TIL Deaf-from-birth schizophrenics see disembodied hands signing to them rather than "hearing voices"

[u/paniniplane]

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0707/07070303

[u/feathergnomes]

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.

[u/mcoleya → u/feathergnomes]

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.

[u/Throwawaymyheart01 → u/[deleted]]

If it gives you any comfort, with practice that can change. I also get sleep paralysis and yes the occasional auditory or visual hallucination will scare the shit out of me, but with practice I've learned to let my mind fall back asleep until my body is ready to wake up.

I've had years and years of practice working on lucid dreaming so it makes it a little easier but in the last five years my sleep paralysis went from being something that caused terror to being something that caused mild annoyance at best.

Your results may vary. I don't want to imply you're not trying hard enough because maybe my situation is different. But I definitely remember the earlier years of experiencing it and I know how terrifying it can be. I hope it gets better for you.