My case started with a visit with attorney DAVID MOYLES of the Boccardo Law Firm in San Jose.A workers comp lyerr. lawyer.I underwent an achillies tendon reattachment surgery from work.He assures me everything is straight forward,call when things get better.A Year an half plus two other reattachment surgeries,two rights and a left,no shit relaying the prognosis...reasons unknown I really meant.Attorney Moyles then arranges a meeting with a psychiatrist the following Monday in San Francisco.Soon after the evaluation electronic harassment attacks became a partner of mine...1980 part 1
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Are the people who were permanent fixtures there well-versed with Ruby on Rails?
Check the Ruby on Rails jargon. You will discover that the words being used on Electronic Harassment (EH) victims are used by this group.
Please also filter the words being used here with the jargon the perps are using - ARG.
EH, being used to refer to Electronic Harassment actually stands for EHome, the exploit being used to monitor victim's online PC activities remotely.
ARM refers to Automatic Remote Management.
It can also refer to ARC - Automatic Remote Control
or RC - Remote Control
Always be vigilant.
Know that the wolves will always be where the sheeps are. Filter. Pray. Filter.
The app that can read your mind: iPhone brainwave detector arrives (it was only a matter of time)
It's a device that would be more at home on the set of a Star Wars movie than the streets of Britain.
But an iPhone application has been developed that can read minds.
The XWave allows users to control on-screen objects with their minds as well as train their brains to control attention spans and relaxation levels.
Scroll down for video
No-brainer: The XWave allows users to control on-screen objects with their minds as well as train their brains to control attention spans and relaxation levels
The device - that could confuse Luke Skywalker himself - is the latest in the field of emerging mind-controlled games and devices and works via a headset strapped around the user's forehead, plugging into the iPhone jack.
A state-of-the-art sensor within the device can then read the user's brainwaves through the skull, converting them into digital signals before displaying them in various colours on the iPhone screen.
State of the art: A sensor within the device can then read the user's brainwaves through the skull, converting them into digital signals before displaying them in various colours on the iPhone screen
And as the mind focuses on a particular task the graphics change, indicating the user's level of concentration or relaxation.
The high-tech sensor was developed by innovations giant PLX Devices using technology that has for years been used by doctors to treat epilepsy and seizures in patients.
Brain train: As the mind focuses on a particular task the graphics change, indicating the user's level of concentration or relaxation
But PLX Devices founder and CEO Paul Lowchareonkul said it was a matter of time before such contraptions entered the mainstream.
He said: 'The human brain is the most powerful, complex thing in the universe, and for the first time, we're able to harness its amazing power and connect it to everyday technology.
'With the development of 3rd party apps, the potential for innovation is limitless.'
Brain-training exercises include levitating an on-screen ball for a certain amount of time or changing a colour by relaxing the brain in a bid to maximise the brain's attention span.
And designers say it won't stop there.
Incredibly, another app, called XWave Tunes allow users to connect with each other through the type of music that most stimulates their brainwaves.
The company says it is working on other ways in which the futuristic technology can be applied such as playing games through the mind, controlling the lights at home and even choosing what music to listen to on an iPod depending on the user's mood.
Its designers claim the possibilities are endless, whether it is for relaxation, brain training, entertainment, games, social networking, sports or sleep.
best wishes n love lots
denny
Vision: Long wooden table in a hut? Nobody's around though the general feeling is there should be people there
Word: killing
Word: T2
Tito
I remember my classmate telling me about a rape that happened beside their house. She said a girl was brought there by the guy who lived there (a guy whose name starts with the letter J. ) and was gang-raped.
That house turned out to be the house where the wife of our neighbor is now living in.
The brother of that wife looked very much alike the guy who drove the trike which my father's mistress took when she waited outside for me.
They are talking loudly now. Only I and my child are at home with the workers.
They are talking about their winnings.
Just discovered, the husband of the trustee here is the one getting the bets for "jueteng". He hails from the town where my major perps are, where the military school/roots is.
They said that one of the employees here won 20k each day, 3 days in a row.
They said the highest bettor and the TOP WINNER is the father of a schoolmate, a core member of the flying horses - the group of my bully's sister.
If it's done to threaten and harass victims so they do not fight back, it's called TERRORISM and DECEPTION and SET-UP. Frame-UP.
Controlling your Windows PC with your brain is possible (and the hardware is already on the shelves)
- Headsets which can probe your brain for commands hit the shelves
- Researchers expect technology to take off as inventors and enthusiasts find new ways to use kit
- Prepare to control your house, computer and phone with nothing more than your brain (and a headset)
By Eddie Wrenn
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The future is here: The Emotiv Systems mind-control device is already in the shops
First we had the keyboard and mouse.
Then smartphones popularised the touchscreen movement, and then hardware like the Xbox's Kinect system made gesture controls feel like second-nature.
Now we are getting ready to enter the world of thought-control, with headsets that can read our minds now available for as little as £300, and the software to turn our dreams into actions starting to take shape.
Kevin Brown, senior inventor at IBM, works to bridge the gap between emerging technology and the practical applications they can offer society.
Already he is working hard to make everyday tasks easier through mind control, using headsets such as the commercially-available Emotiv Systems headset.
The Emotiv headset retails for $299 and can simply be plugged into any recent Windows machine to begin working, with apps and games - including Angry Birds - being adapted by enthusiasts to run with simple mind controls.
Kevin, who has been at IBM for 16 years, said: 'The current headsets can already pick up a range of sensory input from our brains, and this will only improve over time.
'The Emotiv Systems set can pick up a range of emotions - currently whether we are bored or excited, and if we are concentrating on a task or if we are relaxed.
'It can also pick up on what our brain is telling our muscles to do, so it can pick up a smile or a frown, and react accordingly.'
From brain to screen: Direct communication can allow effortless and intuitive control of your technology
Mindbending: Applications are already available to download and control
The most clever aspect of the system is in picking up our EEG brainwaves. Users can quickly train the software to understand different patterns.
He said: 'The system is not "reading our minds", it is instead recognising certain patterns, and passing that information to a control unit which can then respond to that input.
For instance, we are experimenting at IBM with the idea of the "Connected Home", where, for instance, lamps are wired into the system.
'You can think of turning on the lamp, tell the system that this particular thinking pattern relates to turning on the lamp, and then whenever the headset recognises that pattern, it will send the command to turn on the lamp.'
Soon we could be mentally instructing our kettle to switch itself on, changing the TV channels with our brain, or 'thinking' a message to our phone to tell it to start ringing a friend.
The applications are beyond making our lazy lives even lazier though. The medical benefits can be life-changing. Brown relates stories about people with locked-in syndrome, where their brains are fine but they are unable to move their body.
