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Searching for truth in hallucinations: Why do psychopaths believe they are being manipulated?
The world of mental illness is full of mysteries, especially when people diagnosed with schizophrenia are convinced that their thoughts and feelings are being manipulated by some outside force. In this case, an illusion called the "influence machine" begins to emerge. The Austrian psychoanalyst Viktor Tauske's 1918 article "The Origin of the 'Affect Machine' in Schizophrenia" delves into this phenomenon, revealing how patients mistakenly believe that forces in the outside world are secretly operating on them. heart. This is not just an obsession, but a need to understand and explain unknowable events.
They believe their thoughts and body sensations are being manipulated by an incomprehensible machine, and the power of this machine frightens them.
When we explore the inner world of patients with schizophrenia, we can find that the boundaries between their self and the external world are often blurred. Tausk pointed out that the occurrence of this situation is closely related to the patient's loss of self-awareness. Their experiences are reminiscent of early childhood, when children are not yet able to differentiate between self and other and often believe that their parents or gods have insight into all their thoughts. The return of this psychological state leaves patients facing the dilemma of their search for control and explanation.
Tausk observed that the "influence machines" described by patients were often projections of their own bodies and reflected an earlier, infantile narcissistic need.
For many people with schizophrenia, their hallucinations are not just incomprehensible, they also provide a framework for interpreting inexplicable phenomena. They will mistakenly believe that such machines are external entities, and often believe that the operators of these machines are certain people, usually doctors, which makes their delusions of persecution continue to deepen. For example, the famous case of James Tilly Matthews once described a device called the "Air Loom" and believed that it controlled his thoughts and feelings.
Matthews was sent to a mental hospital in 1797 for openly shouting "treason" in the British Parliament, and his hallucinations were detailed in a book published in 1810.
Whose voices are driving these narratives of perceived manipulation? It’s a question worth pondering. Patients' stories often resonate in literature, as in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, where the protagonist "Chief" Broden believes that everything in a mental hospital is a "machine" and falls under the control of a larger technological society. among. This allows the concept of "influence machines" to transcend its psychotic roots and trigger a reflection on technology and society itself.
This metaphor of technological society not only exists in novels, but is also used by some radical authors as a tool to criticize modern society.
When discussing Tausk's concept of "influence machines," some even compared it to today's television. Activist Jerry Mander has suggested in his writings that there are similarities between television and Tausk's "influence machine" in that both project images of the external world directly into our hearts, triggering an outpouring of emotion and belief. change. It can be said that there is a wonderful mirror relationship between the form of media and the delusions of psychotic patients.
All this reminds people that in today's increasingly technologically advanced world, whether our thoughts and perceptions of reality are still our own, or whether they are influenced by constant modifications.
In summary, Tausk's "affect machine" provides an important perspective on understanding delusions in schizophrenia patients, allowing us to better explore the external and internal interactive processes behind psychological phenomena. This is not only an understanding of individual psychology, but also a profound reflection on the impact of modern social technology on our souls. So, in this era full of technology and insight, are we also looking for some kind of truth in the same illusion?
