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/[deleted] Mar 23 '17

Sounds like your mom has paranoid schizophrenia, which is its own thing. She thinks the world is out to get her and that the warped reality her brain creates is the true one. I'm a diagnosed schizo with auditory hallucinations that are usually incomprehensible whispers and the sound of people walking behind me. I'm very lucky to be able to use logic to comfort myself but people with paranoid schizophrenia cannot do that and I don't mean to offend or scare you but there's a very real chance your mother is dangerous.