What do crazy people see?

[Johnny_L.A]

A YWCA is between my office and the bus stop. There are always homeless women about. One is a Black or Middle Eastern woman who is always having heated conversations with someone who isn’t there. She points at the invisible person and pauses for inaudible (to me) replies. I can’t tell if she’s speaking English. I’m guessing she has schizophrenia?

Do people with this kind of mental illness actually ‘see’ their counterparts in their conversations? Or are their conversations internal and they just behave as if someone is there?

ETA: Forgive me if ‘crazy’ is provocative. I hope you know what I mean.

[Great_Dave]

Have you seen A Beautiful Mind? I’ve heard that it’s a fairly accurate portayal of schizophrenia.

[Johnny_L.A]

@Great Dave

Have you seen A Beautiful Mind? I’ve heard that it’s a fairly accurate portayal of schizophrenia.

I have not seen it.

[groman]

@Johnny L.A.

Do people with this kind of mental illness actually ‘see’ their counterparts in their conversations? Or are their conversations internal and they just behave as if someone is there?

This question scares me a little because I am not entirely sure what you’re asking. When I’m having a conversation, it’s external because I think the person I am talking to is there. Is there something more to seeing other than knowing that something is there and knowing what it looks like at this moment being there? To me it sounds like you’re asking if people with schizophrenia

a) Think they see
b) Actually see
c) Pretend they see

There’s no difference between “a” and “b”, and it happens because of all sorts of things, not just mental illness. “c” happens to everybody depending on circumstances.

[Freudian_Slit]

I’m not sure, but I think Johnny L. A. is asking if they actually see another person there and are having a discussion with them, or do they hear voices and converse with someone (for lack of a better word) inside of them?

[KlondikeGeoff]

@Johnny L.A.

She points at the invisible person and pauses for inaudible (to me) replies.

You mean you can’t see the other person? The lady must think **you **are crazy!

Hard to define crazy. I think it was Plato, maybe somebody else who told this story:

Three men were sitting around outdoors talking, when one suddenly said, “Wow, look at that white horse.”

The other two, seeing nothing, began to think the poor guy must be crazy.

Suddenly, the second man said, “Hey he’s right, I see the horse too.”

The third guy insisted there was no horse, so the other two knew he obviousuly was crazy.

[Mr.Slant]

@Great Dave

Have you seen A Beautiful Mind? I’ve heard that it’s a fairly accurate portayal of schizophrenia.

One side note on that: the real-life man behind that never actually had visual hallucinations. Apparently his imaginary friends were all audio…

[Colibri]

My father was a severe schizophrenic, as was my first cousin. One of my close friends from high school also has had mild schizophrenia for many years. I have had very extensive conversations (that’s an understatement) with my father during his more severe episodes, and also when he was relatively asymtomatic due to medication and, later on, when his symptoms became less severe with age. I have also discussed with my friend her episodes and what they felt like to her. I think I may have some insight into this question from how they described their experiences to me.

One of the most common symptoms of schizophrenia is auditory hallucinations. Visual hallucinations also occur, but are not as common. Auditory hallucinations often take the form of “hearing voices.” These voices appear to be completely “real” to the individual.

From here

One of the most noticeable of the schizophrenia symptoms are hallucinations. Hallucinations are perceptions in the absence of external stimuli. By far the most common of these misperceptions are referred to as auditory hallucinations, in which people hear sounds and voices which seem to come from outside of their heads. These voices may give commands or provide warnings of danger and appear absolutely real to the individual hallucinating.

Researchers have found that individuals with schizophrenia symptoms such as auditory hallucinations actually produce the nerve signals of the sounds, inside of their brains and then believe that external sources are responsible. One study of these auditory schizophrenia symptoms measured blood flow in Broca’s Area, the region of the brain that helps people to produce speech.

These schizophrenia symptoms can also involve any of the other senses. Tactile hallucinations may take the form of tingling, burning, or electric-shock sensations. Somatic hallucinations feel as if something is happening inside the body, such as a snake crawling inside the stomach. Visual hallucinatory schizophrenia symptoms may produce vague perceptions of colors or clouds or distinct visions of people or objects. Individuals with gustatory hallucinations may find that their food or drink tastes strange, and people with olfactory hallucinations smell odors that no one else smells such as the smell of poison or smoke.

Those suffering from these auditory hallucinations often do not have a corresponding visual hallucination of a person talking to them. Since no one seems to be present, they may be puzzled and attribute these voices to a some real or imaginary source. They may believe that a nearby person is saying the things they hear; or perhaps a dog; or that the speaker (who may be God or the devil) is invisible. My father regularly would accuse me of saying the things he heard, or else he thought that the devil (who I believe he thought was invisible)was saying them to him. Some people may think that the government or aliens are transmitting these voices to them by radio.

It’s possible the person described in the OP is visualizing someone talking to them, but in my experience it is more likely she simply thinks the person speaking is invisible.