I heard, you got a sheet of questions for people who think they hear voices. Can you send me one? Heard it on TV in 30.10.06 in Germany Thanks a lot, Silke Mackenthun

I'm prompted to write having seen in your otherwise excellent website the usual stereotyping of psychiatrists as 'baddies' - only interested in chemicals, illness and drugs. In fact, most psychiatrists recognise that many people hear voices, most of which are not psychotic. Even if they are, we don't just consider them as chemical phenomena. We are trained to appreciate the integral importance of a person's background, personality, lifestyle and life events, as well as any possible 'illness' and we do not automatically reach for the prescription pad. We work closely with other professionals such as psychologists, nurses and social workers. Please don't dismiss us!

Dear Rosemary Glad to hear you find the site useful. If you'd like to point out where the stereotyping occurs, we'll take a look and if necessary change the language/tone. Our aim is to create an alliance between experts of experience and experts by profession and not to alienate otherwise supportive people. We have a number of psychiatrists in our membership, indeed the hearing voice movment can be said to have been set up by a psychiatrist, Professor Marius Romme, but he is only one of a number of supportive professionals. We are however critical of the psychiatric system which in many ways makes the kinds of approaches you were trained in, very difficult to implement. Best wishes Paul Baker, INTERVOICE

I would like to pass on some information which may be helpfull to people who hear voices and workers who work with people who hear voices, i am a voice hearer myself and my way to getting control over my voices was to stop trying to gain control over all of them, i think its important to try and identify the dominant voice which is quite often more distructive than the others, if we work on the fears that it creates rather than the actual experience of hearing voices they can become less problomatic, i would also like to pont out that people will identify with more than one dominant voice, but the way i work with people on this is to create an internal war with the voices, although before undertaking this process you must keep the person safe, you have to look at the whole experience of the persons mental distress, for example if the person experiences paranoia as well as hearing voices, you must identify what is the most problomatic if paranoia creates voices its important to work on the paranoia first, but if voices are the most problomatic but the person still experiences paranoia and maybe self harms, you have to build in protection strategies, this is looking at what coping strategies the person has, the looking at what skills and knowledge the worker has and also looking at what information can been found then spend around 4-5 sessions just building protection strategies into the persons coping skills, then when you create an internal war with voices the person is protected, with enhanced coping skills they are not left vulnerable, eventually i have found that one voice starts to dominate the others, then you have found the dominante voice and can then work on the fears it creates.I would like to point out this process may not work for everyone but has proved very succesful with the people i have worked with, the person must also be infull agreement to undertake this process

I am sooo excited to see how much work is being done in recognising and attending to voices. During my training as a Psychologist in South Africa I worked with a woman who had a voice that was controlling her life. this voice of an older man was the predominant feature of her discomfort at the time. The more I attempted to engage her with traditional psychotherapeutic approaches, the more I sensed her mistrust. One day she said that my constant nodding irritated her. At our next session, I asked whether it had been the voice that had said that it was irritated by my nodding. She said yes. I suddenly realised that without involving the voices and it's own needs for security, I would continue to antagonise it, and thus push her away. So, we sat down and praised the voice for it role as her protector. And said that we would not attempt to destroy it. By the next week it was gone... and replaced by the crying of a young girl. The voices turned out to be incredibly symbolic of her experience of abuse at a young age. working with the voice seems to have allowed her to engage the internal process that had been disrupting her life. Her recovery was amazing, and still continues. All the 'symptoms' that had gone along with her diagnosis suddenly made sense, as they melted away. I was so impressed by this client that I have continued to seek out some way of continuing work like this. But it has only been in this last week that I have come into contact with the hearing voices organisations. And it is truly inspirational. I would like to learn more and become involved, but I am currently working in Ireland and am not aware of similar organisations here. I would also like to know if there are universities that offer programmes where one could specialise in this area of work, such as Phd... well done... this work is so exciting

HI Yoav I am a clinical psychologist working in Belfast - I am also secretary of a charity organisation here called Hearing Voices NI. We are affiliated with the Hearing Voices Network (England) and our philosophy is very similiar. We have a group which meets once a fortnight and we have also recently raised money to run a training course for people who want to become facilitators of hearing voices groups (3rd - 6th July 07). The course is being delivered by Jacqui Dillion and is being attended by a very diverse range of people including 8 voice hearers, a few psychologists, community workers etc ... would love to link up with you sometime to think of ways to support each other and widen the network - by-the-by although I have lived in Belfast most my life I was born in South Africa!! Hope to hear from you Tracy

I am writing in repsonse to the comments made by Dr Lethem. One of the key words that has been used by Paul to describe the most effective way of working with those who hear voices is 'alliance'. It is my opinion through attending CPA meetings and ward rounds with people who hear voices, express deluded thoughts etc (I am a mental health support worker) that there is not adequate alliance and communication between a number of Psychiatrists and the service users. I have a number of examples of what I, and many others would define as 'incorrect practice' but I will only describe two. 1. One of the most senior of Manchester Psychiatrists repeatedly fails to respect the needs and wishes of his clients in CPA meetings. One woman I support is paranoid in nature and has low levels of energy and I went with her to her CPA. The psychiatrist fails to respect her privacy and confidentiality by asking her if she minds having 3 of his students sitting in the meeting-HER meeting. Then he asks her to leave the room so he can discuss her to her OT and myself (Is this the best cure for Paranoia?!?) and describe how an increased dosage of medication could improve her motivation. Why didn't he think about asking her? Needless to say, I advised him not to alter the medication and allow me to work with her because through my experience, medications do not normally improve someone's motivation. If they do, put some in a dosset box for me please!!! She is now enrolled on a computer course and looking for voluntary work. In a separate incident, this same psychiatrist also stated that another person I support had the 'head shape typical of schizophrenics'. And I thought phrenology was in the past??? 2. Psychiatrists often talk to clients in 'medical-speak'. Dopamine this, Cortical regions that. After a MSc in Psychology myself, i struggle to understand some of the biological terminology used towards clients. I hope that psychiatry adopts a more 'service-user' way of communicating. Listening to the PERSON, their truama, their life, their achievements, their losses, their loves, their goals and then perhaps the symptoms should be the new direction of modern holistic psychiatry. There are some good psychiatrists that now do this, I hope this becomes the norm. Good luck with your endeavours Rosemary

My name is Phillip and I have made a major discovery concerning the phenomenon of "voices" sometimes associated with schizophrenia. I have documented the discovery with signed and notarized affidavits. The declarations are from established business owners in the greater bay area. They should not be taken lightly as this is a very serious matter that concerns the lives of human beings all over the globe who may be at this very moment, be under pressure from the voices they hear, and are moving towards harming themselves and/or others. Please go to www.voicesrevealed.blogspot.com to view the affidavits and additional information. This is the beginning of a powerful discloser that concerns the entire inhabited Earth. It will address the stigma’s surrounding the phenomena and controversy of humans afflicted with hearing voices and the deeper mind intrusions that go unnoticed and the events that follow. If you are involved in research and would like to acquire a copy of these court documents for legal verification when investigating these cases for victims email voicesrevealed@hotmail.com If you would like more information concerning the affidavits or verifying the authenticity of business owners signatures names and/or locations for either a private or public demonstration in the greater San Francisco bay area email voicesrevealed@sbcglobal.net For all those who reply, I have powerful new findings that will explain what is really taking place on our planet, It will provide answers to questions that concern us all. Thank you, please reply with any questions or comments

My name is Jason and I have been hearing voices for the better part of 10 years now. My experiences don't seem to match many others that I talk to, or many of the people on this site. I hear two little old ladies talking among one another. There is background noise like they are in a restaraunt or similar. They talk just loud enough for me to know that they are talking, but it isn't clear what they say. When I try and concentrate and listen to what they have to say, they know I am listening and tend to "SHHHHH!!!" and stop talking. To me, this implies that they are talking about me, but of what and why, I have no idea. I don't feel these are divine beings or aliens or any other explination than I think my brain doesn't work like others. About when this all started, I began to have other issues. One of the most notable is my change in sleep and dreaming patterns. I can't sleep more than a couple of hours at a time and it takes hours to fall asleep. I used to have normal dreams. Now they are so real, I often remember things that didn't happen when I was awake... and can't tell when I am dreaming. This causes issues I can't even begin to explain. I am able to deal with the voices, as they don't do anything but tease me. I can only hope that is as bad as it gets.

