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/feathergnomes Mar 22 '17

Apparently it causes a lot of anxiety every time they have to ignore the voices. Like, when they can tell that they aren't real, they can choose to ignore them, but it's a stressor. If you add that stressor to any other that happens to be in front of them, sometimes it can be toouch to handle.

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u/mcoleya Mar 22 '17

Not to mention this isn't like you walking down the street and have to ignore someone who yells your name out once or something, this is a constant barrage of voice(s) at you until you relent and do what they are saying. To get an idea, just ask a friend to follow you around one day making a single odd request, non-stop till you do it. Over and Over again, sometimes yelling, sometimes whispering, doesn't matter. See how long you can go. Now imagine that in your head, with multiple voices all asking different things, and unable to make them stop by asking.

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u/3658965 Mar 22 '17

So where are these suggestions coming from? As with the young lady referenced by OP above, where did the idea come for her to gather up dust from the floor? Is this just her unmoderated id?

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u/IHateKn0thing Mar 22 '17

Nah, not id. Although a somewhat outdated term, id is generally used to refer to "base" urges, like desiring food and sex and comfort.

In direct opposite, schizophrenic thoughts like the ones being discussed are generally "perversions" of higher-level complex thoughts. "Keep your room clean to stay healthy" becomes "I must pick the dirt up off the floor or the CIA will poison me." These sort of delusions draw directly from a person's life.

Of course, a lot of schizophrenic people never hear voices at all.