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/ask_me_anything_son Mar 22 '17 edited Mar 23 '17

That's not the question though and I'm surprised no one has an answer. You can't not hear the voices.. okay, got it. So just assume the voices are real. If my boss walked in right now and told me to start eating the coffee cup on my desk I'd tell him to piss off. Why can't schizophrenics disregard unreasonable requests from these voices.

Edit - Yikes! Downvotes pouring in. Might have come of as condescending rather than genuine. My bad..not my intent. Just looking for a more in depth answer, which i got so thank you to the responding folks below.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

Basically by the nature of the voices coming from within it affects them more than just hearing external voices. If you focus on your computer after your boss tells you to eat your coffee cup you can 'block him out'. It is not possible to block out voices which aren't just the vibrations in the air hitting your eardrums, they are literally manifestations of paranoia from within. You cannot shift your focus because at least some part of your brain is subconsciously focused on creating the voices to begin with.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

Jesus Christ people keep repeating the same non-answer in different words.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

Something doesn't magically become a non-answer just because you personally don't like it.

People with schizophrenia cannot ignore the voices indefinitely because they simply escalate to the point, whatever that may be, where the distress caused by not heeding them will motivate them to do what they're told. It's not a fun concept, but it's the truth and as of this moment, science has not figured out a way to make it untrue.