My hands or feet seem to change size sometimes.
I have sometimes had the feeling that my body is decaying inside.
Sometimes I hear unusual sounds like ringing in my ears.
I hold some beliefs that other people would find unusual or bizarre.
I have had the sense that some person or force is around me, although I couldn’t see them.
Sometimes I feel like I am not in control of your own ideas or thoughts.
I sometimes have difficulty getting my point across, because I ramble or go off the track a lot when I talk.
Sometimes I don’t just feel good, but better than good.
I have found myself feeling mistrustful or suspicious of other people.
Sometimes when I look at things like tables and chairs, they seem strange.
I have been confused whether something I experienced was real or imaginary.
My hearing is sometimes so sensitive that ordinary sounds become uncomfortable.
Sometimes I feel like people are watching me or talking about me.
Sometimes I have had the feeling that I am united with an object near me.
I have sometimes felt that some part of my body no longer belongs to me.
Occasionally it has seemed as if my body has taken on the appearance of another person’s body.
Sometimes I see things that other people cannot see.
Sometimes familiar surroundings seem strange, confusing, threatening or unreal.
Sometimes I feel like I have a special power, or an unusual talent.
Sometimes my thoughts are so strong that I can almost hear them.
I have had experiences with telepathy, psychic forces, or fortune telling.
Things that you see appear different from the way they usually do.
Have you seen things that other people don't seem to see?
Do people sometimes find it hard to understand what you are saying?
The colonialist project of severing the mind-body-spirit connection allows for abuse to run rampant through the psychiatric system. The Magical Ideation Scale ((MIS) Eckblad and Chapman, 1983) assesses for “incorrect” beliefs, which are said to be able to tell if someone is predisposed to psychosis and/or schizophrenia. The Perceptual Aberration questionnaire generally accompanies the MIS, and is specifically used to surface psychotic-like experiences. The two questionnaires have been implemented globally, in different variations, generally to diagnose patients while few or no symptoms are present, during what is known as the “prodromal” stage. Not only do these psychiatric diagnostics abnormalize imagination and ways of relating to the world, they pathologize magic-believing and spiritual people. Regardless of diagnosis, the MIS and Perceptual Aberration tests have the long-term effect, pushing people to believe their own minds are dangerous, making them fear and surveil themselves. Among other things, these tests can institute and perpetuate mental health stigma and spread the notion of a universal “normal”.
*These particular statements and questions were first presented to Māori indigenous youth in New Zealand (Aotearoa) without the consideration of cultural practices and spirituality which would effect the outcomes. (Reference: Rachel Leibert.)