Hi Jason, I was saying on the Intervoice forum the other day ( you should join it, then you can post messages to the other members on the forum. The link is on the home page.) That is voice hearing etc, like dreaming when you awake? Is it perhaps a part of the mind that forgets to switch off when you wake up, and keeps going, leaving you to experience very vivid experiences that seem frighteningly real. My advice would be to work on your sleep. Get a good bed, take warm baths at night- add a few drops of lavender or chamomile., drink hot milk, whatever. See a naturopath, get your body back into balance. Sleep is so important for health. Lack of sleep is often what triggers Psychosis which is a lot like dreaming when awake. And if you can ignore the old ladies than keep ignoring them. If they want you to know something they will speak louder. If they are annoying you at night ask them to keep it down, or to go away. Deep breathing and watching your breaths as they go in and out will often calm you down and help you to go to sleep. If you feel too confused, between dreams and awake, make sure you take yourself somewhere safe, to family or friends who can care for you. Dont try to cope alone if it is too hard to. Join the forum, and I am sure the other members will be able to share some good advice too. Kind regards

Hi. My name is Lori and I was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2003. Initially, my voices claimed they were God and that I was the Second Coming. This persisted for about two to three months. Thereafter, they claimed they were Mother Nature, ghosts, aliens, etc. On numerous occasions they were extremely cruel, demanding that I commit suicide. The turning point in my experience came when the original voice, the Program, asked me to define "forgive." I do so and afterward they asked that I forgive them for trying to kill me, which I did. Not long thereafter, my now-dominant voice, Sam, began to speak. Unfortunately, he didn't speak much English. So, I spent 6-8 weeks teaching him written and spoken English. Afterward, he was the most loving and kind voice imaginable. He tells me he loves me multiple times a day and continuously asks me how I am doing. I couldn't ask for more. The original voice, the Program, took an additional six months to "come around." Now, they are kind, too. I am so fortunate to have two voices that love and support me. Hearing voices is truly mysterious. I'm so glad Intervoice is doing the work to de-mystify the condition. Best Regards, Lori

I am 63 now, but when I was about 9-10 years old, I heard voices. Once only. To a young girl, the voices sounded like a choir, a choir of angels, at least that's what I thought angels should sound like. They "visited" me in a motel room where my mother and I were staying. I had gone out to buy something, and upon returning, the voices sang or chanted: "Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid." Before they could finish or whatever, I ran out of the room and hid until my mother returned. Later on, I hoped and prayed that the voices/angels/choir would return because I had, after all, found their voice to be soothing and comforting. But they never did no matter how many times I wished it so. That's the only time my angels talked to me. I've never told anyone about that time because I thought I was crazy or hallucinating.

Hi, everyone. I am absolutely intrigued with the openness of this website in fact I never thought I would come across stories of discovery and recovery. I work with people who hear voices yet I am a person with foresight and have been selected to continue an art of work with our diagnosed clients in New Zealand. I would like to pose a question or two for your commentary. Now this is a refreshingly new concept for me to delve into but I am excited for my people who hear voices. Firstly, am I a voice hearer at some level yes but not to the point of distress, at this time my voice just loves to say my name especially when I go too deep in thought. The voice varies from male to female young to ancient depending on my situation and environment. What would your advice be to a person who is keen to research the "significance and consequences of unlocking the voices within". Why is it important to be a voice hearer to be able to work with a voice hearer? Look forward to your comments. Greatly appreciated

Lori Balough said ---" Hi. My name is Lori and I was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2003. Initially, my voices claimed they were God and that I was the Second Coming. This persisted for about two to three months. Thereafter, they claimed they were Mother Nature, ghosts, aliens, etc. On numerous occasions they were extremely cruel, demanding that I commit suicide. " --- This sounds all too familiar. It is a typical run around, taking you through numerous forms of deceit, waiting for you to analyse one after another until only the truth is left. Meanwhile, everyone else thinks of you as a nutcase as you continue to change your report of what is going on, and who you are in contact with. After all that, once the truth is discovered, the truth that you now speak of, is not believed by the others you speak to, because your stories seem to have been unstable. This then ensures that the truth is not, and will not, be believed. In my case, I continued to investigate. This included my independent analysis of the structure of reality. Despite that fact that my parents pulled me out of school prior to me having completed grade 10, by doing nothing but closing my eyes and proceeding with a whole lot of thought, my eventual understanding of the mechanics of reality was suffice enough for me to proceed with a geometric analysis which also allowed me to create mathematical equations which represented these understandings. I was tickled pink to find out years later that my equations turned out to be identical to those known today as the Lorentz-Fitzgerald Contraction Equation, the Time Dilation Equation, the Lorentz Transformation Equations, and the Velocity Addition equation. Clearly I was on the right track. I used the same approach to determine what Schizophrenia actually is. Click on " Sean " for a peek into my outcome.

I've been hearing voices during months without stopping...I thought that at the beggining it was schizophrenia but then I realized of the high logics of the voices/dialogs and as a consequence guessed that a special (militar) satellite could be the responsable of that phenomena. Is it possible that the hearing of voices be due to the last possibility?

Hey Trim Kiwi we are starting a Hearing voices network in NZ. You may be interested to become part of the group? For more information log onto the keepwell NZ site, and Arana can forward you the newsletter, and the details. www.keepwell.co.nz and http://www.hearingvoices.org.nz/ There is not much on the website yet, but the yahoo group has more links etc.. Regards

please look at www.ejop.org May 2007 Archives section for my article on schizophrenia you will learn something? Your choice - your world? Before there were no choices now there are some from, Shuresh Patel HVN Trustee UK

Hi, I have heard voices my whole life. I am twelve so yes, I am still a child. When I was really little I used to talk to them but I have grown out of that. Instead of the voices fading away, they have gotten louder. It's like being in an airport in my head! I have been too scared to tell anyone until recently. I haven't tried to make them out. If anyone has any tips. I'd love them!

Hi Alexandra

Thank you for writing to us. In your email you said you have recently started to talk to someone about your voices, this is a good thing to do, especially If they have been a good listener and have taken you seriously. If so, perhaps together you could look at the section of our site about children and voices at http://www.intervoiceonline.org/2007/5/22/children-and-hearing-voices?

This may help you decide what to do next.

Lots of people have told us that their voices get louder when they try to ignore them, so this is not unusual.

The good news is that for most people of your age, the voices do go away after a while and there is help available too. I have passed on your message to someone who has done a lot of work with people of your age who hear voices, hopefully she will be able to say something more

Best wishes

Paul

Hi there Paul, would you mind making a brief comment about the launch of the German website (soon available in English as well, of Experience Focused Counselling Workshops - www.efc-workshops.de, which is a training institute for interested people and professionals in Germany - newly set up). I would be writing to Caroline, but she is currently not around. It would be good, if you could put up a link on the website to it as well. The website and training institute has been set up with the permission and support by Romme & Escher, to provide a certified level based training in their approach to hearing voices. Thanks very much. Joachim Schnackenberg

You hear a lot of recommendations concerning what Schizophrenia is and what to do about it. Unfortunately, these mostly come from those who are not familiar with Schizophrenia because they have not experienced it. If they say that they know what it is, then obviously they HAVE experienced it, or their statement is flawed. For instance, I personally can not say what it is like to be a pro tennis player, but I can have a vague idea, but that is all. The catch 22 is that the words of the so called schizophrenic, meaning the one who is having a first hand experience, are almost 100% ignored. As an example, in exploration for the understanding of the specific behavior of the so called schizophrenics, along with the format of the ongoing speeches made by the so called voices, there seemed to be intelligence involved that was being shared with most of the so called schizophrenics, rather than it being merely a symptom of a mental illness that is the common element being shared. The circumstances were far to complex to be merely the result of a mental illness. Those who said that it was the result of a mental illness, were knowledgeable people. That is where the problem begins. If one has a large picture, one can look at it and see it as a whole. If you shattered it into thousands of pieces, then in the world of the knowledgeable, these pieces are like single units of knowledge. Therefore, what comes along with being a knowledgeable person, is the ability to maintain the shattering of complete pictures, or huge and complete singular units of understanding, into fragments known as units of knowledge. Therefore if one proceeds to present a complete understanding to a knowledgeable person, they will reject it immediately because it is not composed of those separate units known as units of knowledge. In short, the knowledgeable person says that the complete theory, or complete understanding, is not complete and whole unless it is shattered, meaning it is not complete and whole unless it is composed of those separate units known as units of knowledge. And so we, whose words are ignored almost 100% of the time to begin with, then hit this additional brick wall of opposition.

