I saw a new patient today, who’d made an appointment for evaluation of headaches.
In the course of the conversation his wife mentioned he has episodes where he “hears voices”. He’d recently lost a job because he spent too much time talking to those voices.
I asked whether he can tell the difference – for example, could he tell the difference between my voice and one of those voices.
“Oh, sure,” he said. “Those voices are different. They’re like… you know, when God talks to you.”
“You think that the voices are God?”
“No, ” (looks at me like I’m an idiot) “It’s just that they sound the exact same way that it sounds when God talks to you.”
I just gotta say, I didn’t find this reference helpful, ’cause I’ve never had a personal conversation with God. Obviously, my background is insufficient to really relate to this man’s experience…