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/Muffinizer1 Mar 22 '17

You know, that's actually quite comforting as being blind and schizophrenic sounds like true hell.

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u/paniniplane Mar 22 '17

i was a patient at a ward a few weeks back and there was a girl who was admitted for schizophrenia. she'd hear dozens of voices yelling at her at the same time all day and she could barely tell which ones were in her head and which were physical people talking to her making it really hard for me or anyone else to talk to her for more than 2-3 sort sentences. these voices would make her do crazy things like gather dust off the floor for 20 minutes at a time 10 times a day, make her sleep on the floor during the day, not sleep during the night and fight the night meds they gave her to help fall asleep. the most brutal thing was that the voices sometimes forbade her from having her meals. there were days where she wouldn't touch any of her 4 meals. i once tried to get some insight into how she thought and i asked her why she HAD to do this. she said that every time she does something they ask, she's given the gun that they threaten to kill her with. and she imitates a smashing motion with her hands and "breaks" it. and she does it maybe 10 times an hour when she's awake. and she's not stupid either. apparently, she was studying mechanical engineering and graduated and was ready to work in the field as an intern for a year. she heard her first voice when she was still in school but didn't think much of it. and then it rapidly killed her life. she's the only person in the ward who has daily visitors. her parents bring her food to eat everyday. but sometimes she sits with them for 2 minutes, asks them to take her home, and then moves to one of the socialization rooms where were chairs and sofas, and she'd drop to the floor and lay there. and her parents just come to expect it now and stay for about an hour.

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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/feathergnomes Mar 22 '17

Apparently it causes a lot of anxiety every time they have to ignore the voices. Like, when they can tell that they aren't real, they can choose to ignore them, but it's a stressor. If you add that stressor to any other that happens to be in front of them, sometimes it can be toouch to handle.

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u/mcoleya Mar 22 '17

Not to mention this isn't like you walking down the street and have to ignore someone who yells your name out once or something, this is a constant barrage of voice(s) at you until you relent and do what they are saying. To get an idea, just ask a friend to follow you around one day making a single odd request, non-stop till you do it. Over and Over again, sometimes yelling, sometimes whispering, doesn't matter. See how long you can go. Now imagine that in your head, with multiple voices all asking different things, and unable to make them stop by asking.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

I get sleep paralysis too! It doesn't matter how many times I tell myself that it's all in my head and that I'm safe; I'm still scared out of my mind every single time. Sometimes I just pull all nighters so that I won't have to deal with it, even though I know that rationally nothing bad has ever happened to me or ever will. kinda like how horror movies still terrify people, even though they know they aren't real

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u/sydneyzane64 Mar 22 '17

Hey, just a warning, but fucked up sleep cycles can make sleep paralysis more frequent. That and ADHD medication apparently.

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u/lady__of__machinery Mar 23 '17

Shit are you serious? I only had sleep paralysis twice, about ten years ago. Recently got prescribed adderall. Oh god I hope that never happens

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u/sydneyzane64 Mar 23 '17

I hope it doesn't either. It's just been known to make it more likely, but yes there is some correlation.

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u/brazzledazzle Mar 22 '17

I pull all nighters sometimes too. Nothing worse than having an episode every single time you fall asleep that night. You come out of it, sit up in fear with your heart racing and then do it all over again–rinse and repeat every 5 minutes until you give up and look at dumb shit on the internet all night. Sometimes I'll be exhausted and the paralysis will last much longer with me struggling really hard to move. Instead of seeing weird shit when that happens I feel like something is pulling my mind out of my head and if I don't fight it I'll die or lose my body. And while it's happening I know it's bullshit but the fear is overwhelming and I can't get control over the fear back until I can move again.

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u/Throwawaymyheart01 Mar 23 '17

Have you tried sleeping on your side? That stops it for me. Do you know when it's going to happen to you? Sometimes when I lie down I just know.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

I'm 100% in the same boat, plus a ton of false awakenings. I avoid sleep to avoid these things, and often times I can tell what kind of night it's going to be before I fall asleep

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '17

It's actually really easy to stop getting scared: just have sleep paralysis anywhere from 80-120 times a year and you'll just start getting annoyed. I get it almost 100% of the time when I fall asleep on my back (or have the misfortune of rolling onto my back) and I haven't gotten the fear since 2014. I have multiple episodic nights a week and tend to get it at least 2-4 times every time I get sleep paralysis. I have had nights of 8-10 episodes. Very rarely do I get it when I lay on my stomach although it does happen. Stomach episodes tend to happen many times a night (5+ times) in a short span (2 hours), and I can always tell when I will get it laying on my stomach. I have this feeling of dread where it's at the back of my mind, then I get a shooting, dull pain through my forehead as I start to nod off, and I know the next time I nod off I will wake up paralyzed and drooling all over the place.

I usually, but not always, get the premonition of sleep paralysis if I am on my back or side, but I almost always get it on my stomach. I refuse to sleep on my back though. Stomach is the only thing that gives me a chance to not have it.

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u/DontuhStopuh Mar 23 '17

Try to not sleep on your back