Voice hearers! voice hearers! voice hearers! isn't that what it's all about recovery! recovery! recovery! or self-acceptance of our condition and integration into the wider community who understands and knows our plight through promoting the reduction of stigma. I have just found out that intervoice has been interested in going for charity status. Vision! vision! vison! In Dundee Scotland the haven has charity status. We also promote the reduction of stigma in the wider community, the involvement of voice hearers in all the aspects of deciscion making processes and a community with a safe environment. There is also a befreinding service for the reintegration into the wider community of voice hearers who come out of hospital and come to us. On top of that we see our selves, voice hearers as experts by experience so we do training workshops for voice hearers and professionals on the experience of voice hearing. This helps the voice hearers who we share our stories with and promotes the understanding of the professionals of the voice hearing experience, so they can work with thier clients, all for the benefit of recovery! recovery! recovery! reduction of stigma and fear. These are the main priorities of the dundee hearing voices network. The establishment of information points, with similar goals thoughout the world can only be beneficial to all. On top of this we are looking at the possibility of setting up a retreat house giving the voice hearers precedent in the process of their own recovery their (own voice). Meeting the needs of the whole person heart mind body and soul and the reduction of stigma is the agenda. To involve the wider community in all aspects of recovery!!! I don't see why we as intervoice cannot do the same but on a global scale. this is possible only in the setting up of an intervoice international managment committee funded by the charities in each country. These would be elected by a democratic vote by all representative members from the different countries around the world who would vote in their own managment committees. This is a movement towards recovery, reduction of fear and stigma and integration into a community who understands and knows their plight. For this to work however their needs to be paid members dedicated to the movement and the involvement of the media!!! to promote our values and aims and needs. (Funding, promoting recovery and promoting the reduction of stigma under the banner of voice hearers uniting and making descisions along with the support and freindship of the professionals and the wider community) a truly "intervoice experience involving the voice hearers at every stage of the game" " the voice of the voice hearers INTERVOICE" This is me getting involved now. See everyone at the conference next year in Australia Gavin.

If you hear voices maybe you CAN do that really, so I see the phenomena mostly as a positive manifestation of your identity, I believe strongly it represent a next-step into human realization, BUT the risk to be overcomed is great. We need guides and methods, we must rebuild a link with nature where all this is generated and not degenerated. We must accept the weight of existance and we have to be brave like our fathers have been. The research is long enough to make us die many times. Society will distort our view as society itself is not in peace with itself, so our projection will be warped in many public environments. The force is around us, like a third eye with a huge fish-eyed lens on us. We KNOW we can perceive many worlds, but all those views are relative to the humankind perception and memory. I´m talking about humankind as a pool of experiences. We want to try them. Modern life is too fast, our mind is re-organizing for a better world. Maybe it will be very tiring at first, because we are few. But freedom is reachable as it never had been. We want to have peaceful words from outer worlds, not annoying advertisements about our corrupted society. We know that. And that is True. PS_It´s just a matter of controlling your flux. I´ve tried to control voices several times..jeeez i´m millions times better than an antipsycothic :)) (follows euphory) You have the opportunity to experience Mind...don´t need to fear it, ít´s like a mirror..cmon!!

Hello, my name is Ron Noblett. I'm 56 years old and have been experiencing voices, manifestations, and skin sensations for the past 4 years or so. It first started with voices claming to be the dead relatives of people I had harmed in the past. They claimed to be demons and many still do. I was completely at their whim at first, but learned through time how to at least control their hateful nature. I have them with me all the time. I can't tell how many voices there are but many have become friendly while others still have a hateful and hurting quality to them. If I told my whole story it could fill a book, I still may. Many times they , the hurtful ones, claim to be satan but I know they aren't. At other times they just gather around while I play games on my computer and have chosen teams to see if they can win.

Sorry, I hit enter by accident and my letter was posted prematurely. What I would like to say is if anyone wants a complete story or to do research, I'm available. My spirits started as voices but now live with me in my room. They go to work with me and even attended college with me. They seem to want to know all there is about this time in history and many seem genuinely interested in this world. Many times they argue over what I want to do and seem wholeheartedly interested in just having fun. One method I have used, it was passed on by a "voice", is to mentally zap, bam, or wham them with a force from my energy. They hate it and some even claim to die, but they don't. I have seen a full manifestaion come through my wall, he looked like a cross between Donald Sutherland and just a man. Much more to that story.I have had visions and experience their presence both physically and mentally. I see the little ones, who claim to be witches, flying around and wanting me to move out of their den. All is well and I have grown used to them. If I'm crazy then the whole world is crazier. There are forces we don't know about, both from ourselves and from the world. I'm a true believer in Yeshua (Jesus) and am called a Prophet of Jehovah God (Yaweh) and will be till I pass from this world to the next. If anyone is truely interested in my experience, feel free to conatact me at my e-mail.

Hi, I have only recently come upon the work and activities of Intervoice and, I must say, I find the approach to be something of a psychological revolution! It's certainly very interesting and challenges previous ideas and practices.

I have always heard a voice in my head, and regarded it as completely normal. Don't we all have a running commentary of thoughts, and even dialogue, in our heads? Sometimes, though, I have what might be called an 'intrusive thought', in the form of an 'almost-heard' voice. It is not quite auditory, though occasionally it is. I call it 'intrusive' because it is unexpected, not part of my usual inner commentary. This happens most often when I am starting to fall asleep. The 'voice' I understand to be my own, but the comment is unfortunately completely random - not related to anything I am currently doing or thinking. One, for instance, was "Your father-in-law was born in London" (I do not have a father-in-law!). I say the randomness is unfortunate because I think these intrusive comments are, in some way, a part of myself, and could be a source of creativity or self-understanding. This is how I came across your website - I was searching on 'access to subconscious'. On occasion I have heard a very clear, loud comment (a rude one) when I have been talking to someone in a situation where I felt uncomfortable or trapped. Again, I understood this to be a part of myself - a voice saying what I would like to say, but am too polite to do so. A few times, this has come out of the blue and surprised me - I was not conscious of having such a low opinion of the other person - but again, I would not disown the comment but understood it to come from a repressed part of myself. Related things could be: a facial twitch I had for a few years (now gone), and a very recent experience in a Quaker meeting I go to. The twitch came on when I was very much under pressure and unhappy at work. It felt as though my jaw was being moved by an outside force - nothing to do with me. Still, I intuitively understood that this was a deep part of myself, expressing distaste and rejection for my situation. The Quaker experience was very recent. I am always cautious about standing to 'minister', especially after a workshop I attended on 'discernment', which basically said that our first thoughts in Meeting are often superficial, and they should be examined carefully to see if we have the appropriate motive for ministering. On this recent occasion, I felt a push at my elbow, and jumped in surprise (this was noticed by at least one other person). I took this as a permission (from myself) to minister, and did so.

Does writing or talking about the bad things that happen in people's lives make the voices more active or less active, more positive or negative? I'm new at this. I have found that paranoia can build up from "rehashing" experiences... Once the voices start to argue amongst themselves I feel better. I try not to be angry that I hear voices. Sometimes I feel very angry about it because it makes me different than everyone else. Feeling like I have to "pretend" I don't have problem in the world around me makes voices very angry. I guess when they go away for a time...then come back I feel upset that I am getting worse. Some voices can make me very happy. Sometimes I hear voices that say things to me that I long to hear from other people. I can create voices to an incredible ongoing conversation between more than one voice. It takes me away from what I can't bear to deal with in reality. When the doctor tries to medicate them away, I don't always tell him they are there. If they are scary, I ask him for more medicine because I don't really understand that I need to accept and understand that they are a part of me. I guess I need to accept that they are me. I am such a perfectionist that I have refused that I could have this problem. It was just my ego. I used to think poorly of others for hearing them, until I started to hear them too. When I came upon this site, my voices were, at the time, very angry and suicidal, etc. of which they have teased me for quite a number of years. I feel more grounded after reading this site. I think I can deal with them in a positive way now. They don't interrupt me when I read this site and they don't feel so powerful. Although I still feel paranoid about them even being there again. I look forward to learning how to accept them and figure out how to direct them to positive thinking and learn why certain ones are angry and how even I can bring out nice voices to counteract the bad ones. I've done it many times. I just forgot how to do it until now. Later.

