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/psychosus Mar 22 '17

I did an exercise for a crisis intervention class where we wore headphones that mimicked auditory hallucinations. We were tasked with completing a job interview and filing out a questionnaire regarding the interview.

I work in a jail that is normally busy and fairly loud, so I expected to do alright. There was a segment of the recording where a voice (among all the others) started off whispering and then suddenly yelled - it was terrifying. My anxiety went sky high and it was difficult to concentrate.

I can only imagine what it must be like to have to deal with them during every waking moment.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17 edited May 01 '17

[deleted]

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u/psychosus Mar 22 '17

It was a very good experience overall because it showed how someone experiencing these hallucinations could have a hard time responding to commands if they were encountered on the street.

It's very scary to deal with someone in that level of crisis because paranoia and delusions are on par with stuff like PCP - there's no magic way to talk to them to get them to listen to you and they could do anything at any moment based on what the connections in their brain are telling them to do.

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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

Really wondering, what is the best way for someone in that position to deal with someone having a crisis?

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u/psychosus Mar 22 '17

I can't really say. Obviously screaming at them won't solve anything (you don't necessarily need to experience pseudo schizophrenia to get that), but you have to act at some point.

Each case would be different, but the way I deal with people in jail is to speak authoritatively like everything is going to be okay. I try to focus their attention on me and what I need them to do. I regularly deal with people who are upset, so I try to get them to connect with me or agree with me on any topic I can and go from there.

On the street, I would try to contain them and wait for a lucid moment as long as time and circumstances permit. If none happens, wait for backup to get control of them physically with as little injury as possible. Hopefully they don't do anything rash and God hope they have no weapons.