The release of the Kinect two Christmases ago quickly demonstrated what hackers could do with new tools
Hooked up to the headset, they they may one day be able to interact with the world again, sending messages to loved ones and interacting with objects once again.
HOW TECH HELPS THOSE IN NEED
Kevin Brown (pictured) explains how mind-control technology helped a colleague:
In March 2009, Shah, an IBM colleague, had a stroke which left him completely paralysed, unable to use his muscles, and without the ability to speak.
His brain however was working fine - a condition called Locked-In Syndrome, which means he can only communicate with his eyes - looking up for yes, and down for no.
Coincidentally, my wife happened to be his occupational therapist and I demonstrated to her a device that I had recently been investigating called the EPOC from Emotiv.
The device has several sensors sitting on your head, that actually read electrical brain impulses. You can train the device so that by thinking a particular thought, an action can take place on your computer.
So for example, using Emotiv's software, you can see a cube on your computer screen and think about moving it to the left, and it will. While I was initially interested in connecting it to email systems and smartphones for business users, it immediately became clear to us how this could help Shah.
Shah being a techie himself was open to testing it out.
Amazingly, after only eight seconds of training, he could move the cube at will on the computer screen.
We then connected the device to software which could eventually allow control of the environment. The concentration needed whilst operating the headset is quite a lot, however, so more development of the technology and more training in using the headset may be needed to make it entirely effective. I'm sure this will continue developing within the next five years.
There can also be practical applications - which, like all communication advances will likely stir up a huge amount of privacy concerns - around monitoring people and crowds.
For instance, a concert of people each wearing a headset would all be sending out emotions of excitement. Monitors at a political rally would be able to see at what points a speaker engaged a crowd, and at which point they lost their interest.
Currently, the best headsets can only learn up to four distinct 'brainwave patterns', but this will increase as the technology gets better and smaller.
The technology will likely remain with the enthusiastic early-adopters - and they will be the ones who start to see the benefit of the new control technique.
A similar example of this happening recently was with the Microsoft Kinect gaming system. Microsoft released the sensor as an add-on for the Xbox 360, so people could use their limbs to play games.
The Kinect, like the Ninendo Wii before it, was very successful - but what took Microsoft by surprise was the clever ways people used the hardware away from the gaming world.
Within weeks, people were uploading software to the Internet which allowed people to use the Kinect with their PC.
Before long, programs were coming out to allow people to turn their PC into a living room media station, where waving your hand could pause a film, or making a 'speed-up' gesture could fast-forward through the adverts.
One piece of software called the KineRemote turned a PC into a full-blown gesture-driven media centre, by combining popular media browser XBMC with the Kinect to achieve precisely this aim.
Microsoft quickly engaged with the hacker and enthusiast community, releasing drivers to get the Kinect working well on Windows.
Similarly, Brown said that mind-control would take off when the right application came along.
He said: 'Over time, people will work out different applications for this technology, and at some point a "killer app" will come out which makes our lives easier, and the technology will move from early adopters and into the mainstream.
'But I do many demos of the technology with people and it's a wonderful moment when they first use the headset.
'Within about eight seconds, they have figured out how to move a cube around on a screen, and it's very exciting for them. As the technology emerges into the mainstream, it will bring new changes into our everyday lives.'
And emerging it is - even on the IBM blog pages about mind-control, people are discussing how best to reverse-engineer the software so that they can play with their own thoughts.
best wishes and love lots
denny
September 13, 2012 · 22:18
Justice for the 96! Hillsborough & exposing British police corruption!
It’s taken 23 long hard years for the families of the 96 that died at Hillsborough to get a glimpse of justice, 23 long years of successive British governments lying and colluding with a corrupt police force and media, finally yesterday the truth was revealed and the mass cover up exposed.
A couple of years ago I blogged on the ongoing “Justice for the 96″ campaign started by Liverpool Football Club supporters and how Rupert Murdoch’s The Scum newspaper deliberately lied and how that web of lies was upheld by one of Murdoch’s key lieutenants – Kelvin McKenzie.
Today’s front page of The Scum newspaper sadly doesn’t look like the one above, in reality it looks like:
The carefully choreographed words of “deeply ashamed and profoundly sorry” were said by the Prime Minister David Cameron, The Scum editor Dominic Mohan and Norman Bettison Chief Constable of West Yorkshire police.
It’s been proved that there certainly was a conspiracy to ensure that the truth of Hillsborough would be covered up, my original post came well before Rupert Murdoch was shown to have the British political elite in his back pocket.
It’s no conspiracy theory that the “King-Maker” role played by the Zionist Rupert Murdoch owned media has supported successive Labour-Conservative governments in recent decades.
It’s no conspiracy theory to state that Rupert Murdoch has a pervasive and damaging effect on British democracy through his ownership of printed & television media channels.
If it’s not Rupert Murdoch, then it’s his zionist cohort Richard “the pornographer” Desmond who also has an equally troubling choke hold on British mainstream media.
Once in control of the media, the ideological warfare begins. This shows how the right wing zionist media owned by the likes of Rupert Murdoch & Richard Desmond promote the hatred of Muslims and Islam to sell newspapers.
I suppose it would be one conspiracy too many to suggest that Sean Hoare the News Of The World whistle blower was murdered because he knew too much?
I suppose it would be one conspiracy too many to suggest that our British government is the true enemy of free speech and a well and truly free press that is free to criticise?
Hell….you can have a plethora of sex channels on British television, you can even have a gay sex channel on British television and that’s no problem for David Cameron’s media regulator, OFCOM.
You can be Rupert Murdoch at the head of a media corporation which stands accused of rampaging through practically every law in the book and yet you are deemed to be a fit and proper person to operate a television station in London.
But report anything that contravenes the pro war actions of the government run media and there’s hell to pay!
When it comes to events such as Hillsborough, the London Tube bombings, the Lockerbie bombing can we trust the police and justice system?
The Independent newspaper stated the explosives used in the 7/7 bombs ‘was of military origin’
A former Scottish police chief, gave lawyers a signed statement stating that key evidence in the Lockerbie bombing trial was fabricated.
‘The retired officer – of assistant chief constable rank or higher – has testified that the CIA planted the tiny fragment of circuit board crucial in convicting a Libyan for the 1989 mass murder of 270 people.’
Mark Duggan, the Tottenham man who was executed by the police, who’s murder sparked last year’s riots was said to have had a gun, there have been multiple claims against the police during the IPCC investigation for planting a gun at the scene to cover up for their own crime.