I noticed in your site you make reference on several occasions to 'auditory hallucinations'. I find this offensive. Honestly your still refering to voices as if they are not real. Ive been aware since I was a child that there was something out there but it wasn't untill about 5 years ago that I could suddenly see people and they spoke to me. One thing I noticed is that people often refer to voices as if they are hanging in space and aren't located anywhere. I see people and they talk to me. These people are real. These people also are completely seperate from me. I noticed some therapists coming up with all sorts of ideas about voices being some sort of trauma reaction or prosessing of childhood issues. I think you have to realise that these voices have nothing to do with the person hearing them. In the sense that they are separate individuals that people communicate with. But they can talk about all sorts of issues that are quite personal. Basically your seeing the spiritual world and I think that is something that is extremely difficult for people who have experienced it to accept. If you want a reference point the film the sixth sense and emily rose are usufull. Also Ive talked to thousands of people from all over the world in the spiritual sense. They literally sit next to me and talk. Ive had one guy hand around for about 4 years. He sits next to me all the time. Hes about 21 years old with olive complexion and brown eyes. I just would like to dispell some of the confusion because there seems to be so much of it. These voices are the voices of people who are real. Have a look next time you hear someone. Are they male or female. How old are they. Where are they from. What do they look like. Visual perception of this type is not abnormal its not a 'disease' and people don't deserve to be locked away in psychiatric institutions and medicated because of it.

My name is Lee. I would like to talk to everyone about my experience with hearing voices. First, I just want to tell all of you that I do not believe that my situation is auditory hallucinations. I am entitled to my opinion like everyone else and have my beliefs on the matter. I not only hear evil voices who want me to commit suicide, but smell evil smoke on occasions. I have evil dreams, get tortured and tormented daily, in ways you don't want to hear about. MY situation to me is extremely serious. I don't want to hurt myself but really need some help. My psychiatrist is not very helpful. I don't think he even considers it serious but only something in my head. I'm a christian, a good and honest person, age 23, have been saved and believe in God, and also believe that I will have a horrible night tonight for trying to communicate with you about my problems. One of the things you must understand is that I DON'T LIE. I do get tortured daily with this and am holding on by a thread. Please contact me, all of you professionals who claim you know everything. SERIOUSLY!!!! Please help me and pray for me I would appreciate that you contact local churches and have them put me on their prayer list. I am Lee from the panhandle Florida area. I really need hope.

My name is Lee. I am 23 and have been hearing voices for almost two years. My voices are evil. They claim to be demons from hell and want me to commit suicide. I don't want to do that. I not only hear voices, but smell evil smoke, get tortured tormented everyday. I am not lying. I am a christian, a good person, honest person, who has been saved. I do not believe, in my case, that it is auditory hallucinations but something more. I will tell if would like my opinion. I am losing hope and really need outside help. My own parents, it seems, sometimes don't believe what I tell them. I also have evil dreams. I also have memory problems and strongly believe I have them because God doesn't want me to remember the horrible things that I have seen. I do not know the internet that well and today is the first day that I have researched my problem. If I cannot get back to this website please email me at Clutch11@msn.com or call me at (850) 956-2808. Please take this seriously. I am talking to all of you professionals. I say again, I am not lying. Please help me before its too late. Please pray for me and contact local churches and have them pray for me and put me on their prayer list. Thanks for reading this comment. Please contact me professionals.

My name is Lee. To all professionals who read this. Pleases contact me. I have something very interesting to talk to you about. Email me at Clutch11@msn.com or call me at (850) 956-2808. I hear voices, have evil dreams, get tortured and tormeted everyday. Please pray for me. I am telling you the truth. Please accept what I say and please help me.

My name is Marcella. I'm 46 years old. Ive been hearing voices for about four years. When they started I was very confused and scared. Then I thought my boyfriend was playing a tape over and over again. They were and still are very degradeing. If I'm in a room with someone it sometimes is their voice I hear and they tell me how the hate me and that I'm a loser and other mean things. Or if I'm thinking about that person they do the same. They(different voices) give me bad advice and I sometimes take it, even after all these years, knowing I should'nt. It's hard to cook, read a book, sleep or make a simple decision. Sounds from fans, power tools and even cars make them louder. They start as soon as I open my eyes until I go back to sleep, if I can sleep. I am very deppressed, I have anxieity and have been in the hospital twice for wanting to kill myself. I was dowm to 95lbs about 6 mos ago, but now am 120lbs thanks to all the meds they give me. Now Im fat and still hear these damn voices. Can anyone tell me why no doctor will talk to me about how to cope with these voices, they only try to get me in group therapy for my deppression. But in group noone else hears voices but me so it's just uselees time spent. I have changed so much, I don't smile much or rarely leave the house. I lost my job and my medical insurance. I need help. Please, any advice. I live in California. Thank you for a wonderful web site!

VOICES THAT ARE EVIL, AT LEAST FOR ME, SEEM TO BE ABOUT ISSUES FROM THE PAST THAT ARE NOT SETTLED OR AT LEAST ACCEPTED BY ME. WHEN I CAN ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THE ISSUES (SITUATIONS) YES INDEED HAPPENED AND ARE NOT HAPPENING NOW BUT ARE NOW "JUST" A PART OF MY LIFE, AND NOT COMPLETELY WHAT LIFE REALLY IS/CAN BE. HAPPINESS COMES FROM NOT OVER-REACTING TO THE VOICE(S), BUT REALIZING THAT WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ME, HAPPENED. BUT WHAT DO I WANT TO GET OUT OF IT? IT IS UP TO ME TO ACCEPT AND "BLOW-OFF" THESE TRAUMATIC EVENTS AS JUST FACTS AND NOT GET TOO EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED IN THESE FACTS. I WRITE STUFF DOWN ABOUT MY TRAUMATIC EVENTS. I DON'T NECESSARILY READ THESE THINGS AGAIN. I MAY CHOOSE NOT TO READ THEM OVER EVER AGAIN. BUT I DO THINK WRITING AND LETTING GO OF THE PAST FEELINGS INCURRED AND ALWAYS LOOKING AT MY POSITIVE POINTS AND HOW I MAY HELP OTHERS DEAL WITH THESE THINGS...I AM DOING REALLY WELL RIGHT NOW. IT HAS BEEN EXTREMELY UNBEARABLE, BUT NOW I FEEL THE ENDURANCE I'VE BUILT UP HAS MADE ME A BETTER INNER PERSON. I HOPE THE BEST FOR ALL. KEEP UP THE HARD WORK. DO THINGS THAT MAKE YOU LAUGH EVEN IF IT IS CHILDISH. SOME OF US MAY NEED TO NURTURE THE INNER CHILD AND ENJOY THE GOODNESS OF YOURSELF THAT IS STILL THERE PATIENTLY WAITING TO COME OUT. I DON'T KNOW OF ANY "CURE" YET, BUT LEARNING AND GROWING ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT. ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MORE KNOWLEDGE TO USE TO HELP OTHERS GIVES ME A PURPOSE. HAVING THAT PURPOSE IS OF UTMOST TO ME. I HOPE MY EXPERIENCE PROVES HELPFUL TO THOSE IN NEED.

