I do understand and have sympathy with all your problems, and have been trying to help, unfortunately as Ben states, it is a closed door. I reckon the medication bars the brain from coping with the voice, for a time, and does not guarantee the voice going away. There is reason for the voice, probably related to your life, and no 2 lives are the same - can I suggest try to relate, then move on, if possible without medication or psychiatrists. Some are better sectioned, and feel more secure, as night may be a bad time. There could be a good reason behind the voice. One has to be able to cope with the voice, firm if you want but calm. Just the fact that it can happen is bewildering, and the support of others does help. Ben, it states there are more mental patients in Austria I think, trying to work this out, and it is nice to have a psychiatrist who doesn't yawn the minute I open my mouth, and I have only spent about 30 mins in total with the........it was enough I too, not told, but went without food for days on more than one occassion. When down, things have got to go up - faith, hope and charity

Hi Lin, Yes I agree with you entirely. There is also debate at the moment about less invasive ways of dealing with voices (rather than taking medication, which can make people a bit zombie-like). Faith, charity and especially hope are all really important.

Hi Ben, It has been a little while since I have posted anything here. The thread that I posted in earlier does not seem to be working when you click on the link to "Leave a comment". Since it has been about eight months when I last posted here, there is plenty of stuff for me to share with you. Inspite many occurances that most people might just consider "A STRING OF BAD LUCK", but leaves me questioning whether or not other forces may have been involved in the matters, I feel that I have dealt with them well. Sure, there were days that depression got the better of me and I toyed with the idea of just ending it all, but under the circumstances I think most people would have felt pretty much the same way. I am still hearing the voices. Some days they get quite bad and others I hardly hear them at all. Anyhow, let me get back to the so called bad luck that I mentioned earlier. I was working at a place for about three months and they really liked me there and gave me a couple of nice raises to let me know that they liked the job that I was doing. The job involded maintenace and renovations of huge building which contained lofts which they rented. We were doing brick work on the roof during the summer and we had to do grinding. Most of of the guys working there had been there even less time than I had been. One Monday I went into the tool shop and noticed that one of the grinders were missing. I went to look around on the roof and a few other places in the building that I thought it might have been but still could not find it, so I went to tell my boss that it was missing. He didn't seem all that concerned with it but I told him that I would check at the end of each day to make certain that all of them were accounted for. That same Friday, towards the end of the day, I had noticed that there was another grinder missing. I followed the same procedure that I had first time it happened and ended up telling my boss about it, who reacted much the same as he did the first time that I told him, which was pretty much not at all. At five o'clock, which was my regular time to finish, he asked me if I wanted to do some overtime because he had couple of things that had to be done by the end of that day. I ended up working until seven that night and he asked me if I wanted to work the weekend. I really needed the extra money, so I eagerly said that I would. On my way home, I was calculating how much money my check would be the next week with all of the overtime and was quite pleased the result as it would help my wife and I pay off some of our debts a little faster. I got home and took a shower and strated to eat my supper at around eigth-thirty. While I was eating, I recieved a phone call from my boss, who said "It's not good, Pat! It's not good, Pat!" I interruppted him and asked him what he was talking about. He said that he spoke to the owner of the building and told him about the two grinders that were missing and that the owner told him that if the grinders did not show up on Monday morning, everyone who was working that Friday afternoon would be fired. I could not believe what I was hearing, it sounded so rediculous to me. I then asked my boss if this meant that I was not going to be working that weekend and he said that I would not working because of this. This increased my feeling of thinking this was rediculous to a total feeling of outrage. I was going to be losing money and perhaps even my job because I was taking a responsibility that I was not even asked to do but felt it was nessecary so we could keep track of the tools. I let my boss know that I was not happy at all with this and to be sure and let the owner know this. I then spent the entire weekend totally pissed off that I had lost all that money from working the weekend and worried that I would lose my job when I went into work on Monday morning. When I showed up to work on Monday, I was informed that everyone that was there on Friday was indeed fired. I was furious! I let my former boss know how idiotic I thought this decision was and told him to tell the owner that I thought he was an idiot. I also demanded to be paid all of the money that they owed me that same day or I would cause some major problems for them. I'm pretty sure he knew that my words were serious because they had a check ready for me by the end of that day. So, I went from counting my extra money to pay the bills to trying to figure out how I was going to come up with money to pay the bills. It is so much easier to see the humor in irony when it is happening to other people. Oh, and how I wish that this was the end of that story! I ended up going home and started the sometimes grueling and frustrating task of finding new employment. I then recieved a call from my old boss on the Thursday of that same week. He asked me if I could go to his office to see him. I asked him what it was regarding and he told that he had to discuss this with me in person. I agreed to go see him, thinking he was probably going to offer me my job back. When I got to his office he asked me to sit down and then proceeded hand some papers which he asked me to read. I started reading but quite quickly could not believe what I was reading and started laughing and shaking my head in disgust while I was reading. What I was reading was a contract supposivly written up by the owners lawyer, stating that all the people who where present the day that the second grider had gone missing (There were three of us in total.) would agree to take a polygraph test and whomever failed the polygraph test would have to pay for the price of the two grinders, plus all lawyers fees, plus the cost of the polygraph test which came to somewhere in the ballpark of four thousand dollars. I was once aain furious and to make an already long story a little shorter, I will just leave it at that. I will continue with more of my misfortunes soon but I do not have the time right now. Thanks, Pat