In a world that has been flooded by news, there is usually nothing that rises far above the smouldering lava of sensation — that which consumes all truth and absorbs all lies mixing them into a fiery lake or stew of bubbling nonsense. So much so, that to discover glanced over facts, to question people of importance within government or the machine itself leads to the branding of one as a “conspiracy theorist.”
Not all people who doubt the official version of the story are raving lunatics. Some, like myself, have an honest distrust of their own government.
This is the legacy left by lying politicians and an untrustworthy media machine.
Always question.
my heart goes out to the families and the liverpool fans as they were originally the scape goats in lies and corruption!
best wishes and love lots
denny
Police - or anyone with a piece of spying software - can track everything you do on your iPhone without needing physical access to your phone.
The software, called Phone Password Breaker, can download all of the data from Apple's iCloud service - which backs up all of your pictures, text messages, emails, calendar appointments, call logs, website you have visited, and contacts.
As iPhones sync nearly instantaneously with iCloud, anyone who is listening will have near-instantaneous access to your phone - without the owner noticing a thing.
Everything to the cloud: iCloud is useful in keeping your data shared between devices - but who else is listening?
Snooping: Investigators don't need your phone to follow your life
ElcomSoft chief executive Vladimir Katalov said: 'While other methods require the presence of the actual iPhone device being analysed or at least an access to device backups, this is not the case with iCloud.
'In a sense, Phone Password Breaker becomes an alternative way to get access to iOS devices’ content.
'With avalid Apple ID and a password, investigators can not only retrieve backups to seized devices, but access that information in real-time while the phone is still in the hands of a suspect'.
The majority of iPhone and iPad users use iCloud to back up all of their data, apps and media - with an estimated 125million people using the software as of April.
As long as investigators or anyone with the software has the correct email address and password for the machine they want to crack, they can download all the information from iCloud with the user knowing.
Steve Jobs announcing iCloud: However company ElcomSoft can download all your data, unencrypted
And as iPhones sync with iCloud in near-real-time, they can keep up with you where-ever you are.
The researchers at ElcomSoft studied the communication protocol connecting iPhone users with the iCloud, and were able to figure out the right commands to retrieve data stored on the servers.
Their job was made even easier as the data is received in an unencrypted format.
The only way to protect yourself is to either not back up your phone, or do local 'offline' backups on your home computer via iTunes.
best wishes n love lots
denny
Namaste & Blessings
Here is valuable accompaniment material by the eminent David Wilcock
- Guide Book for the 'The Law of One'
- Books: Convergence Volumes I-III
- Shift of the Ages
- Science of Oneness
- The Divine Cosmos
- Videos:
- Occupy Yourself! Personal Spiritual Development [short video]
- The Source Field Investigations [full video]
- Wanderer Awakening - I'm On My Way
Love & Light
x
Esta Lior
http://divinecosmos.com/start-here/books-free-online/23-the-law-of-one-study-guide Study Guide compiled by Bob Childers, Ph.D. Web formatting, editing and additional compilation by David Wilcock Dedicated to Carla Rueckert whose joyful service allowed the words of Ra to speak to humanity, despite the nearly fatal tolls and hardships endured by the physical body complex. Ra's words, brought through in 1981, are arguably the ultimate source of accurate ET information to have emerged in modern history. This study guide gives a wonderful overview of the main philosophies, concepts and practices of the Law of One, predominantly through excerpts. Let's put it this way -- this is the ONLY work that has attempted to summarize Ra's worldview in one streamlined form. It is invaluable to all seekers of Truth, Wisdom and Compassion.
1. Section One 2. Section Two 4. Section Four 5. Section Five 6. Section Six
scribd version http://www.scribd.com/doc/12655236/The-Law-of-One-Study-Guide-v2
divinecosmos.com "you need a new lior suit!"
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http://www.thesonsofthelawofone.com/ |
Behind the Scenes @ THE ROIL ACADEMY OF FINE ATSE
A New Tablet Is Being Forged!
EXCELLENT WORK!! ...TBC |
Starring: http://divinecosmos.com/start-here/books-free-online David Wilcock’s heavily revised and updated “tour de force” that synthesizes scientific and metaphysical data into a comprehensive thesis of planetary transformation. Topics include hyperdimensional physics the Global Grid, harmonics, Atlantis, the true meaning of crop circle formations, the Mayan Calendar, the Great Pyramid, secret societies, hidden planetary, solar and galactic time cycles, the Hall of Records, the archeo-matrix of Carl Munck, geometric dynamic structures in the Stock Market, 12,000-year old submerged pyramids in Japan, the Martian Monuments, quotes from the Seth Material, Ra Material, Edgar Cayce, Walter Russell and the Wilcock Readings, and more. A staggering amount of rarely seen information is beautifully tied together in 21 chapters to arrive at a provocative conclusion: That Earth is already undergoing a dimensional shift!!!
With the magnificent edifice of The Shift of the Ages fully constructed, we now turn our gaze ever deeper into the world of the New Physics that has emerged from this research. Ever wondered about higher dimensions, how they may be structured, and how dimensional shifts may occur? Curious about free energy, gravity shielding and the mysteries of magnetism that allow for engineering miracles that could change our world? We completely overturn stale scientific dogma and provide rock-solid proof that love is a tangible force of energy, creating all matter moment by moment. Anti-gravity technology is easily accomplished, and the Universe is a musical creation, vibrating in harmonic resonance of light, sound and geometry. A compelling case to illuminate the full cosmological mystery of God’s existence.
THE ENERGETIC TRANSFORMATION OF OUR ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM is now underway, and we are already feeling the effects. Though human pollution is certainly causing considerable damage to the Earth’s biosphere, interplanetary climate change is obviously not caused by SUVs. By delving into the fascinating world of Russian ‘torsion field’ physics, we complete and dramatically enhance the cosmology we were building in previous volumes. We demonstrate how the same energetic fields are at work on all levels of size, from the quantum to intergalactic – proving the Universe is holographic and / or fractal in its very nature. Many annoying paradoxes of science have now been resolved into one single, stable multi-dimensional cosmology – which has dazzling implications for our immediate future. The information contained within this book has waited long enough. It keeps banging on the door, because it wants a hot meal and a warm place to sleep in your mind. Start learning what a part of you already knows… come and discover The Divine Cosmos. * x
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CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE RECEIVED A
MAKE A WISH! *** X ESTA LIOR
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ADIEU
*ENCORE* https://www.youtube.com/user/davidwilcock333 1 Occupy Your Self! Personal Spiritual Development https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_eWj6NywfM running time 20:41 0 FULL VIDEO: The Source Field Investigations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR-klTa1y54 running time 1:52:19 1 MUSIC VIDEO: Wanderer Awakening ~ I'm On My Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tLqfPMh-6s * http://divinecosmos.com/videos/free-videos-online
..I Love This Part! That's It! The Lior of 101! |
SPECIAL THANKS TO TEAM 101
A ROIL ATSE PRODUCTION |
So I did not know that.