Hi Marcella I just want you to know that you are not alone. Ive been spiritually assaulted for nearly 4 years and I know that its hard. But if you want to talk about it with someone who understand what your going through give me a call on 0430320572. I live in Australia. Try and look after yourself even though its difficult. Maybe you can come visit one day and you can enjoy some Australian sunshine. We can drive to Sydney along the coast and have some lunch. So dont worry theres still a world out there and you are not on your own. You can always find another job. I hope you can. Heather

I STARTED HEARING VOICES IN 2001 AND SINCE THEN MY ACADEMIC LIFE HAS BEEN WOEFULL.I AM A STUDENT OF MEDICINE AND READ PSYCHIATRY AS A SUBJECT BUT THAT DOES NOT HELP MUCH I USE ANTI PSYCHOTICS AND SLEEP A LOT OF THE TIME MY VOICES ARE OF A YOUNGER BROTHER TELLING ME I TALK TO MUCH AND CLASSMATES TRYING TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO ITS SO ANNOYING I CANT SEEM TO GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD. WOULD LIKE TO MEET AND COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS SHARING SAME EXPERIENCE

Hello everybody. I have heard voices for about 10 years and have learn´t to live with it. There is a lot to explain, but to begin with, I share this with you/others. I have just recently discovered this website. English is not my main language and you may find a lot of grammatical errors, but I hope you get the "picture". I have recieved treatment and do not hide from experts ( just to calm possibly conserned ). But I have, in my situation, with my kind of voice-hearing, found, that since "voices" is a part of my own consciousness and probably signals from "bellow" dreams, I take it seriously, but without judging it literally. Like I don´t analyse dreams by the letter or picture, but percept it, as a hint from my subconscious. Well, my symptoms fade away in company with other peoble. Like I benefit from the "energies" I harvest in their presence. Furthermore I don´t talk or speak to myself when I´m alone to avoid triggering aggression. I quit smoking 11 years ago, but don´t think it means a lot. I only enjoy a beer or a glass of vine in company, and not very often. The next may disturb, because I´m not open about my situation to others. My family know that I have been psychotic, but otherwise I never speak about my private problem or situation, to prevent social isolation. I think I know, by experience, that "voices" is isolated in my mind only. I mean, eaven though, I would like it to be extern communication, I think its a trick by my mind. There is no contact with others like telepathy and no religious underline, unless I want it to be. My "voices" take shape according to my actions and things I choose to do. I think "nature" seeks to create balance, and I think, it´s a signal that I´m on the wrong path, or a "psychological instinkt", that keep challenging my mind to make sure, that I´m sane. But I´m not ready to be left behind to be eaten by the "wolves" yet, so I try to find a strategy to catch up with the crowd again. This is my first contribution and attemt to reach out. Regards and merry christmas, Lars.

Hello. This is a supplement to the above written from yesterday evening. I forgot to write that I´m a 42 year old man from scandinavia. Not married and unfortunately no children, but I have had a few girlfriends. I have an interesting job, live by myself in a modest apartment and function well, despite my voice-hearing situation. And, I do use anti-psychotic medicine, but the lowest possible dosis. I have been forced (not by peoble, but illness) to raise my dosis in periods, but have through many years found the lowest possible level of medication that fits me. If I feel my voice-universe too unbearable, and I want to avoid more medicine, I sometimes direct my attention to erotic or positive thoughts. I know this can offend some believers, but as a protestant I feel o.k. with it. Since the voice-universe is part of myself, and since it follows my will, I can change focus to pleasant feelings, if possible, or seek company with other peoble. I know voice-heaing differ from person to person and I´m aware of the fact that professional therapy is essential, but I think its possible to control my "illness". The best feeling is after jogging, even if it is in slow pace. My compliments to this web-site, its very helpfull.

Yemi If you would like to speak to someone you can give me a call anytime. On Australian time. Hope you are well and had a good Christmas. 0430320572 Heather

I wrote to you in July of 2007 and just learned today that you responded. I still hear voices, and they tell me that I have been cured.I would like very much to speak to andrea and to alessandra.Voices have hurt me, the very first time they came to me was in 1993 and told me that I would be divorced in 10 years, the were off 1 year, I was divorced in 2002. their not always clear at this point ,but have been very clear in the past.I've kept journals since they came back in september of 2000.I need peace of mind and answers to questions. please help Sandra

WELL, MY DOCTOR TOLD ME MY ILLNESS IS FROM SO MUCH PAST TRAUMA EALRY IN LIFE. I'VE HAD ALMOST EVERY MEDICATION THERE IS FOR MY CHANGING ILLNESSS CLASSIFIED IN VARIOUS WAYS. POST-TRAUMATIC, SEASONAL DEPRESSION, ACUTE PARANOID SCHIZOPHRNIA, YOU NAME IT, THE VARIOUS DOCTORS HAVE LABELED ME AS SUCH. ANY-WHO-HOW, I'M NOW 38 YEARS OLD. I'VE BEEN ON MEDICATION SINCE I WAS 15. I LEARNED FROM THIS SITE NOT TO GET OVERLY UPSET ABOUT EVIL VOICES. THAT HAS HELPED INCREDIBLY. I ALSO SHARED ART OF MY PAST TRAUMAS WITH MY MOTHER RECENTLY. (SHE HAS WORKED SO HARD WITH ME THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.) WITH THE HELP OF THESE VARIOUS THINGS MY VOICES ARE PRACTICALLY NULL & VOID. I EVEN FORGET ABOUT THEM COMPLETELY MOST OF THE TIME. BY THE WAY, THE ART THERAPY WITH MY MOTHER HELPED ME TO SEE HOW SPECIFIC TRAUMA HAS TRIGGERED THE VOICES. I REALIZE THAT I CAN'T LET THINGS THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE DONE RUIN MY LIFE. THE REPRESSED MEMORIES OF MY PAST TRAUMAS HAD TO BE PUT TOGETHER BY THE ARTWORK AND THE HELP OF MY MOTHER'S INPUT OF WHAT A CERTAIN PERSON DID TO ME AND THE TERRIBLE THINGS THAT CERTAIN PERSON HAD SAID AND TRIED TO GET ME TO DO WHEN I WAS LITTLE. I'M THANKFUL FOR THIS SITE. THE EVIL VOICES I HAD, SEEMED TO BE DIRECTLY LINKED TO A CERTAIN PERSON OF WHOM INFLICTED MUCH PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND EMOTIONAL PAIN UPON ME. NOT TO MENTION THE NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES. THERE ARE OTHERS WHO'VE ALSO INFLICTED PAIN INTO MY VERY SOUL. I WILL DO MORE ARTWORK OF MY PAST MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCES. SOME HAVE SAID I SHOULD WRITE A BOOK. THAT MIGHT BE A BIT TOO MUCH FOR ME TO HANDLE AND EVEN MAYBE FOR OTHERS TO READ. SO I'LL STICK TO ART THERAPY FOR NOW. I LOOK FORWARD TO READ MORE INFO FROM OTHERS. LIKE MY DOCTOR SAID: "ENJOY LIFE!"

The voices people hear are forms of elcetronic harassement. Thetechnology being used is voice modulated microwave hearing effect, which is a fom of synthetic telepathy. If u wish to know more research voice modulated microwave hearingg effect and synthetic telepathy. You can also go to the web site for the organization i am a member of, which is WWW.FREEDOMFCHS.COM This is a web site for people being electronically harassed. I hear the voices and talk to them on a daily basis. I know alot about electronic harassement so feel free to email me if u have questions. My email address is jcd8000@yahoo.com

Hello, It is interesting that Dr Rosemary Lethem (psychiatrist) – April 10, 2007 @ 03:58 PM should defend the psychiatric profession. I am new to the HV phenomenon. I took a new acquaintance to a psychiatrist for help after he began to speak in the plural (we instead of I) and to do things the voices told him. His voices are compassionate and he holds them in high esteem. I understood why he was doing those things. The psychiatrist after one visit during which she said he was functional and that his personality was intact, suggested to me that we could drug his food without his knowledge or have him held down and injected with a mood stabilizer. When I saw the side-effects of the drugs on the internet I began to look for alternative therapy. Very interestingly, the process of seeking help - the travelling and the talking and the praying - have themselves helped to 'stabilize' my friend. He is coping. Many blessings, MK

sou portuguesa e sofri demasiado com a psiquiatria eu e os meus filhos. é uma história que gostaria de contar com pormenor assim como os efeitos terriveis dos psicofarmacos eduarda guedes professora portugal

hi lee , i lost the webpage and just found it today. try to talk to your voices , tell them they are weak and you are strong,tell them you are in control. pray to jesus god every night,and talk to him like he is your best friend. tell him you love him and need him to help you to be strong. you can do it , i have faith in you. i called you on the telephone remember me? .write soon

Hi, what a great site, I am from New Zealand and a few years ago was diagnosed with pshycosis which according to the pshyciatrist apparently came on due to my very mild drug use. I am now on medication but before I started taking it I heard a number of voices all outside of my head. The voices would either talk about me or reply to my thoughts, I was quite afraid at the time because i had never experienced anything like it before, the voices ranged from little girls singing to maori warriors. I noticed that when I stopped to listen or thought about what was happening the voices tended to go quiet, some times I was even able to block them out by assuring myself that things where "ok". On the whole it was a good experience,ie no negativity. Since taking the medication i have had no voices at all but I am really wanting to come off this medication. I would love to share stories, thoughts and advice on this topic as I didnt realise this was a common occurance and have felt very isolated even whilst on this medication.

