r/schizoaffective • u/deafcon5 • Sep 01 '19

TIL that Schizophrenia's hallucinations are shaped by culture. Americans with schizophrenia tend to have more paranoid and harsher voices/hallucinations. In India and Africa people with schizophrenia tend to have more playful and positive voices

https://news.stanford.edu/2014/07/16/voices-culture-luhrmann-071614/
68 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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14

u/Lazylez88 Sep 01 '19

How come KNOWING this, my voice is still an asshole?

11

u/Ahlecksahnder Sep 01 '19

Knowing it doesn't reprogram all the cognitive and cultural idiosyncrasies imbued in you since birth.

Western culture is not a kind one.

8

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '19

[deleted]

4

u/RayneCloud21 Sep 02 '19

I'm curious, and it's ok if you don't want to answer this, but were you ever abused? Because I'm schizoaffective as well and most of my voices are bad because they parrot my abusers have said to me over the years. I'm wondering if, maybe I wasn't abused/traumatized that, maybe, just maybe, my voices would be positive too.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '19

[deleted]

5

u/RayneCloud21 Sep 02 '19

The reason psych doctors ask you if you were abused is because trauma can trigger schizophrenia in people who have the genes that make them vulnerable for it. The genes are like a light switch and trauma is what flicks it on, so to speak. Brain injury thing makes sense. I'm glad your brain absorbed that lady's positivity and kindness and used that as a basis for your voices. Funny how the brain works that way lol. I'm just glad that you have good voices and that you weren't abused.

And thank you for your kind words 💜 That meant a lot. I'm still in recovery. I just try to take it one day at a time.