Since they messed me up, I can't bond like a normal person, so I didn't care as much.
They've made me into a criminal. Here me ROAR! The worst thing they can do to me for my crime is prison and even that's a stretch, but they've made everything ambiguous and really tried to force me to talk to people "outside of the US" so that they could really get me.
You know, I wondered why I kept ending up in so many high profile places. No, not physically, but me. They're using me for their careers.
In boring land, all they do is go get my security clearance, rip it up then it's on to the next one. Not as exciting as what the others tried, these agents.
Well, back to Mario. I'm thinking of collaborating with the enemy again, but I just want to fuck him. Love they enemy! Putin is hot. Hey, I used to be attractive, before they did "this" so don't even. Think of me when I was alive!
In schizophrenic news, and yes I have both, there was a man floating outside of my window earlier. That means my brain is not in good shape.
Thanks guys! You both are real pals!
Trying to disrupt what I am doing. Trying to get a rise out of me and when I do not react they blame me for the destruction they themselves created.
What I learned, the more they attack, the more evidence I have.
One of the problems I've had, and I don't know if anyone else has had problems like this, is that the people attacking me feed into my delusions. For instance, I have a recurring voice that says, "You can't even prove two lines parallel." (Yes I can.) Then they said, the psychotronic people, "She can do complex equations and you can't." (I had a higher math score than her on the test, so...) I was hearing voices pretty badly, and they could have, at any time, just done one lobotomy, but they continued to harass and stalk me, and my lobotomy was botched on top of the fact I was attacked. How I have any brain function is a miracle.
The female who works on me is about as smart as a rock. I'm not saying I'm real bright, but she isn't a shooting star either.
The male who works on me is a psychopathic and is treating me like some pet rat found by a 12 year old boy. The two of them are constantly fighting (I hear their relays in my sleep) about what to do. The female is more caring and cautious and the male needs a new job.
Understanding psychotic experiences
Psychotic experiences, such as hearing voices or experiencing delusions, are surprisingly common, but can also lead to diagnoses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.This booklet explains what the experiences are like, what might cause them, available treatments and what family and friends can do to help.
- What does ‘psychotic’ mean?
- What sort of experiences are they?
- What causes psychotic experiences?
- Will I get over it?
- What sort of treatment can I get?
- How can I help myself?
- What can family and friends do to help?
- Useful contacts
What does ‘psychotic’ mean?
The word ‘psychotic’ relates to ‘psychosis’, which is a psychiatric term, and describes experiences, such as hearing or seeing things or holding unusual beliefs, which other people don’t experience or share. For many people, these experiences can be highly distressing and disruptive, interfering with everyday life, conversations, relationships, and finding or keeping a job.
One theory is that when you experience psychosis, your brain is in the same state as it is when you are dreaming. When we are dreaming, all sorts of strange and sometimes frightening things can happen to us, and while we are asleep we believe that they are really happening. Psychotic experiences can be just like ‘waking dreams’, feeling as real and intense.
Diagnoses
Psychiatrists regard these types of experiences as symptoms of a mental illness, and, depending on other factors, they will base a diagnosis on them. The diagnosis could be ‘psychotic illness’, or ‘psychotic episode’, or it could be:
- severe depression
- schizophrenia
- bipolar disorder (manic depression)
- paranoia
- schizoaffective disorder
- puerperal psychosis (a very severe form of postnatal depression).
(For more information about these diagnoses, see Mind’s Understanding booklets.)
Apart from puerperal psychosis, these diagnoses are not straightforward, and people who have repeated episodes of psychosis may receive different diagnoses at different times and from different doctors.
One sign of psychosis, in the view of many psychiatrists, is that you lack insight into your own state of mind. In diagnosing you, they will want to know how you see and understand what is happening, and whether you are aware of being different from usual. Your view of the world will be influenced by your cultural background and personal experiences. If these are not understood or shared by your doctors, you may feel that they lack insight, too.
Alternative approaches
These types of experiences are not necessarily symptoms of a psychotic illness. A large number of people have heard voices, or hold beliefs that others might consider unusual, but are not distressed by them. This usually means that other people remain unaware of them and these people do not need help from mental health services.
The general view in Europe and North America is that psychotic experiences are caused by mental illness and must be treated by doctors. Other societies may have very different interpretations of these experiences and different ways of dealing with them, such as relating them to past lives, or ancestral spirits. They may help people through them using ceremonies and rituals.
What sort of experiences are they?
- hallucinations – hearing, seeing or smelling things that aren’t there
- delusions and disturbed thoughts – a feeling of being watched, or monitored in some way or that thoughts are being put into your mind from outside, and that you have no control over them
- flight of ideas – making strange connections between words and ideas in your head.
Many people think these perceptions are not ‘real’, when actually they are very real to you if you are experiencing them and often very difficult to ignore.
Hallucinations
Hearing voices
I was hearing people talk but hearing totally different words to what they were actually saying; and voices when people weren’t there – I even heard the voice of God. It was distressing and disorientating – I couldn’t say what was real and what wasn’t.
You may or may not recognise any voices you hear. There may be one or many of them talking to, or about, you. They might be present occasionally, or all the time, interfering with ordinary life, making concentration and conversation difficult. The voices may be positive and helpful, or hostile and nasty.
If you hear only positive voices, you may not regard them as a problem, but may even feel them to be a helpful, guiding light.
If you hear only negative voices, ridiculing you, or issuing threats and commands which you feel you must obey, you are likely to feel very threatened and fearful. This may make you very distrustful of other people and appear aggressive or threatening. You may harm yourself or behave in ways which put you or other people at risk of harm.
Other hallucinations You may see things – images and visions – or the things you are looking at may appear distorted, or may appear to move when normally they would not. Or you may experience tastes, smells and sensations, which have no apparent cause, such as a sensation of insects crawling on your skin.
Delusions
A delusion means a belief that other people would regard as unfounded. For example, you might believe that you are closely related to the Queen, although you actually share no relatives. You may be quite untroubled by any apparent contradictions of your beliefs. You may see nothing unusual in a member of the royal family serving drinks in a pub, for instance.
Sometimes, people also have delusions of grandeur, thinking they are very rich and powerful, perhaps controlling the stock markets or even the weather.
I withdraw into an alternative reality where I believe I can solve everybody’s problems; then something changes and that reality becomes a nightmare in which I am going to be viciously punished.