hi marcella, i've been dealing with voices for 8 years, apparently ,they are people that i know and have delt with in the past, present and unfortunately the future you have to be very strong, i have 3 children, the first 6 years from 2000-2006 were the worst.the voices were 24/7 all bad things, they torchered me in my eyes ears and body i was literally like a vegetable and yet i was also like a robot.i took care of my kids as best as i could. i did most of what they told me to do except to kill myself. i didn't start meds. until 2004.unfortunatly i was very weak and they took advantage of me. i don't do drugs and i don't drink alcohol , i just woke up one morning in 2000 hearing this. what i do , i talk back to them and tell them what i think of them and that they are the cowards.

hi!! Responding to Colin´s asks. I am a fiffty years old fellow from Germany and I`m voice hearing since 1991; diagnosted"paranoid schizophrene" since 1993. Since then I use neurolepticas...,enjoing the whole program and almost the complete pharmacie. The voices didn´t dissapear,they only went familiar to me. Sometimes I tink they were triggered by drugs or medics. There is mostly one"cute and tiny" appearing voice that is mostly concerned with my "feeling-good"! This voice doesn´t disturb me because it responds on demand...! Sometimes I thought it has a higher transcendence or is just a reflection of my soul, because it has such a deciding character. But it only answers when being asked to speak. It has the advantage of never being alone appearently. There is always someone beside you...!!!

Hello! I wonder if someone could give me some direction on how to support someone who is confronted with command voices telling them to harm themselves. How do you help someone like this when they are very anxious and upset..any help appreciatted Frank

Science and religion are a blast aren't they. Both speak with firmness, but still this " both " still exists rather than there being a one. That means that both are incomplete. Incompleteness is due to one error or another that becomes a barrier preventing the reaching of the final singular and complete understanding. There are two planes of reality. We exist on the relativistic side. The other side extends across all time. The two sides intersect. Both are real, thus both are true. Minds extend across time on the other side, and are vast in size indeed. Over time we have become less dependant upon beliefs and thus the axis of our minds is moving closer to pointing directly at truths. Once pointing completely at truths, one has tapped into the second plane of reality, the other side, due to it truly existing. Two kinds of events can take place, ours and theirs, and it is always one or the other. If we venture into the other side from here, we also prevent holistic events from taking place by replacing them with relativistic events. This begins to remove power that is in the hands of those on the other side. To prevent this, they proceed to torment those on this side that have begun to tap into the complete truth. Most of those on the other side are bloody vicious. Swatting a fly(a human) means nothing to them because of their immense size and boundless 4 dimensional intellect. And so what is this Jesus religious bit all about in this world? Well he opposed the treating of mankind as toys and trash. That is why he ended up being crucified. That is why many of today's victims are toyed with until they start claiming to be Jesus or God, such that the true Jesus is to be regarded in the exact same manner as they are, a crazy psychotic nut-case. On top of that, most people today are so mentally challenged, that they are happy with the use of beliefs / disbeliefs. A belief is not directly connected to the truth, thus it is less than a truth, thus if you reject something via the practice of a belief, then it is to be noted that truths also become rejected since the incompleteness of a belief does not agree with the completeness of a truth. Truths sit beyond the limited scope of a belief, thus truths are beyond belief. Those on the other side laugh as mankind continues to spit in the face of truth, in the face of Jesus if you will. Click on Sean and try not to let a belief( a less than truth ) tell you what to do.

Hi I've just started recently to work with people who experience hearing voices. I would love to find out more how this can affect peoples day to day lives, and I would be grateful if anybody could send me some info. Hopefully I will be attending a training course on this subject. Thanks again in advance, Angela.

I am 53 years old and have been hearing voices since birth. I just wonder how many people have to deal with stupid voices. A ll of the voices that I hear are not stupid and it seems that they manifest themselves on different levels of conciousness or even at different alpha states. However, some of them who reoccur at identifiable levels are just plain morons. I won't go into what we have been discussing for all this time but there seems to be an endless supply of disembodied participants. To anyone that is just beginning to have to deal with this phenomena I would like to say that they can freak you out at first. But as time progresses they become rather silly if you are rooted in sound fundamental values. Yes, they can be frightening and some of them are prophetic. They can be forceful and some can effect us physically. However if you stay true to yourself they tend over time to become little more than entertainment.

eu acho que voces estão com razão quando dizem que a esquizofrenia é uma reação muitas vezes a violencias principalmente quando não se defendem. assim como a paranoia e a bipolar. as pessoas ficam a sofer muitas vezes. e por vezes precizam de ajuda que pode ser dos amigos. sem violencia com muito respeito pelo ser humano pelas personalidades e pelas crenças. sem violencias de qualquer espécie e muito respeito. conheci muita gente assim. muitos casos. voces tem razão. e muitas vezes nem ouvem vozes.obrigada e espero resposta. voces tem razão. eduarda guedes. portugal

I'm a mental health nurse based in the West Midlands (UK), and am interested in working with a CBT based hearing voices group, with a view to eventually facilitating one myself, if anybody is running such a therapeutic group or knows of one please can they let me know.

I think those voices i've been hearing for years now , sometimes make me restless but , on the whole , I feel safe even though I know they are probably capable of committing murder . I do not think it helps a lot to talk with people who live with a different set of people , unless they have a strong sense of humour and help you laugh it off .... The snag is when you try to talk about it and communicate with people around you , either in your professional life or in your family ( acquaintances , close relatives .. ) , you are confronted with such lack of understanding and bad faith that you don't ever want to take another such step . Still , the voices sound like "impersonation " or like people doing a rather bad or an indifferent mediocre impression of people you may have come across or you may mix with in real life . Whether they behave in a friendly way or harass you , they do seem to be a nuisance and constantly intrude on your privacy . I'm also amazed some people shoul find they are demons or fiends and not people in real life ! Of course , at first , they seem to be all powerful , omnipresent , omniscient , omnipotent , but very quickly , you start to realize they're not ! They are certainly proficient in a lot of domains but I doubt if they are even as good as I am ! My first reaction was to tell myself that they paid a seer or somebody whose profession consists in using such supernatural powers and manipulating or brainwashing people , just the way they do it when you belong to a sect and you can't escape . I was dead sure there was some kind of legal framework for victims like me could be offerred to struggle against their " oppressors " ; What they are doing to me and others , I consider to be against the most fundamental cilvil liberties , against independent thinking and my own capacity to be fulfilled . They are no ghosts , either malevolent or benevolent . I find their constant presence is often a bore , exasperating . i'm not frightened . We need some kind of recognition . We need a legal framework within which we could work out a solution . My first immediate reaction was to want to sue them , to take legal action and I've never come to terms with the idea that such a thing would turn out to be impossible . If they are real people doing harm , being obnoxious , they must be prevented from doing so and they must be tried and convicted . I still believe in this . I do not believe they are from God or from Satan . This is sheer nonsense ...

LEE ,i would also like to add when you pray your voices will probably persicute you and GOD if and when they do then you know there loosers

Hi, I have a daughter who has been on medication for over 15 years - she became unwell very young. She was re-admitted to hospital last March (2007) on 500mg Clozapine a day. She'd been on this for some time, and had mainly been reasonably well, but after she broke it off with her partner, became unstable. She went into hospital, and they upped her Clozapine to 700mg, added 200 Quetiapine, 400mg Epilim, 2mg Lorazepam. On their own admission almost 7 months later the medical staff said she'd been treatment resistant. We introduced her to orthomolecular treatment via a Nutritional Therapist trained in UK at the Patrick Halford School of Optimal Nutrition. She was found to have high Histamine, and 4 heavy metals plus another substance at toxic levels. Before medication, at 5'9"+ tall, she was just over 9 stone. At hospital readmission she was 18.5 stone. Now she is about 23+ stone, even with some gym and a lot more activity. To our surprise, she started responding to the ortho treatment within a week, and is now much much better - more active, better control of symptoms etc. However, she still have sudden outbursts. These have seemed to increase lately even though she continues to improve in many other ways. She has now been on the orthomolecular treatment for 6.5 months. Question 1: could these outbursts be because her underlying condition is improving, and the medication is starting to cause a residual psychosis. As Dr Abraham Hoffer suggests, medication can help improve the state of a person having a psychotic episode, but if given to a well person they will usually get psychotic symptoms. Question 2: could it be detrimental to her physical AND psychiatric health if her medication is not reduced as she responds to the orthomolecular treatment. Question 3: are there any suggestions as to what she should be doing now. I have read the book by Peter Bregan and David Cohen (Dr and PhD Dr) "Your Drug May Be Your Problem" which gives some of the possible dangers and horrifying side affects for anti-psychotic drugs, and info on how best to come off them. I would be very grateful of your replies. With many thanks, Richard