Hi Pat, Sounds awful. Job stress can often lead to health problems and nervous breakdowns. I hope you refused to take the polygraph test, as I think this would be a breach of your human rights. Intervoice and I are also currently collecting people's stories for a book (see: http://www.intervoiceonline.org/2008/12/11/hearing-voices-the-personal-stories-of-voice-hearers). If you would like to contribute, send your whole story to: voices2009@hotmail.co.uk

Hi Ben, I read your story and am pretty moved by your experience. I am currently working on my dissertation entitled: "Meaningful voices: A phenomenological study of auditory hallucinations in individuals with schizophrenia." Essentially, I am interviewing individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia (even though I don't believe in such labels) to determine if they have found their voices to be meaningful to them. I am based in the USA. Some of my participants are based in the UK - London specifically. As part of my research (for my dissertation) and for ethical reasons, I have to give a name of a psychologist in case my participants feel the need to speak with a one after I interview them regarding their voices. Ideally, I would like to refer them to someone who is willing to do ONE session for a REDUCED FEE. But if that is not possible but you are still willing to do a minimum of one session at your regular fee, I would love to refer you to my participants. IF the need arises - which i think is very unlikely - would you consider doing only one session for a reduced fee? I am specifically asking you because you work with this population and you have a more holistic approach to voice hearers. Please let me know at your earliest convenience. Warmly, Rochelle.

Hi Rochelle, Your dissertation sounds excellent. I am not a qualified psychologist or psychotherapist, but have a doctorate in mental health. I live about an hour from London, so if the (unlikely) need arises, however, please contact me on my personal email: btgray@hotmail.com and we can discuss. I don't think I would charge you (apart from travel expenses to London= about £30 off peak) as your project is timely, good and I look forward to seeing the results (My email again: btgray@hotmail.com).

I've spoken with two angels (as well as a rank of demons who are horrible and say disgusting things). The 2 main things that I remember the angels saying: "Don't forget you're not the only one suffering down here" and "All the little children go to heaven. You should see how happy they are!". The angels told me that there's no hunger, tiredness, illness and thirst in heaven (You never get hungry, thirsty, ill or tired, because you are filled and alive with the Holy Spirit). Sounds crazy, I know- I was an atheist up until 2003, but the angels encouraged me to pray for everyone. Maybe we all need a miracle? Keep fighting for the good, Ben

This is a very good forum for voice hearers and they are very nice and supportive: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/voice-hearers/