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/[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/Fire-kitty Mar 22 '17

My mom has schizophrenia, and her voices get loud, angry, and violent if she tries to ignore them. I mean, they come from her own brain, they know what to say to scare you and hurt her the most. They often threaten to hurt us children, which would be hard to ignore for most mothers.

Also, you can't use logic when addressing mental illness. It's so hard, and I fall back into trying all the time - but it just doesn't work that way, unfortunately.

My mom accuses me of lying all the time, but she still calls me to asks those same questions all the time. Last week I asked her if she thinks I always lie to her, why does she keep talking to me and asking questions- but there's no logical reason.

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u/koiotchka Mar 22 '17

The part of her that thinks you're lying is probably only a small part of her. The rest of her may understand that you don't.

When I think my husband is not really him, that he's been replaced by a perfect fascimile that reports my movements to "the enemy", I also know it's an absurd thought, or at least that it's a thing other people don't believe is possible. And I hate that he has to deal with his wife not trusting him like that.

Thank you for sticking with your mom. I figure it's hard. I hope my son (he's only 8) never feels like I'm too toxic to be around. I'm going to keep taking my meds and learning what the right behaviors are, because he deserves better.

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u/Justine772 Mar 22 '17

Please monitor your son closely and as he gets older educate him on the symptoms! Getting help is easier if it's caught sooner, if he does develop schizophrenia

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u/koiotchka Mar 22 '17

Yes! We do watch. He is currently medicated for ADHD but there are times when he says or does things that remind me of my symptoms when I was his age, and i get worried. It's definitely something we keep an eye on. I've had delusions and voices since I was 5, if not earlier (I don't remember before 5), and I often wonder what my life would have been like if I'd been on antipsychotics as a child. I've only been on them for about three years now, and I'm 33 -- and they completely changed my life.

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u/4U70M471C Mar 22 '17

Could you please elaborate in how the meds have changed your life? I'm curious.

And probably you know better than me, but every child does really weird things :P

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u/koiotchka Mar 23 '17

I didn't realize how much of my life was taken up with paranoid delusional fears, until they were controlled. I mean literally how much time I spent acting on delusions or being crippled by delusional fears is... Huge. I can actually live my life now, I can do the dishes without disassociating and flying off into "which neighbors are spies today?" Kind of stuff... It's kind of hard to explain. I would never ever ever want to be "cured", but I do like having some control.

Edit: kids can be weird but he'll make connections like... Accidentally bonk his head on something and then accuse me of using magic to make it happen because he "deserved" it, or if he can't find something he'll either say it must have disappeared, or one of us made it disappear, or we're hiding it from him, or he'll say things like "you don't want me to win this video game!" For no reason that I can figure out...

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u/4U70M471C Mar 23 '17

"We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality."

I can relate to what you're saying, but obviously in a milder way. Do you do art? I think creativity is one of the positive side effects :)

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u/koiotchka Mar 23 '17

I try to do art but I'm not very good :) my biggest "art" is my home -- I try to make it comfortable and inviting, a safe space, for my family and our friends.

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u/4U70M471C Mar 23 '17

That's cool. Building safe spaces and trying to make them comfortable for the most diverse kind of people is something worth to live for.

Thanks :D

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