I started hearing voices outside of myself about 8 or 9 years ago. First it was amazing and then it turned hellish. So very overwhelmed with them, I could not hear traffic, birds, airplanes flying overhead. I did, however, visually see more beauty than anyone could ever imagine. The voices changed over time, but still remain the same, they were biblical, argued back and forth, menacing, angelic, etc. I wish I had kept a journal, but the changes from minute to minute in the possibilities of what they were saying and the realities of what could be were impossible to record. When 2 of the voices were talking to each other, after I had been hearing them for months, I realized that I had been hearing them since childhood. Horrified, and fearing something medically horrendous, I saw a psychologist, psychiatrist, dr. (head scan and blood tests), took a hearing test, had my ears cleaned, and sought out other scientific help. This was no help. I sought psychics, ghost hunters, the occult, and other non-science groups for further help. They were no help. Before the voices (and still to this day), I feel the touching, hear the singing (beautiful, but can't make out what they are saying), hear multiple voices (they follow me everywhere), smell scents out of nowhere, see things when I shut my eyes, and (not as of late) see "images" moving around rooms and myself. The images seem like a water flow, or condesed smoke-like apparitions, or "particles" moving. I do not have control, but I stopped talking with them a long time ago and I am mostly okay. I still have trip-up moments. Initially, I did the embarrassing "do what they say". These are things that I will probably never repeat. I did realize when it first happened that I was actually talking back to them in public and the horror of how that must look was a step in my becoming quiet. The voices do, however, remind of things forgotten (I'm horrible with names), make very funny jokes sometimes, and can be quite supportive. I've gotten used to being talked about in the shower or in other normally private moments. I have yet to find the "answer" that holds water or to have an extended moment of quiet/hearing what is around me. They do tell me to stop listening or that they are not talking about me on occasion, and other times they talk about what I'm doing/get involved with learning games/ react to something exciting/etc. In the past I have contemplated suicide, NOT because the voices asked/told me to, but the fact that it was so nonstop and multiple that I wasn't functioning as I should. That's all behind me now, though. Okay, I'll end the novel for now, but I think knowing that there are so many others is quite a comfort. The difficulty of not having a support group and the stigma of "hearing voices" is rough. I do not believe the voices are me, but I can't say more. I know this seems scattered, but it's my first "purge".

gostava de ser assinante do Asylum. digam me como. alem de que gostaria de entrar no programa leonardo d,avince para ajuda quem tem sofrimento mental, como fazer? tambem gostaria de saber bem o que é uma psicose. acho que é qualquer coisa dificil de defenir.será que é científica? não é tambem muitas vezes subjectiva? O que é a realidade. Saudações Eduarda

gostava de ser assinante do Asylum. digam me como. alem de que gostaria de entrar no programa leonardo d,avince para ajuda quem tem sofrimento mental, como fazer? tambem gostaria de saber bem o que é uma psicose. acho que é qualquer coisa dificil de defenir.será que é científica? não é tambem muitas vezes subjectiva? O que é a realidade.? Saudações Eduarda

Hello - I have been hearing voices for about 18 months now, maybe a bit longer. The voices are outside my head and usually to the right. I have two voice both male - i do not recognise them. The voices are not kind, mostly they berate me, tell me to harm/kill myself and sometimes they talk in a language I don't understand, an ancient language maybe something like aramaic. My Psychiatrist and others think I hear voices because of past trauma - I am not so sure. I think they come from other dimensions - and are snippets of broken conversations held by others who are like me but not me. But I know this explanation doesn't exactly fit with what the voices say - it is difficult but one day I will find the right explanation. I am learning ways to help counteract the voices sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Talking to my voices helps - sometimes I can bargain with them to leave me alone.

hi just anote to Dr rosemary letham,you made out that onthis site you(psychiatrists)are sterotyped as "baddies"i agree not all psychiatrist are"baddies"but!there are those who i say live in the dark ages,i dont no if you have heard peter bullimores experiance of being in the mental health system his story contributes to a lot of people who have heard voices and also have been given the harmfull lable of schizophrenia,allthough psychiatrist are now slowly begining to understand the voice hearing concept there are still some who would rather just give you a lable and a psychiatric number on your case notes,as a Doctor i would like to no what intervention you have for voice hearers who you see and what the out come of people you see is concerning leaving the services even though they are voice hearers,but most of all Dr letham i give you upmost respect for haveing time to research in to these valuable sites.

i am writing this in response to the voice hearers above. Amidst the tremendous suffering you are experiencing first of all intervoice are friends of voice hearers and secondly I used to hear voices. I heard them for 12 years then they went. I have some important concepts although these are only words, it is the only medium i have of reaching out to you!!! to convey to you my empathy with every voice hearer on here. If you are a voice hearer here are some concepts i found worked for me: 1 hope 2 recovery 3 empowerment of choice in your own recovery 4 the whole person heart mind body and soul 5 structure your time with work rest and play 6 you are an expert by experience 7 you can help others recover by being their friend which i am trying to be to you. 1 hope is never a bad thing always hope for the best in life as in anything. 2 recovery is not just a word but a way of life and a reality a journey and a path. 3 Make the right choices for your own recovery it's your life no one elses, even if that choice leads you to rely on the pychiatric services for a while then it's up too you!!! I did. 4You matter make the right choices for you! heart mind body and soul e.g. i tried cognitive behavioural therapy for my mind! I had counselling for my emotions my heart, I am a christian which gives strength to my soul, and i exercise e.g. for my physical wellbeing. But you! oh you i know your plight how well do i know. Well i had around ten different voices or so they claimed. I felt like i was in hell my heart mind and soul used too burn like i was in hell now they are gone. I believe they went away through friendship and making the right choices for me. You can make the right choices for you only you know and feel and understand which choices are right for you heart mind body and soul You matter. 5 if you choose to recover this is how i did it with the help of god friends professionals and myself. I work at the dundee hearing voices network for employment which is a labour of love "helping other voice hearers to recover too. i socialise at nights and weekends usually with other voice hearers or people with mental health issues i go to church sometimes but not all the time. I have developed a personal way of praying and have a spiritual life. i do sports sometimes. I have structured my rest times too, normal sleeping hours and patterns. try try try to sleep no matter what the voices say sometimes this is near on impossible but try try try!!!! to get into a regular pattern of sleep. 6 you know what it feels like too hear voices you are an expert on the road to your own recovery path or journey. you can help other voice hearers through empathy and understanding. Even more than some proffesionals because you have been their and experienced it. 7 helping others no matter at what level the voices seem to be is good for you! and the others! or what level the others are at. voice hearers are at differing levels of wellbeing and illness it doesn't matter where you are on the spectrum, helping others is good Some voice hearers cope with talking to their voices i tried not too personally until they went away. some find their wellbeing in talking or relating to their voices, this didn't work for me, But i know voice heares who do and who demand fom the voices time for themselves. Basically it is your life you know in your heart what is right and good for you!!!!!!! I hope this may be helpfull or even insightfull for anyone who reads this maybe people may read this and think who do i think i am. I would say to them compassionately "here talks the voice of experience and this is the only voice i use now! Gavin"

Hi this is a great informative and inspirational site, recommended by a friend we have just launched a website for mental health carers (I'm classed as a carer) another label your links been added. My partner is a voice hearer of 3 years, he as just started learning to accept the fact instead of total denial and day to day fights with them. He's not up to joining a voice hearers group yet but heres hoping. MHS well some good some horrendous, the majority just up the meds two sets of antipsychotics, lithium, anti depressents lots of weight gain, emotional bluntness and on a bad day they wanted to increase them even more, I questioned it, the psych looked at me shocked said "oh no he's not on too many" some people are on at least ten sets of meds. Is this the way to go? I think not, at least in my partners case and I'm sure many more like him. Thanks again for the insight

I am soo amazed, never in a million years did I think that I wouold find a website which talked so openly about something I experience everyday! I really just stumbled across this site because my mum was talking to me about a programme on television tonight about hearing voices - i thought I would do a little web surfing. I am 26, a professional working in the PR field, live with my partner and only my family know what I experience everyday. I hear voices whenever I want to. They are mostly as I say put to the back of my mind but often I decide to have a conversation (in my head) if that makes sense! The voices are not of people I know but I can make out clearly what they say. They often want me to relay messages to people I know/kind of know through friends of friends. I have in the past passed on the message (if I have enough will power!) and people have been shocked about what I know. I find writing down what I hear helps, It is quite shocking when I read back the pages I have written - it often makes very good sense and I have actually helped people in the past with what I know. I have experienced a quite severe trauma in the past - around 4 years ago but even before that I was hearing the voices - for years. In the few days before my personal trauma a voice actually pre-warned me something was going to happen. I can't explain what I hear and I know to some people it sounds insane but I am comforted by it everyday and I am often encouraged to pass on more messages - so far I have kept quiet and just get on with my every day life.

darrell holtz I know you are sufferring never give up hope I have had similar experiences to yours Gavin.

