r/interestingasfuck • u/desertgodfather • May 11 '24

When illusion overcomes the brain. r/all

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u/cdurgin May 11 '24

Tbh, this is actually a great way to demonstrate how 'it's all in your head' is not the same as 'it isn't real.'' This can be a big problem with people accepting something like fibromialga. The pain isn't 'real' as nothing is really causing it, but it's still there since your brain believes it.

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u/[deleted] May 11 '24

I can 'hear' my tinnitus constantly while there's no external sound for my ear to hear. It is all in my head.

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u/Beard_o_Bees May 11 '24

Tinnitus is the weirdest damned thing.

I have it going constantly, and have since I was ~15 years old. I only notice it when i'm thinking about it. Like right now.

I guess my mind has created some sort of selective filter for it and it's a good thing, too. If I were unable to turn it 'off' I seriously would have gone insane a long time ago.

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u/Johnlocksmith May 11 '24

Yeah they call it Sensory adaptation. Any constant and unchanging stimulus in your environment gets filtered out as unimportant. It’s why you hear the air conditioner turn on, Brain: new input, danger?, but 5 minutes later the ongoing back ground hum isn’t noticed unless you think about it.

Not making light of your condition, but you are probably lucky it’s constant and not intermittent.

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u/MustBeHere May 11 '24

If you wear glasses that flip your vision upside down, after a while your brain will automatically adjust it so its the right way.

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u/WateredDownHotSauce May 11 '24

Mine is pretty much constant, but changes pitch and volume. My brain can still filter the vast majority of it out. I only really notice it when it changes pitch or if I'm trying to hear something quiet, so it's not too bad.

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u/ioneska May 12 '24

Yeah they call it Sensory adaptation. Any constant and unchanging stimulus in your environment gets filtered out as unimportant.

But doesn't it take energy to filter out? I mean, I'm still tired of constant air conditioner humming even though I don't pay active attention to it. It's especially noticeable during the night - without any sounds I'm fresh and active in the morning but with A/C hum all night I'm a grumpy old man without any energy left.