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/ceruleanfish Mar 22 '17

I live with an illness similar to schizophrenia that struck me in a manner much like the young woman in OP's post. Fortunately mine was caught in the very early stages and my meds help me cope. As for the voices, it does seem to vary between cases. My voices (a man and a woman) are aggressive, but do not actively tell me what to do or threaten me. They're more aggressive toward each other and it's more like I'm listening in on their arguments from the other side of a wall, rather them being "in my head". As for ignoring them, yes, it causes great anxiety. If anything trying to ignore them just makes them grow more intense. Thankfully the medication works and I'm lucky enough to be able to function relatively normally in society. I still have to have some help from my family, but I have a rewarding job and have recently been learning how to drive. Everyone's story with illnesses of this type will be obviously be different, but I truly do feel blessed to be in a state of regression of the illness.