My partner and I live in Vanier, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa, Canada. My partner complains of hearing voices. He also believes these voices are the voices of real people that are somehow transmitted to him through presumably sophisticated electronic technology. He hears voices on the street, in public spaces such as clubs or public transportation, in the car and in our home as well as the home of his parents. The voices are perceived as malevolent and are critical of his behavior and if his failure to seek employment. The voices however have to be understood in a larger context: my partner also complains that the persons behind the voices are organized into a group. They have targeted him for harassment, and have hacked into his computer, his cell-phone and his iPod, either to monitor his actions or to prevent him from fully accessing these devices. He also suspects that the people have planted microphones and bugs in our home and have managed to observe our comings and goings through the windows, notwithstanding the fact that we live in a high-rise with no other buildings in proximity. He claims they have managed to break into our home either to install devices or steal. He further claims that they can send pain signals to his body or that they can turn appliances on or off at will. He claims that harassment episodes are planned in advance and that, for instance, the person tapping on the back of his seat at the cinema has been instructed to do so. He insists that his computer problems are proof that this conspiracy exists and that the voices are real. My partner's health is compromised and he has been taking a number of prescription drugs for several years, including for instance, anti-depressants and sleep medication. He also has a history of substance abuse which we have only managed recently to bring under a modicum of control. He has very little energy and motivation, and often sleeps for days at a time. Because of his health problems, he has no income. He contributes to the relationship by doing a minimum of housework: dishes, laundry, superficial vacuuming, and preparing the occasional meal. When we first met about six years ago, the voices were only present in specific environments -- clubs, gyms, stores. The voices and other manifestations that he complains about became more frequent roughly two years ago. Our doctor and myself believe that my partner's root problem is substance-induced psychosis. My partner refuses to believe this. He was prescribed Risperidal for awhile, apparently with some success, but the prescription was discontinued when he falsely informed the doctor that the voices were no longer present. He has recently purchased a 'white noise' machine which he claims helps "by preventing microphones from listening in". He sees this success as further proof of his claims that he is not the victim of psychotic delusions. A very obvious side issue at this point is whether I should continue in this relationship in a supportive role, or whether I should jump ship on the premise that I am being victimized and that I should send him back to Montreal to deal with his problems on his own, with the help of his parents and brothers. I have to point out that here in Vanier, I am the only person to which he can turn for support. Readers will likely question the issue of a continuing relationship in such circumstances, but this is not the issue I wish to discuss at this time. My specific query is whether any readers know of any kind of real, organized, harassment of the extent and kind described above, as firmly maintained by my partner, or whether this is truly a psychological manifestation of some kind. If is is the latter (which to me seems patently obvious, but I'm trying to keep an open mind because of my patner's insistence), my view is that he should agree to psychiatric follow-up, with appropriate medication, possibly in the context of an overall strategy as promoted by Intervoice. Failing that, and in the face of his continued behavior, my concern is that I would have to end our relationship in ways that in particular would be very unfortunate for him. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Denis Juneau, I read your comment above, I too have experienced a lot of things that are similar to what you say your boyfreind is experiencing, I left one of my personal comments on the "Hidden Demons: A personal Account of hearing Voices" page, I also have the same problem of suspecting someone is using sophisticated electronic technology, you spoke of your boyfreind claiming that he is being sent pain signals, and that he has very little motivation and energy and sleeps for days at a time, I have had the same problems I have been struggling with now for a few months, I also posted a few other comments on the page I mentioned above, maybe you can have your boyfreind read through some of them it might help him to know he is not alone. My e-mail address is ericoreurek429@yahoo.com- Just in case you have any questions, Id be happy to help him as much as I can.

hey what a very intelligent person welcome to the way of liven , in the near future we wouldnt need nothing but roaming minds

Hey Denis! I just got into this web. I have heard voices for 19 years. I struggled quite a bit with some of the same situations you described concerning your partner. I cannot take medication since I have some severe allergies. I have had to learn ways to cope on my own as well as adapt other techniques and suggestions to take charge. Yes the voices are in us and trying to convince other wise can be a challenge. By the way my voices were created from the use of meth. As time has gone on I have learned that I felt very negative about myself. If one feels negative about themselves as well as insecure and paranoid, well welcome to the world of people threatening and pursuing you. A world where people stay up all night just to harass you. A world where coincidence seems to fit what you are trying to tell people about. I had such horrible hallucinations and delusions with the voices. I did notice that certain foods affected my voices, lack of sleep, and of course negative thinking. Also the latest find concerning voices and the connection with the auditory cortex has really brought my life with voices on track. One other thing. I like my voices. They are me! Hear Voices doesn't make one sick. What makes one sick is the stigma that goes with voices. I still have a challenge explaining voices. Why? Because they don't hear voices or they are still in the early stages as what to do. But ask your partner if he likes his voices or not!