From a strictly clinical view, are those who have spiritual gifts actually suffering from mental illnesses?

[NH Baritone]

Mental illness does not occur simply between the ears. It always involves impaired functioning on some level with your daily activities, your social/vocational life, or your general sense of well-being. That's why many cultures have "spiritually gifted" individuals (witchdoctors, shamans, etc.) as a part of their general frame of reference for how the universe works. Many of these are not necessarily mentally ill individuals, but rather people who believe they actual powers not given to every person, and because the culture accepts the idea that such powers exist, there's no mental illness diagnosable (unless there is impaired functioning).

That said, in the west, there are 3 types of people who have claim such powers:

1. Those who believe they have the gifts they claim (just like the witchdoctors, etc.) and who nonetheless continue to function well within society.
2. Those who are mentally ill (obviously deluded individuals who are generally impaired enough to prevent their working or carrying out much of normal life).
3. Charlatans, fakes, and con-artists.

The last category contains almost every psychic, medium, prophet, etc., that accepts money for their services.

If they actually had such powers, do you think they would need to bilk hard working individuals out of the cash needed to put a roof over their head and food on their table? No, they would be earning big bucks playing the market or the casino, finding buried treasure, etc. They wouldn't have to go after the pocket books of newly widowed individuals who desperately want to speak again with their dead spouse.

Even if they don't state the charges, but accept "donations," that's still a charlatan who has discovered how to so convincingly do a "cold reading" that they know they'll make more money pretending to be "free-of-charge" than they would if they actually charged $1000/hour.

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