Discussion
Imagine that you enter the copy room in your office building, and a 20-something coworker is pacing back and forth in front of the photocopier and pulling at her hair in an agitated manner. She is mumbling “Don’t, don’t” and “protect my soul.” She looks at you and says, “Protect your soul.” You glean from the exchange that she perceives the photocopier takes people’s souls. Delusions like this—in other words, beliefs outside the realm of reality that persist despite evidence to the contrary—signify psychosis.
Hallucinations, meaning seeing or hearing things that others do not, are also part of psychosis These psychotic symptoms are also associated with schizophrenia, a serious mental health issue characterized by loss of contact with reality. It may be difficult to reason with someone in this state. So, what do you do?
In this Discussion, you explore schizophrenia further by imagining your reaction to someone experiencing auditory hallucinations.
To Prepare
Review your course announcements for possible information related to this week’s Discussion and Assignment.
Review the videos on schizophrenia and auditory hallucinations.
By Day 4
Post your reflection on the videos showing the experiences of people with schizophrenia. Then, with these resources in mind, explain your crisis response if you encountered someone hearing voices in your professional role. Why is it particularly important to demonstrate empathy and validate their experience of the voices?
