This one is a bit long, but really interesting. Cabinet of Wonders blog dug up an article by Danny Penman at the Daily Mail about hearing voices.
Now, normally, hearing voices is a sure symptom of mental illness (like schizophrenia) ... but is it always a bad thing? Here's a story recounted by consultant psychiatrist Dr. Ikechukwu Azuonye:
The story begins in 1984 when a married woman in her 40s was referred to him, apparently suffering from a psychiatric illness. Her ‘symptoms’ appeared when she was at home in London quietly reading a book, and a distinct voice appeared in her head.
‘Please don’t be afraid,’ the voice said in a firm but soothing tone. ‘I know it must be shocking for you to hear me speaking to you like this, but this is the easiest way I could think of. My friend and I used to work at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, and we would like to help you.’
She was understandably shocked and was initially determined to dismiss the voice as a bizarre daydream. But it refused to go away and claimed that she was physically ill and would soon need help. [...]
‘The voices told her to go in and ask to have a brain scan,’ says Dr Azuonye. ‘This was apparently for two reasons. She had a tumour in her brain and her brain stem was inflamed.
Because the voices had told her things in the past that had turned out to be true, she believed them when they said that she had a tumour. I requested a brain scan.’
It turned out the diagnosis made by the voices was correct. Interestingly, says Dr Azuonye, there were no clinical signs that would have alerted anyone — including the patient — to the tumour.
The surgeon suggested an immediate operation to remove the tumour, a decision the voices agreed with. ‘They said they would have preferred the operation to be done at the National Hospital, Queen Square, London, because they specialised in neurological diseases. But because she was already at the Royal Free Hospital, they told her to have the procedure done there because it was urgent,’ Dr Azuonye says.
After the operation, and when the woman had recovered consciousness, the voices returned one last time, to bid her farewell. ‘We are pleased to have helped you,’ they said, before bidding her goodbye. ‘It is a miracle,’ says Dr Azuonye. ‘The patient regards herself as being helped by a guardian angel.’
Was it miracle or madness? Link - More over at Cabinet of Wonders
The answer is YES. You wouldn't ask that if you had ever actually dealt with a paranoid schizophrenic.
Petwhac (Population of Events That Would Have Appeared Coincidental). This is defined as all those events that may be considered to be a 'coincidence' if studied casually, but are both possible and statistically probable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unweaving_the_rainbow#Petwhac
Miracles are far more real and commonplace than skeptics like andrew could comprehend (or would want to, since it proves them wrong.) Petwhac? I think not. How statistically probable was it for this woman to be able to correctly diagnose a condition a doctor would likely have missed?
The very fact a person has voices in their head is a symptom enough of a neurological anomaly that needs to be investigated. Do we have figures on how many people seek medical attention on the advice of phantom voices, dreams or mysterious experiences every year, without the advice bearing fruit? I'd venture to say it's a significant number. When one happens to coincide with an actual medical case, people are quick to point it out as a miracle without considering the multiple 'non-events' which led nowhere.
Athon
The only thing it was definitely not is mental illness. Schizophrenia doesn't go away, and it's certainly not comparable to angels.
anyway, if someone's got cancer of the brain it's not that strange that they're having mental problems is it!
Man has sudden urge not to get on plane, stays on the ground, plane lands safely = man doesn't tell anybody.
Same thing, unless the story is entirely made up. Sometimes, people convince themselves that things happen. It's kinda creepy to think there are intelligent beings floating around, peering into our brains. Why don't they speak to the millions of other people who get sick, like children, before it's too late to save them?
This is case of monkeys and typewriters. If she's relly hearing voices, then her delusion simply matched up with her disease.
I'm reminded of Grant Morrison, the comics writer. He wrote a story about a man who was tortured, and his torturers convinced him face was being eaten away by some weird virus. Not long after, Morrison really got some weird virus that was eating his face away. I think that it's the same thing - on some subliminal message, he knew something was wrong, there was a virus attacking his face. So, that idea bubbled up in his fiction, the same way you can have a nightmare about getting sick a few days before you get the flu. It's not actually a prophetic dream. Your body is letting you know, "Hey, you're coming down with the flu," but you haven't figured it out yet, on the waking level.
The body and mind are fascinating and mysterious enough, without needing to look for supernatural stuff.
If only the voices told her their names...
When I'm sleep...I sometimes hear someone knocking at the door or I hear the doorbell (which I don't have) or someone using a door knocker. I usually get up to go answer the door, peer through the peep hole, only to see no one is there...and no one else in the house has heard anyone knock. It happens when people are here or not. Great....now I need a brain scan.
And if the voices were just a product of her condition, so what? She got the help she needed. Even if that's not "supernatural", it's still kind of miraculous. Wouldn't you rather know something's wrong in your head -- no matter how the information came to you-- and live, than not find out about it and die?
My first instinct is to doubt this story. If you read the article, you will read about a woman who was healed at a Penecostal rally in the 80s. She was paralized for many years, then was able to walk instantly. I have seen her on television, but I wonder if it is documented and proven? Does anyone know anything about this?
There are phenomenon that can't be explained, only rationalized under the "had to happen to someone" theory. If someone can believe in a magic man in the sky that controls our fate, I can believe in the power of the human mind.
Yeah... Take a number.