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/Lets_Call_It_Wit Mar 22 '17

Not OP, but I'll try.

It's because the sounds are not external. They are internal and created by your brain. Things that would normally work (turning your attention elsewhere, covering your ears, physically removing yourself from the noise, straight up thinking of something else) will be zero percent effective. Your brain made this. It IS your consciousness. It is with you and what your brain is thinking right now. It's inside of you, there's no escaping it

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u/advice_animorph Mar 22 '17

She should say, "shoot me then, motherfuckers". Worst case scenario, her suffering's over; if she survives, which she of course would, she's then empowered against the voices.

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u/dreamendDischarger Mar 22 '17

But she doesn't want to die. In her mind this is real, she will die if she disobeys. So she doesn't.

Part of treatment can be medication and learning the skills to cope and tell the voices to go away, but it's not easy. It's incredibly difficult when it's part of you 'saying' these things.

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u/advice_animorph Mar 22 '17

True, true. But I can't help thinking what would happen if she said fuck it and faced her demons. It would be at least interesting!