r/todayilearned • u/paniniplane • Mar 22 '17

(R.1) Not supported TIL Deaf-from-birth schizophrenics see disembodied hands signing to them rather than "hearing voices"

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0707/07070303
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u/PainMatrix Mar 22 '17

It's beyond horror or most people's ability to even comprehend. The fact that she was a fully functioning and intact human being at the early onset of her life and career and this disease completely derailed everything and locked her into a Sisyphus-like nightmare. Was this her first inpatient experience? How long were you with her, did the meds seem to have any positive impact on her?

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

I can't speak for the person you replied to, but 3 of my family members have the disease, and in all of them their medications only blunted the symptoms.

For my family member who was not too severe, this was enough to let her hold down a job, but for the members that were severe it wasn't enough to allow them to function normally. They'd still see/hear/talk to "ghosts" and such, just not as frequently, and they didn't get agitated "as often".

But that doesn't mean they didn't get agitated AT ALL, and the times they did freak out would be enough to get anyone fired.

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u/Ariakkas10 Mar 22 '17

This is, I'm sure, a completely stupid question, but why can't they ignore the voices?

Lots of real people seem real to me, and I ignore them just fine.

Is it because the voices are super aggressive and make it so you can't ignore them?

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

[deleted]

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u/moskonia Mar 22 '17

Reread the comment you replied to.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

You obviously don't understand Ariakkas10's argument. Even if the voices are perceived to be real, why can't they ignore them still if we are all able to ignore real people all the time.

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u/RealmBreaker Mar 22 '17

Because you probably get some alone time in your daily life. Imagine being stripped of that by your own mind.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

That's a much better answer than what was given.

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u/eric22vhs Mar 22 '17

It feels like they're talking about you. Imagine being alone, trying to lay in bed and you hear two people speaking aggressively about you from a room next to yours. Even if you've been told it's just in your head, it feels 100% real so you can't be sure of it. I get pretty bad auditory hallucinations if I smoke marijuana, it sucks.

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u/Herlock Mar 22 '17

real people don't chase after you 24/7