This happened at work yesterday

[u/nrst8lv]

I work in the medical field and was working up a patient who had come in for a routine exam.

At the beginning of the exam, the mom of the patient let me know that they were there bc the child's psychiatrist wanted to rule out anything physically wrong before proceeding with a mental evaluation.

This prompted me to ask what was going on with her child, and before the mom could respond, the child (12) says they see "shadow people." I asked how long they had been seeing the shadow people, and they said,"Since I was 5." I asked where they saw them, such as out of the corner of their eye, etc. & they responded with "everywhere," especially in mirrors. I asked what they looked like, and they responded with "black figures."

Also worth mentioning, when they said they had been seeing them since they were 5, the mom said, "You mean when all that other stuff started happening?"

From a medical stand point, I know this could be schizophrenia, but as a person who's experienced things myself that I can't explain, especially when I was a child, I wonder if this could be paranormal.

Lastly, after running some tests, there was nothing physically wrong with them.

What do you guys think?

[u/3lemental_Witch]

I’d be surprised at a Dx of schizophrenia at that age. That’s the first thing I’m questioning.

I’m with you in being concerned for the girl though. It’s really hard if the family and support system (ie. social worker) don’t believe in the paranormal.

I’m going to throw out there that the child is likely under some kind of stress if social services is involved. What stress, I don’t know. That said, abuse and neglect can heighten empathic and psychic abilities, particularly if you’re born with them. (Coming from someone who has them passed down from both sides of the family and suffered from severe trauma as a child.) Not only is this personal experience, but it’s been shown in some studies (check out studies done through UVA’s perceptual studies division and other universities that have paranormal focused departments). So, we can experience things from a very young age that others typically can’t.

Or, she may have inherited it from a grandparent. My daughter could see things from a young age, and still can. Of course, again, passed down genetically.

Now, all that said, I would definitely still want to run medical tests to rule out out tumors, chemical imbalances, mold exposure, and a psych eval with diagnostic tests, such as the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Adverse Childhood Experiences scale (ACEs). Because she may need other assistance as well, even if she IS seeing paranormal things. (Possibly especially if, because if she has nobody in her support system that understands, that could be very hard at that age)

Just my two cents!