Some delusional ideas can be extremely frightening. For example, you may feel that something or someone is trying to control or kill you. These ideas are called paranoid delusions. Separate episodes can also be connected and carry on from one another a bit like a soap opera – making it more believable. You may start avoiding certain situations, or try to protect yourself in some other way. You may come to believe you must deserve to be punished, or you may feel very angry and resentful.
Flight of ideas
You may see links between ideas that others don’t, because these links are so personal. You may find that, in trying to express these ideas, you lose control of your words. You may link words together in ways that may have more to do with their sound than their meaning; and, although the connections may seem very clear to you, others will probably not follow your thoughts clearly. Doctors may call these experiences ‘flight of ideas’, or ‘word salad’, or even ‘thought disorder’.
What causes psychotic experiences?
Almost anyone can have a brief psychotic episode. There are different ideas about why psychotic experiences develop. But it’s generally thought that:
- some people are more vulnerable to them than others
- very stressful or traumatic events make them more likely to occur.
Your own attitude to the experience, as well as the attitude of those around you, also plays a part.
Psychotic experiences may be caused by:
- physical causes, such as illness
- drug use
- changes in brain chemistry
- inherited vulnerability
- traumatic events such as abuse.
Physical causes
Psychotic experiences may result from a lack of sleep (through severe jet lag, perhaps), through illnesses and high fevers (including malaria, pneumonia, other viral infections). They can also be a result of damage to the brain or dementia, lead and mercury poisoning, or changes in blood sugar levels.
Drug use
They may be caused by alcohol or drug use. Both street drugs and prescription medication (including steroids) can produce extraordinary sensations and/or side effects, and sometimes these may continue after the drug has worn off.
Changes in brain chemistry
Psychotic experiences may involve biological changes in brain structure or brain chemistry. It’s not clear though whether these changes are the cause or the effect of the psychotic experience.
Inherited vulnerability
Research into whether there’s an inherited vulnerability to psychotic experiences is inconclusive. If one member of your family is diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, then there seems to be more chance of another family member being similarly diagnosed. No single gene has been found to be responsible, though, and the majority of people who have these experiences have no known family history.
Traumatic experiences
Many people who have psychotic experiences have been physically, emotionally, or sexually abused, and feel a need to push their feelings and memories away, because they are so painful. Psychotic experiences may be an expression of these overwhelming feelings and forbidden thoughts, and a way of coping with trauma.
If you have been abused and then have a psychotic experience, it may be particularly frightening and disturbing. For instance, if you hear voices, you may think you are being bugged. You may become afraid that someone is persecuting you, and interpret everything you see as supporting this view. You may start to avoid certain places and activities, or refuse to go outside at all. Feeling threatened and on constant alert can be very frightening and tiring. It may interfere with sleep and daily life, and make it very hard to trust anyone.
Will I get over it?
Many people will have just one psychotic episode in their lives; others have fairly short episodes throughout their lives; some people live with ongoing psychosis as a long-term problem. People in these last two groups are more likely to be given a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder. (See Mind’s booklets Understanding schizophrenia, Understanding bipolar disorder, and Understanding schizoaffective disorder.)
In some cases, you may be able to understand the causes of your psychotic experiences, through psychotherapy or arts therapies, and be able to put them behind you so that you are not troubled by them again (see below).
However serious the difficulties, and whatever the diagnosis, there are treatments and coping strategies that reduce the disruption and enable you to lead a fulfilling life and to achieve your ambitions.
What sort of treatment can I get?
Mental health workers and other professionals should look at all aspects of your problem, taking into account your environment, and provide you with information and give you a choice about treatment.
It’s increasingly recognised that many people are experts in their own condition, and learn the ways of coping with it which work best for them. The more involved you can be in your own treatment and in looking after yourself, the better.
The treatment you are offered is likely to be a combination of medication, a talking treatment, and other social support. You should be able to decide for yourself what forms of treatment are most helpful for you.
Talking treatments
Talking treatments, such as counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and psychodynamic psychotherapy can reduce distress, and the intensity and frequency of psychotic experiences. They aim to help you understand your experiences, to develop coping strategies, and to improve your relationships and quality of life. Talking treatments can also help to tackle depression and anxiety that may result from having psychotic experiences.
- Counselling allows you to talk about your experiences and ways of coming to terms with them.
- CBT aims to put your experiences in context, help you to understand them, and test your beliefs about them. You may be asked to keep a diary of your experiences and try out different strategies for dealing with them.
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy looks in more depth to try and identify unconscious and subconscious reasons behind your experiences.
If you can relate your present experiences to events that have occurred in your past, this may help you make sense of them and help make them less troubling. You may then feel able to take control of them rather than feeling that you must let them control you. Once you feel more in control, these symptoms may diminish in intensity and frequency.
Similarly, a therapist may help you to challenge paranoid feelings, such as the belief that people are looking at you, or controlling your thoughts. (See Mind’s booklets, Understanding talking treatments and Making sense of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)).
Arts therapies
Art and music therapies may help you to express how you are feeling, especially if you are having difficulty talking about this. Drama therapy may help you to come to terms with traumatic events that you may have experienced in the past and which may contribute to your psychotic experiences. Some people have been able to make a complete recovery through such therapies. (See Mind’s online factsheet Arts therapies.)
Medication
At least initially, most people diagnosed with a psychotic illness will be offered antipsychotic medication (also called neuroleptics or major tranquillisers). In all circumstances, the aim of drug treatment should be to help reduce psychotic symptoms by using the lowest possible dose for the shortest possible time.
Medication may not stop you experiencing the symptoms of psychosis, but it may make you feel calmer and less troubled by them. If this is the case, you may find the medication helpful at times, but as you learn more about your condition, you may find other ways of coping. Even if you do not wish or need to take it continuously, if you find a drug that is helpful you may want to keep some with you to use if the symptoms recur.
You may find that taking a drug continuously is the best way of keeping your symptoms under control. If you have been very disturbed during a psychotic episode, possibly endangering yourself and others, and have been admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 (see below), you may find that you have no choice about taking medication. In these circumstances, you may be expected to continue to taking medication when you are discharged from hospital too.
If your psychosis is associated with severe depression, you are likely to be treated with antidepressants, and if your diagnosis is bipolar disorder you may be given a mood stabilising drug. Both of these types of medication may be combined with an antipsychotic.
There is some evidence that using psychological and social treatments without medication in the early stages of psychosis produces better long-term outcomes than using medication first, and that once you have started on medication it may be difficult for your doctors to let you stop, because they are afraid you will relapse.
Some things to consider Antipsychotic medication can often have unwelcome side effects including lethargy, weight gain, uncontrollable movements, and sexual problems. Some of these can be reduced with the help of other medication. Medical staff should discuss the intended benefits and the possible harms of these drugs with you, before you start to take them, to help you decide whether to try them.
