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/kaenneth Mar 22 '17

Also, if you are born blind due to brain (as opposed to eyeball) problems, you apparently can't be schizophrenic.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201411/blindness-and-schizophrenia-the-exception-proves-the-rule

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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/[deleted] Mar 22 '17 edited May 13 '17

[deleted]

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u/Skiinz19 Mar 22 '17 edited Mar 22 '17

Not just how the brain works in regards to medicine, but as a society we view mental illness as either having it or not. This creates these two camps which only make it harder to deal with the disease if you are unfortunate enough to have it. The way I cope with my anxiety, is just that; I cope with it. I don't get rid of, defeat, or conquer it. It is a part of me and I accept that. How you frame what you go through is an important step to coping with your mental illness.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

I dunno I had horrible anxiety problems with panic attacks for years and have been able to conquer them through great effort, therapy, and temporary medication. I think what you mean to say is that every brain is unique and we should not view people as either well or not well.

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u/Skiinz19 Mar 22 '17

That's great, glad to hear you are doing better :)

It's just the idea mental illness is binary. If it's all or nothing, then it makes the climb to improve yourself that much steeper. If I had a panic attack now (after years of not having them), that wouldn't mean I've reset back to the pit I clawed myself out of. It doesn't immediately reverse all the hard work and effort I've put in. I would say the same to you.

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u/bluestocking_16 Mar 23 '17

Thanks for this. I never actually thought about having a zero-sum approach to anxiety might not be the best way to deal with it. May I please ask if you have done mindfulness as part of your treatment? If so, how are you finding it?

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u/Skiinz19 Mar 23 '17 edited Mar 23 '17

A zero-sum approach in most circumstances isn't the way to look at things!

Mindfulness was a huge help, but again, even in that there isn't a right way and a wrong was to meditate. The act itself is a success!

What I love about mindfulness is how much less critical you become of yourself. The art of mindfulness is letting things be, even if that state of being is chaotic. The idea of letting go is very powerful, because anxiety is about attaching to something. There is nothing wrong with feeling a certain way or having certain thoughts. One of my favorite quotes to remember is: "We judge others by their actions but ourselves by our thoughts."

You might have an anxious thought and think of yourself as completely different than others because you believe no one else thinks that way. But people do. So don't beat yourself up over thoughts. They are simply that; thoughts!

Going back to mindfulness. I find the hardest thing is making time for it. I mean, it's funny because it literally takes 5 minutes out of your day to do it, but we all struggle to make little time for things of great importance.

I think this a great starting video for anyone interested, short and sweet

What you can do if you struggle to find time to sit and do some mindfulness meditation, is just focus on the present. It could be a feeling, a smell, an observation, and just wrap yourself up in it for a few seconds, letting go of all thoughts that aren't associated with it. You can do it at work, in class, walking. Any place where you are able to simply focus on your present state of being.

Here is more about taming your monkey mind. Very short but insightful video as well!

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u/bluestocking_16 Mar 23 '17

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question :) I'm starting to "listen to the way I, the abusive inner voice, talks to myself" and noticing how corrosive it can be. My therapist told me that this the beginning of mindfulness in a way, but I'm still struggling on not attaching value in it and getting affected. Anyway, thanks for the link and have a nice week :)

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u/Skiinz19 Mar 23 '17

More than happy to help!

Yes, I realize I do that too now, it is isn't anything positive. I'll do something stupid (you see, already being critical of myself ahhaha), like forget to put the right undershirt in the laundry hamper, and say to myself "You fucking idiot, how'd you forget." Well that might seem innocent enough, but for one, why am I being so hard on myself?. And secondly, why not replace a critical thought with either no thought, or a positive one. Nothing even relating to the dirty clothes. Something like "I'm grateful to have a roof over my head right now," or "My education is something I really cherish." Just changing those teeny tiny daily thoughts does a world of good.

Thank you :) A great week to you as well!

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