Does anyone here have any metaphysical insights into Foreign Acccent Syndrome?

[BlueIris]

It's a rare complication from general anesthesia that can cause patients to speak in what sounds like an accent foreign to their normal one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_accent_syndrome

Wikipedia says its neurological in nature. The lastest case involves a woman in Oregon who woke up from oral surgery speaking in a foreign accent--or, well, what sounds like a British (maybe Irish?) accent.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/224512.php

So...does a change in neurological function explain it all? Or could it be metaphysical somehow (past life memories bleeding through)?

Feel free to laugh, even I think this post is a little crazy.

[Delphinus]

1. In real life,

I have a friend with this. It is not a fun thing.

[BlueIris]

2. Okay, well, I wasn't mocking people with this disorder.

Nor making fun of their symptoms, whatever the cause.

[Kookaburra]

3. Worked with a woman who had this

Way back in the early 90's. A lot of the people at work made fun of her behind her back -- said she was just doing it to get attention, and that she was weird before she ever got that way. I think they were just looking for someone to ostracize and she was easy prey. She had a rough time of it, but handled it with grace. She eventually quit that job and went somewhere else and was much happier. That place was a horror story come to life (that has to be the worst job I've ever had).

[BlueIris]

4. Ouch.

That sounds terrible. Glad she was able to escape.

[Kind of Blue]

5. Bless your ex-coworker.

Working with vicious people can be incredibly maddening and devastating. But handling them with grace is a thing of beauty. That's Just Awesome, Kookaburra. Wish I'd known her :)

[liberalmuse]

6. Wow!! I just did a titch of research...

You know, just superficially with Google and I came across a YouTube and some articles, which were interesting, but what made me have to stop were the comments. OMG, I feel so sorry for anyone who gets this. People are just horrible. It appears that people don't understand this syndrome and think people who get it are clamoring for attention. This was very depressing. :(

[Cleita]

7. I pick up accents easily when I'm around people

who speak them and it's not because I want to. I guess I could speak English in any way I wanted to because it wasn't the first language I learned although it's the one I became most fluent in. I try to consistently speak in the accent that I guess would be called West Coast Californian, however, living with my Irish husband for 33 years made it hard. From what I understand this syndrome is completely different and has a lot to do with people trying to relearn what they lost either through the anesthesia or because they might have had a stroke in a certain area of their brain.

On the other hand, about your question, yes a past life bleeding through when someone is in a meditative state could also be a factor, especially when people speak an entirely different language in that state that they never learned.

[findrskeep]

8. I feel psychically that when this happens,

it is linked to a past life or lives that the person has had and somehow it is triggered when the person is put under anesthesia. Twice I've "asked" about this after seeing someone interviewed on tv that it's happened to and this was the answer I received. It also "feels" true to me.

[liberalmuse]

9. I think you're likely right.

That's the first thing I thought of.

[Celebration]

10. I think so too

I have even heard of extremely rare cases when someone actually talks in a foreign language, although they had never learned it. If someone is put under anesthesia, it is possible for all kinds of energies to pop in. It doesn't have to be a past life necessarily--it could be a version of a "walk in". I bet a lot of energy clearing would do wonders in situations like this.

[AC_Mem]

11. Sure, I'll add my opinion

I guess it could be past life, but perhaps it is a parallel life bleed through. Since - okay, stretch your perception with me for a moment - if time is only measured as we do here on earth and if it is more circular on the other side or in our other dimension, all time is really "now", so past lives are not really past.

If we have a larger "Oversoul" that sends out fragments of itself into lives, perhaps something happens that causes bleed through on some sort of a connection on a quantum or cellular level into another life.

I guess I would wonder about the accent. Is it an accent that is CURRENTLY spoken, or one that was spoken say back in the 1400's? Is it always in the base language, i.e., has anyone gone through this and not been able to speak English at all (or their native language) and fluently began speaking another language that they have no experience with? Or is this an anomaly where, if words and language were shapes or colors, perhaps something happens where the shapes are changed or colors added (if this is not understandable I apologize - sometimes my mind works in weird ways LOL).

There are so many explanations, or perhaps no explanations. Everything means something, either to our life or to affect the lives of others.

Very interesting topic though and thanks for bringing it up!

Annette

[arikara]

12. A family friend who left Texas when she was a young girl

and moved to northern BC never lost her Texas accent. She married an Englishman with a pronounced British accent, and picked up that too. She used both accents with varying degrees at varying times and yet never seemed to do a Canadian accent. We were always quite delighted by it, especially when she'd use very British expressions with her Texas drawl. She was a real sweetheart, unfortunately we all lost her last month to cancer, may she rest in peace.

[Avalux]

13. I have no insight into the cause, but have a friend who suffers from it.

It didn't occur after taking anesthesia, but after abruptly stopping an anti-depressant. She had severe withdrawal symptoms, one of which has been diagnosed as foreign accent syndrome. It has not gone away after many months and speech therapy.

My choice of the word suffer is deliberate; at first her doctors thought she was crazy and even making it up, took a long time to find one who recognized what was going on and try to help her.

I would tend to think it's a change in neurological function, not metaphysical.

[BlueIris]

14. After stopping an anti-depressant? Interesting.

And I bet she had a hard time finding help.