If you do decide to try medication, you should also have the chance to talk about:
- whether it is helpful
- whether you would like to try a different drug
- how much to take
- how to manage withdrawal
- whether to take it regularly, as a preventive, or only under certain circumstances.
For more information about medication, see Mind’s booklets, Making sense of antipsychotics, Making sense of antidepressants, Making sense of lithium and other mood stabilisers and Making sense of coming off psychiatric drugs.
Community care
Everyone who has been referred to psychiatric services in England should have their needs assessed through the Care Programme Approach. These services aim to support recovery by treating existing problems, and by working on strategies to help prevent problems from coming back. You may be referred to the service by your GP or by a community mental health team if you have been in contact with services before. You may be seen by a variety of health professionals, including psychiatrists, mental health nurses and psychologists. You should be allocated a named care coordinator, and have a written care plan, which should be regularly reviewed. A similar system applies in Wales. For more information, see Mind’s ‘Community care’ pages.
Early intervention in psychosis services
Early intervention services have been set up in some areas for people aged 14-35 who are showing signs of experiencing a first psychotic episode. There is some evidence that treating symptoms as soon as possible can prevent psychotic illness from developing. Early treatment may also help to prevent some of the worse consequences of psychosis, such as periods of unemployment, misuse of drugs or alcohol, getting into trouble with the police or becoming depressed.
Hospital admission
If you become very distressed during an episode of psychosis, you may be admitted to hospital, either as a voluntary patient or under the terms of the Mental Health Act 1983, often known as being ‘sectioned’. If you are admitted to hospital, this gives medical staff a chance to assess your needs and decide how to help.
A psychiatric ward can be a distressing environment, with not much to do and little privacy, but meeting other patients with similar problems, in similar circumstances, can also be very helpful and comforting.
For more information, see Mind’s booklets How to cope with hospital admission and Rights guide 1: civil admission to hospital.
Crisis services
Crisis services exist in some areas as an alternative to hospital. They may offer accommodation, or support in your own home. For more information on crisis services, contact the Mind infoline.
Family work
Family work recognises that when you are having psychotic experiences, the rest of the household may also need support. The aim of family work is to help the whole family to understand what you are going through, and to identify what is helpful and unhelpful for you.
The work does not just focus on what is happening to you, but explores how your experience of psychosis affects the rest of the household, and the ways that their responses may help or make matters worse for each other as well as for you. For example, if you are unwell and your family members are very worried about you, they may unintentionally focus too much attention on you, making you feel more distressed.
Therapeutic communities
Therapeutic communities provide a supportive, live-in environment for people with mental health problems. They usually hold regular meetings with all residents. You may benefit from the insights that others with similar problems may offer, and learn to live successfully in a group. The length of stay is usually limited to a set period of time.
Advocacy
Advocacy is a process of supporting and enabling people to:
- express their views and concerns
- access information and services
- defend and promote their rights and responsibilities
- explore choices and options.
Medical professionals in contact with you while you are in a crisis may not take what you have to say seriously. They may say you lack insight into your condition, without appreciating that perhaps they do, too. It can be very helpful to have the services of an advocate to help put forward your views, and to negotiate treatment and care that you can accept. For more information, see The Mind guide to advocacy.
How can I help myself?
... a support network has helped me... learning to trust people who want to help, and accepting that help... determination to lead a normal life, keeping busy and knowing when things go wrong, or change dramatically, that I need to be particularly careful and, most importantly, to get a good night’s sleep.
Share your experience
Talking to other people who also have psychotic experiences can provide reassurance and hope, increase self-esteem and reduce isolation. Various organisations run self-help groups, which encourage members to share their experiences and help them to come to terms with them.
Self-help groups can help you:
- recognise underlying patterns in your experiences
- develop and discuss strategies
- identify early signs of crisis
- take active steps to manage your situation.
People who are experienced at this often train others.
For organisations that can put you in touch with self-help groups, see ‘Useful contacts’. You might be able to get similar support from self-help books containing the same information.
Relax
Relaxation is important to maintaining your good mental health. Relaxation exercises, yoga, and other physical activity can help. For some people, massage, aromatherapy or reflexology can be a benefit; for others, touch can bring on powerful or intense feelings that may cause distress.
Doing practical things, like gardening, cooking, or making things may also be relaxing, and, may help you stay connected to reality in a purposeful way.
You may also find it relaxing to have and maintain a structured daily routine for yourself.
Recognise your triggers
If you have repeated episodes of psychosis, it may be helpful to keep a diary, recording life events, your mood, your diet and sleep. You may be able to spot patterns which help you to identify triggers, situations or even particular foods or drinks to avoid and those which have been helpful. It is also important to share these things with your close family or friends so they can help.
If the voices you hear are of people you know, you could consider talking to those people at times when you are well, to find out if what you have heard is true. This can help you to challenge the voice if it comes again.
Create a crisis plan
During a crisis, you may not be able to tell people what helps you. While you are well, it may be a good idea to discuss with someone you trust what you would like to happen, or not to happen, when you are in a crisis.
You can also make what is known as an ‘advance decision’ (or ‘living will’), which states this in writing and is legally binding as long as it meets certain conditions. (For more information, see the booklet Mind rights guide 3: consent to medical treatment and the online Mind legal briefing 1: overview and key provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.)
What can family and friends do to help?
This section is for friends and family who want to support someone they know who has psychotic experiences.
It may be difficult to communicate with a friend or relative who is having a psychotic experience, and to understand their behaviour or what they are saying. But you may be able to understand and sympathise with feelings, such as anxiety, that they are going through. This doesn’t mean you have to confirm or deny their delusions. However, if you can accept their experiences, you can be more supportive, which can make their life easier, and improve their confidence in social situations.
Acknowledge it when you can see truth in what they say. For instance, someone who feels that people are talking about them behind their back may be quite correct: worried friends and family may be doing just that.
If you feel your friend or relative’s health is deteriorating rapidly, you might suggest that they:
- use their crisis plan
- seek help from their GP
- seek help from the duty psychiatrist in a hospital Accident and Emergency unit.
If the person doesn’t seek help, and you think they are putting themselves or others at risk, their ‘nearest relative’ (as defined under the Mental Health Act 1983 [MHA])] can ask for a mental health assessment to be carried out. Under the MHA, they can be compulsorily detained in hospital for further assessment and treatment, if necessary. You may wish to discuss the consequences of taking this action with other family members, first (see Mind Rights guide 1: civil admission to hospital).
