About Voices & Visions

What do we mean by ‘hearing voices’?

When we talk about ‘hearing voices’ we are referring to experiences where someone hears, sees or senses something that other people don’t. It can include:

• Hearing someone speak when other people can’t
• Hearing music, noises or sounds that other people can’t hear
• Seeing something other people can’t see (often called having a ‘vision’)
• Feeling something on, or under, your skin that is hard to explain and/or others might say has no physical cause
• Smelling something other people can’t
• Tasting something that others, eating or drinking the same substance, would not taste
• Sensing someone else’s presence, when others cannot
• Having people you can speak to that others cannot see or hear

This sections shares a few aspects of the experience of hearing voices, but is not intended to be comprehensive. We hope that it gives you some food for thought and, hopefully, signposts you to some useful resources.