What is the behavior of a ‘mentally healthy’ person?
In the mid 1970’s a neighbor of mine stabbed 3 and killed 2 of her children. Her motive was admonitory voices i.e. “God” told her it needed to be done. She was diagnosed as Schizophrenic and placed in a well known (in my state) psychiatric hospital. I have a book written by the late Psychologist Julian Jaynes titled “The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind” Copyright date is 1976. He devotes a whole chapter to schizophrenia and ‘hearing voices’. It was common knowledge back then that one of the diagnostic criteria for ‘schizophrenia’ was hearing voices. The public was ‘reassured’ that only 1% of schizophrenics heard ‘command’ voices that were symptomatic of violent attacks. So I am very confused about the article’s stance that hearing voices became a predominant feature of schizophrenia only in the 1990’s. I am also concerned that if one looks up the definition of schizophrenia in current dictionaries hearing voices or even auditory hallucinations is not present in these newer dictionaries yet I do recall a forty year old collegiate dictionary I had in my possession until a few years ago did have such phenomena listed in it’s definition of schizophrenia. So, although my reply doesn’t deal directly with your comments- I think it does put information out there that contradicts what the authors of the article are saying. At least in reference to the U.S. I will admit I know nothing about what was happening in France or Australia in the 1990’s regarding either schizophrenia or the stance of their psychiatrists regarding this issue.
What is the behavior of a ‘mentally healthy’ person?
In the mid 1970’s a neighbor of mine stabbed 3 and killed 2 of her children. Her motive was admonitory voices i.e. “God” told her it needed to be done. She was diagnosed as Schizophrenic and placed in a well known (in my state) psychiatric hospital. I have a book written by the late Psychologist Julian Jaynes titled “The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind” Copyright date is 1976. He devotes a whole chapter to schizophrenia and ‘hearing voices’. It was common knowledge back then that one of the diagnostic criteria for ‘schizophrenia’ was hearing voices. The public was ‘reassured’ that only 1% of schizophrenics heard ‘command’ voices that were symptomatic of violent attacks. So I am very confused about the article’s stance that hearing voices became a predominant feature of schizophrenia only in the 1990’s. I am also concerned that if one looks up the definition of schizophrenia in current dictionaries hearing voices or even auditory hallucinations is not present in these newer dictionaries yet I do recall a forty year old collegiate dictionary I had in my possession until a few years ago did have such phenomena listed in it’s definition of schizophrenia. So, although my reply doesn’t deal directly with your comments- I think it does put information out there that contradicts what the authors of the article are saying. At least in reference to the U.S. I will admit I know nothing about what was happening in France or Australia in the 1990’s regarding either schizophrenia or the stance of their psychiatrists regarding this issue.