Seeing someone you care about experiencing a psychotic episode can be distressing and even frightening. You may find it helpful to discuss your feelings and concerns with someone else, such as a counsellor, or to join a support group, such as those provided by local Minds or Rethink (see ’Useful contacts’).
Useful contacts
Association of Therapeutic Communities tel. 01242 620 077 web: therapeuticcommunities.org Produces a directory of therapeutic communities.
British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) tel. 0161 705 4304 web: babcp.com Can provide details of accredited therapists.
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) tel. 01455 883 300 web: bacp.co.uk For Information about counselling and therapy. See website or sister website, itsgoodtotalk, for details of local practitioners.
Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council tel: 020 3178 2199 web: cnhc.org.uk Maintains a register of complementary healthcare practitioners.
Depression Alliance tel. 0845 123 2320 web: depressionalliance.org Information and support for anyone affected by depression.
Hearing Voices Network tel. 0114 271 8210 web: hearing-voices.org A support group providing nformation, support and understanding to people who hear voices and those who support them.
Bipolar UK web: bipolaruk.org.uk tel: 020 7931 6480 Support for people with bipolar disorder (including hypomania) and their families and friends.
Rethink advice line: 0845 456 0455 web: rethink.org Information and support for people affected by severe mental illness.
Samaritans 24-hour helpline: 08457 90 90 90 email: jo@samaritans.org web: samaritans.org Emotional support for anyone feeling down or struggling to cope.
The idea of a perfect society is a dangerous one but no less real in modern culture. A select group of people will always take it upon themselves to exert their influence on others hoping to bring forth a model society based off of personal philosophy--as if it's limpid to the individual, but we shouldn't be overly worried. After all, reality has to be a certain way. A doesn't go to B without logic. They can't use psychotronic weapons on us all or they wouldn't have a workforce. While they're turning some of us into zombies in their epic campaign of pure stupidity, the herd will remain untouched and many of these advances will slowly yoke with society to create a better world.
We'll get past this. Yes, all of us. They will advance in such a way that they'll have to fix what the others have done. We'll get out of our closets one day, or wherever they've chased us to, and be... productive.
I'm sorry to everyone else who is suffering out there, but we're just the unlucky few. I laugh at them these days because I know their cause is pointless, their emotional appeals meaningless and their intents ignoble.
You'd think they'd try to fix their own sordid souls first. Most are just trying to ingratiate superiors with their petty deeds, pathetic sycophants.
Microbes manipulate your mind
Bacteria in your gut may be influencing your thoughts and moods, raising the possibility that probiotics could be used to treat psychiatric illnesses
Microbes Manipulate Your Mind, in the July/ August issue of Scientific American MIND"The thought of parasites preying on your body or brain very likely sends shivers down your spine. Perhaps you imagine insectoid creatures bursting from stomachs or a malevolent force controlling your actions. These visions are not just the night terrors of science-fiction writers—the natural world is replete with such examples.
"Take Toxoplasma gondii, the single-celled parasite. When mice are infected by it, they suffer the grave misfortune of becoming attracted to cats. Once a cat inevitably consumes the doomed creature, the parasite can complete its life cycle inside its new host. Or consider Cordyceps, the parasitic fungus that can grow into the brain of an insect. The fungus can force an ant to climb a plant before consuming its brain entirely. After the insect dies, a mushroom sprouts from its head, allowing the fungus to disperse its spores as widely as possible."
That's the introduction to my feature article about how the microbes in your gut might influence your brain and behaviour, which is out now in the July/ August issue of Scientific American MIND. The article focuses mainly on the work of Jane Foster and John Bienenstock of McMaster University in Ontario and John Cryan of University College Cork, who have been collaborating on experiments designed to test how certain species of gut bacteria influence the activity of genes in the brain. Below is a story I wrote last year about some of the work from Foster's group, updated to include quotes and new research that has been published since I wrote the feature.
Gut bacteria may influence thoughts and behaviour
The human gut contains a diverse community of bacteria that colonize the large intestine in the days following birth and vastly outnumber our own cells. These so-called gut microbiota constitute a virtual organ within an organ, and influence many bodily functions. Among other things, they aid in the uptake and metabolism of nutrients, modulate the inflammatory response to infection, and protect the gut from other, harmful micro-organisms. A study by researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario now suggests that gut bacteria may also influence behaviour and cognitive processes such as memory by exerting an effect on gene activity during brain development.
Jane Foster and her colleagues compared the performance of germ-free mice, which lack gut bacteria, with normal animals on the elevated plus maze, which is used to test anxiety-like behaviours. This consists of a plus-shaped apparatus with two open and two closed arms, with an open roof and raised up off the floor. Ordinarily, mice will avoid open spaces to minimize the risk of being seen by predators, and spend far more time in the closed than in the open arms when placed in the elevated plus maze.
This is exactly what the researchers found when they placed the normal mice into the apparatus. The animals spent far more time in the closed arms of the maze and rarely ventured into the open ones. The germ-free mice, on the other hand, behaved quite differently – they entered the open arms more often, and continued to explore them throughout the duration of the test, spending significantly more time there than in the closed arms.
The researchers then examined the animals' brains, and found that these differences in behaviour were accompanied by alterations in the expression levels of several genes in the germ-free mice. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was significantly up-regulated, and the 5HT1A serotonin receptor sub-type down-regulated, in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. The gene encoding the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor was also down-regulated in the amygdala.
All three genes have previously been implicated in emotion and anxiety-like behaviours. BDNF is a growth factor that is essential for proper brain development, and a recent study showed that deleting the BDNF receptor TrkB alters the way in which newborn neurons integrate into hippocampal circuitry and increases anxiety-like behaviours in mice. Serotonin receptors, which are distributed widely throughout the brain, are well known to be involved in mood, and compounds that activate the 5HT1A subtype also produce anxiety-like behaviours.
The finding that the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor down-regulated in the amygdala is particularly interesting. NMDA receptors are composed of multiple subunits, but those made up of only NR2B subunits are known to be critical for the development and function of the amygdala, which has a well established role in fear and other emotions, and in learning and memory. Drugs that block these receptors have been shown to block the formation of fearful memories and to reduce the anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal in rodents.
The idea of cross-talk between the brain and the gut is not new. For example, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is associated with psychiatric illness, and also involves changes in the composition of the bacterial population in the gut. But this is the first study to show that the absence of gut bacteria is associated with altered behaviour. Bacteria colonize the gut in the days following birth, during a sensitive period of brain development, and apparently influence behaviour by inducing changes in the expression of certain genes.
"One of the things our data point to is that gut microbiota are very important in the first four weeks of a mouse's life, and I think the processes are translatable [to humans]," says Foster. "I'm getting a lot of attention from paediatricians who want to collaborate to test some of these connections in kids with early onset IBS. Their microbiota profile is wrong, and our results suggest that we have a window up until puberty, during which we can potentially fix this."
