfare with Satan tempting us to sin, I think it's a bit presumptuous to put all the blame on Satan rather than taking into account human's sinful nature. Paul did say ^"18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.'"(Romans 7:18-20).

But despite these issues, I think it's a good attempt at presenting information about psychiatric disorders and demonic influence (prevalent in the Asian culture) in layman terms.

Further readings (yes, homework ;p)
Does demon possession exist today? If so, should it be considered in the differential diagnosis of mental illness? - demonic influence may be part of the multifactorial etiology of illness and requires spiritual discernment in addition to medical knowledge

It was during the era of Gundam Seed Destiny when I first saw the anime version of Fafner. Hence, my first view of the show was 'another gundam rip-off.' Especially when the art looks exactly the same as Gundam Seed (they got the same character designer).

I didn't give the show much thought, until when the novel came out in the bookshop I frequent. Since at that time I was desperate for any sci-fi shows (the anime listing was boring at that season, and I haven't yet got hooked onto Halo and Star Trek: Enterprise) I decided to get the novel. Especially since it was only one book (no book 2 as far as I know) and pretty cheap.

( see my BrAiNz? )

So, are you there?

'The mark of being a grown-up is when you are no longer worried about getting ahead of your peers. When you know that there would be enough trouble in the days and months to come just because of the paths you chose. You just need to face whatever challenges waiting for you in your own terms, without needing to compare yourself to anyone.' Ed.

What is happiness without sorrow, courage without fear, passion without dreams or restraints? What is time - "a fire in which we all burn in", "a predator that stalked us all our lives" or "a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because they would never come again"?

Within the Nexus in the movie is pure happiness, so tangible that it wraps around you like a blanket - time has no meaning, you could go to the past or to the future that you dreamed of, you have the chance to "start all over again, and do things right from day one."

But in the end, as both captains of the past and present found out, it doesn't matter. What is the point of happiness if it's not real? And how can there be real happiness without real sorrow, real courage without real fear? Like the chinese yin-yang, one cannot exist without the other in this world. And as you reflect back in life, no matter how much you cringe from remembering the sad events in life, you would not exchange them for all the riches of the world. For it was from these events that made you who you are, that badge of courage that brings you one more step towards maturity. And it was from all these sad events that made all the happiness you have, especially all those small moments chasing after pattering feet or getting high in fellowships, all the worthwhile.

I wonder how things would be like in heaven, or in the Garden of Eden before sin.

Let me start off by saying that this book is an amusing book - full of thought-provoking anecdotes about how doctors could make misdiagnosis despite adequate medical knowledge. Most of the cognitive traps that doctors falls into are variations on making up one's mind prematurely, such as errors from unconscious emotions (ie when treating a person that looks/acts drunk or neglecting full physical examination on a patient you like due to the discomfort), being too dependent on algorithms and evidence-based medicine without being critical or taking into account human variations (the 'art' of medicine) or being too reliant on investigative tools such as x-rays and MRI (forgetting that the 'interpreter' of the image is very human). The author suggested that to overcome such traps the doctors should invest in taking very thorough history (despite consultation time limitation), avoiding shortcuts in thinking (unless in ER, where you really have to), and get patients involved in the discussion (hence, more open-ended questions). Nothing really new in terms of solution, but the author's really good at story-telling (at least in the fist 6-7 chapters).

Unfortunately, the later chapters were pretty weak and dull to go through. While it started off well with reflections by different senior doctors over how they managed to solve cases that no other doctors could by avoiding those cognitive traps mentioned earlier, it then started to become rant against pharmaceutical companies and spinal surgeries (which although does raises important issues, offers little in solution and gives a very black-and-white picture, especially when his rant was because the author himself had bad experiences with them). Furthermore, the anecdotal evidence cited are all from his own experiences and that of a few of his doctor friends, but the author seemed to believe that that is all proof that is really needed rather than using any research (and keeps using random research statistics not from metaanalysis, despite stating earlier that doctors should not be too influenced by statistics). Granted, this book was meant to stimulate the laypeople to become more pro-active in getting involved with doctors regarding diagnosing their condition (by helping the laypeople be aware that doctors are very human - if they are not aware of that already). However, the book tend to cite atypical diagnostic cases and solutions (celiac disease hiding as anorexia nervosa, nutritional deficiency with similar presentation to severe combine immunodeficiency) that causes cognitive 'traps' like diagnostic algorithms to fail (as these algorithms are based on research and thus on probabilities). Hence, although it is good to think 'outside the box' (away from algorithms and statistics), the author seemed to avoid discussing possible consequences of treating every patient's case as uniquely rare cases (?possible decrease in accurary of diagnosis, chasing after albatrosses rather than pigeons, increase in unnecessary investigations?). As the author himself says, "Perfect is the enemy of good."

I would recommend this book only for it's entertainment value (like reading the tv series House) and for some insight when you're stuck trying to get a diagnosis (or stuck trying to get your doctor to make a diagnosis), but to avoid taking it at face value and overgeneralisating it to every medical/surgical problem.

If you were given 10 billion yen (about US $110,000) to 'save' your country, what would you do?

This is the premise explored (in the first 5 episodes released so far) in this interesting and rather amusing anime. You follow the footsteps of one Takaziwa Akira - teenage hero who one day found himself naked with no memories of his past, holding a gun in his right hand and a cell phone charged with 8.2 billion digital yen in his left. While getting involved in a few 'accidents' (including 'kidnapping' a nearby Japanese girl and getting chased by the police for indecent exposure), Akira follows the trail of others who also have the same cell phone (but without the memory loss) trying to figure out who he was and why was chosen to be one of the 'messiahs' of Japan. And during his travels, he discovers what the other 'messiahs' been doing with the cash...

Interestingly, this anime is directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who was also involved in the Ghost in the Shell series. Hopefully, we'll be up for a fun ride!

In the land of the blind, the one-eye is king.

Yet, isn't it lonely to be the only person who sees?

Ironies of RPG: Star Ocean 3
Incomplete - my muse flew away~

Ironies of RPG: Star Ocean 3
Again, based on true story

Ironies of RPG: FF7
Based on true story

Help?

( Fic )