Exactly how gut bacteria influence gene expression in the brain is unclear, but one possible line of communication is the autonomic branch of the peripheral nervous system, which controls functions such as digestion, breathing and heart rate. A better understanding of cross-talk within this so-called 'brain-gut axis' could lead to new approaches for dealing with the psychiatric symptoms that sometimes accompany gastrointestinal disorders such as IBS, and may also show that gut bacteria affect function of the mature brain.
More evidence that gut bacteria can influence neuronal signalling has emerged in the past few months. In June, Cryan's group reported that germ-free mice have significantly elevated levels of serotonin in the hippocampus compared to animals reared normally. This was also associated with reduced anxiety, but was reversed when the gut bacteria were restored. And at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, also in June, researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas described experiments showing that one bacterial species found in the gut, Bifidobacteria dentium, synthesizes large amounts of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA.
SSRIs, the class of antidepressants that includes Prozac, prevent neurons from mopping up serotonin once it has been released, thus maintaining high levels of the transmitter at synapses. And benzodiazepines, a class of anti-anxiety drugs that includes diazepam, mimic the effects of GABA by binding to a distinct site on the GABA-A receptor.
All of this suggests that probiotic formulations that are enriched in specific strains of gut bacteria could one day be used to treat psychiatric disorders. "There's definitely potential on numerous levels, but I do think studies need to be done in a proper, robust manner in representative samples," says Cryan. "Even as an adjunctive therapy for anti-depressants, this could be really important, but first we'll have to figure out which species are going to be beneficial, and how they're doing it."
Microbiota researcher Rob Knight of the University of Colorado, Boulder, agrees that probiotics could potentially be useful. "I find the mouse data convincing but there's not yet direct evidence in humans," he says. "What's needed is longitudinal studies of at-risk individuals to determine whether there are systematic changes in the microbiota that correlate with psychiatric conditions, and double-blind randomized clinical trials. Research-supported, FDA-approved and effective products are likely at minimum 5-10 years off, but given the lax regulation of probiotics, I'm sure that products could be on the shelf tomorrow."
best wishes and love lots
denny
Soldier Andrew Garthwaite to get bionic arm controlled by mind
As the first British serviceman injured in battle to use a new bionic arm, Cpl Andrew Garthwaite's story has already been remarkable.
But this week he underwent six hours of surgery at a hospital in Austria at the start of a process to make it even more so - to prepare him to be fitted with an arm he will be able to control with his brain.
The 24-year-old, from South Tyneside, was badly injured in Helmand, Afghanistan, in September 2010 when a Taliban rocket-propelled grenade took off his right arm and killed one of his comrades.
He first had to learn how to carry out everyday tasks with one arm but was delighted to learn he would have one of the latest models of bionic arms fitted.
Soldier Andrew Garthwaite's mind-control bionic op
The soldier went to Austria for the first stage of the process to fit him with a bionic arm
As the first British serviceman injured in battle to use a new bionic arm, Cpl Andrew Garthwaite's story has already been remarkable.
But this week he underwent six hours of surgery at a hospital in Austria at the start of a process to make it even more so - to prepare him to be fitted with an arm he will be able to control with his brain.
The 24-year-old, from South Tyneside, was badly injured in Helmand, Afghanistan, in September 2010 when a Taliban rocket-propelled grenade took off his right arm and killed one of his comrades.
He first had to learn how to carry out everyday tasks with one arm but was delighted to learn he would have one of the latest models of bionic arms fitted.
He could hold a beer and do basic tasks. He could also perform his party trick - rotating his hand 360 degrees.
A technician then designed a new arm so he could ride his motorbike.
Rewire nervous system
He approached it all with a positive attitude and said his optimism was boosted by the support he had from his family, his friends and medics who saved his life.
This arm system, though, has its limitations and Cpl Garthwaite needs to flex his back or chest muscle to achieve a single, robotic movement.
Cpl Garthwaite was badly injured in September 2010He was then deemed eligible for some remarkable surgery. It involved flying to Vienna, to have what the medics there called Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR), the first step on the process to receiving the arm he will control with his mind.
Speaking before he went, he said: "I'm really excited at going over. A little bit nervous but I think the outcome is going to be great."
The surgeons at the hospital in the Medical University of Vienna have rewired his nervous system.
He is believed to be the first person from the UK to undergo this cutting-edge technique in the field of bionics.
Cpl Garthwaite said he had been "lost for words" when he learnt that and was "honoured" to have been chosen.
'Difficult surgery'
Surgeons at the hospital are working closely with bionics company Otto Bock, in Vienna, to create one of the most intelligent bionic systems in the world.
In an operation lasting six hours on Tuesday surgeon Prof Oskar Aszmann and his team worked out which of the mass of tiny nerves from his shoulder joint operated his arm and hand. Once they isolated those, they rewired them into his chest.
After the surgery, Prof Aszmann said: "It all went extremely well.
"It was a surprise to me because he had a shrapnel injury, there was a rocket wound, so normally you have to expect a lot of scar tissue, but it was not the case.
"It was a difficult surgery, but we could identify all the nerves that we wanted to and transfer them to the appropriate targets."
In the coming months these nerves will grow. Cpl Garthwaite's mind will work out which nerves do what, and will learn how to control those nerves.
He will then be able to control his bionic arm in such a way that it will become intuitive, unlike the slow robotic movements of his current arm.
Prof Aszmann said the surgery went "extremely well"He will be able to think several moves and his arm and hand will react naturally. His bionic arm will be thought-controlled.
'Exciting prospect'
After his complex, remarkable surgery, Cpl Garthwaite will soon feel a hand on his chest, his own hand.
And, as the nerve endings grow he too will be able to operate his bionic limb by simply thinking about those hand and arm movements.
Prof Aszmann said: "For the first four to five months he will be very numb and not feel anything, but after around six months, he will feel his own index finger and thumb in his shoulder, so when he pinches his shoulder he will say 'oh this is my index finger or here's my thumb'.
"That's really exciting because, in the future we will have little senses in these artificial fingers and they will have direct sensory feedback."
Before the surgery, Cpl Garthwaite said he was excited at the prospect of having a more natural arm movement and being able to use it quickly rather than the slow process it can be currently and even the possibility of being able to feel hot and cold.
He said: "I still have my down days and I still have flashbacks and memories, which will never leave us, but you just learn to crack on.
"With this new target I have got to hit now, it is keeping my mind occupied.
"You just want to look into the future and just think what's actually going to happen, how much it's going to benefit me."
best wishes n love lots
denny