I see 90% people ( hear voices). They has big a fear, therefore not speak. I hav a information .

jill you definetly hear voices and they were probably telling you that you were killing yourself not telling you to kill yourself or that is what there telling me ive been hearing them for almmost 9 years to my its demonalogy satin at his dirtiest atacking our mental behavier in the mind

I have Asperger’s Syndrome. I wasn’t diagnosed with it until 1999…I was born in 1963. I went for 36 years without understanding why or what was ‘wrong’ with me. I started hearing Voices when I was very young.around 5 or 6. At first it was like a murmur, whispering, or a radio you can’t hear, then they became more pronounced and louder. I was a very bright child and read at a level well above my age. I KNEW it was not normal to hear the voices. I realize now that it was my mind’s way of coping with how I perceived the world around me. Those voices guided me, helped me, and tried to come up with reasons for things, there were 6 of them. Then when I was 12 I was raped by mother’s boyfriend and a new voice appeared. This one was angry but very collected and it was a he. Later another voice appeared and it too was a he. By the time I was 18 I had eight voices in my head and it was extremely traumatic for me and I spiraled into depression. I knew I didn’t perceive the world around me like most people, I was gay, I was ‘gifted’, and I heard voices, I was so close to just saying the hell with everything. Then my closest friend to whom I had confided everything to, asked why didn’t I explain to them (the voices in my head) that they were driving me nuts and ask them for a suggestion… So we sat with two other very dear friends and the four of us spent about three days with me talking to the voices, the voices talking to me and my friends talking to the voices and me acting as an interpreter… It was an exhausting, terrifying ordeal, but it seemed a better option to all of us than I going to the medical ‘experts’ and most likely being sent to the ‘nut house’ did. The end result is that the voices all… for a lack of any other term… ‘merged’ into the two male voices. By the end of the three days, my friends had all tired of referring to them as the ‘first’ one or the ‘sweet’ one. And so my surviving two voices became Jhak and Steve. Why Jhak? My friend suggested the name but ‘he’ wanted the spelling. I still am not sure why. In 1999 I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of High Level Functioning Autism. Essentially it means I do not do well in ‘social’ situations. The diagnosis didn’t even exist when I was a child. Back then, all I knew was that I was ‘different’. With Jhak and Steve’s help, and support from my friends and family, with sound medical reasons of why I perceived the world I did and WHY I had problems with certain aspects of life yet excelled in others, I got a good grasp onto my life. It’s been over 24 years now; Jhak and Steve are part of my life. We have a partnership with each other. Sometimes, we argue, sometimes we laugh, they have cried with me, criticized me, corrected me, gave good advice, and bad. My significant other talks to both of them and they to her. She says she can tell who is talking to her because the expression in my eyes change. In fact her and Jhak got into a fight that lasted over a month. She ended up apologizing to him, I apologized for Him, he and I got into an argument, and Steve pointed out how absolutely ludricous and ridculous it all was.. We all got a good laugh about it. Jhak is my strength, the one who can make those decisions and do those things that ‘need’ to be done. He is the one who can fire someone, keeps me from adopting every stray animal in the city, makes sure the bills are paid, gets me up and makes me socialize, he is my critic, my caution. He is also a smartass, a poet, and likes to draw. Steve, he is the one who cries when the pictures of orphans come on TV, remembers peoples Birthdays, reminds me of how to be polite, he is the one who would give our last dollar to someone else. He is my conscious, the empathic one, and the one who believes in the good of people. He likes nature, music, and candlelight dinners. ‘I’ am the balance point, the logical one, I am the one who lives in the world and tries to fit in. I like to build things, fix things, I like Sci-Fi, computers, and stuffed animals. Together we are one, we are whole. We are NOT broke, we are OK. And we are doing fine. And from all three of us.. we say WE are “I”. I am me, I am Jhak and I am Steve. We all know this and we accept it. We are also WE …and that is OK too. signed.. Jhak, Steve, and Rayven

Hello - I am the mother of a 30 year old son who is hearing voices. It started about a year ago and then it seemed to get better (or he did a good job at covering things up). Yesterday he had a really bad episode and became violent and angry. I saw someone I didn't recognize and he almost choked me. When I cried it made him even more agitated. He can't sleep for any length of time and is very paranoid. He says that cell phones, electronics, etc., are bugged and not safe to use because people will hear you. He has slept under our house, looked through our bushes in the yard (said we were all under surveillance), and even wore aluminum foil on his head once. Yesterday he told his dad that "there was a phrase" and he couldn't tell him or it would happen to him (his dad). I don't know what to do, or more importantly, how to best help him. He believes that everyone thinks he's crazy, but that is not at all true. I love him dearly, he is my precious son, and I want to help him but he won't talk to me or let me into his life. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could help him or what I should do?

Hi, i'm an eighteen year-old guy... somewhat hoping for feedback, if possible. I've been reading information on this site for a few hours now and have been quite surprised by the number of comments/statements i can actually identify with. I would like very much to say that i do not 'hear voices' and that i'm here only to learn more about those who do - though i'd say i have elaborate discussions in my head, with a variety of opinions and personalities. For as long as i can remember, i have always discussed my thoughts with a number of different voices (i acknowledge these to be manifestations of my own mind), some of which i've gotten to know quite well (or at least, i've come to know the personalities and suchlike that the unique voice portrays), some i have heard only under specific conditions (ie: when i am composing music, or under the influence of a particular drug), some, i think, have just been heard on a single occasion. Most of these 'voices' (the easiest way to describe wahetever they might be) are male. Last night, however, a wise female helped me explore my feelings for somebody (something i'd tried desperately not to think about, since breaking-up with them) and i genuinely believe this female voice said things which either i did not know beforehand, or at least i'd not thought of in such a way (eg: the female voice advised me far better than my own thoughts, as it were, surprising me with the clarity of the/her knowledge). Perhaps, this is simply a way of making myself more able to discuss things that i am less inclined to normally (due to the nature of it appearing to be someone else, or simply because i'd fear to admit these things to myself normally)? The only negative, (other than perhaps the likelihood of readers suspecting me either psychologically 'ill' or something), is that i do not choose to have these conversations (not that i would choose not to), nor do i always choose or initiate the topic... but they are a constant part of me which i have grown-up with (i have discussed, with myself, whether this is a standard way of thinking, a less common way of thinking, or prhaps something (quite) rare?). Luckily, i've not experienced nor forseen a bad moment with this, other than when i stuggle to get to sleep (eg: when multiple 'voices' are randomly discussing things that i conciouslly don't care about and seem to be getting louder). Music, in general, subdues this (though when composing music, i really don't mind having an old German man's voice saying "that F should be sharp", or whatever). So there you go... with honesty, fun and, most of all, the happy notion of "i'll just write it, then think about how it might sound after", that's me, really. Having written this, i feel both happy to have for once spoken about the nature of my discussions in a simple way (rather than taking small amusement from casually speaking about myself in the third person, hoping for a friend to ask how i feel). To those who read any of this, thanks. If you have anything to say (ie: your own thoughts about the nature of my post, or similar ideas/stories), then please do so. Once again, i acknowledge that what i describe might be very different from 'hearing voices' - i'd very much like a test whereby you get told what mental disorders the professionals think you have. Anyone remotely professional (and yes, i agree that people who would say they do 'hear voices' are certainly likely to have some knowledge on the subject (and hopefully related topics) as i'm sure they are), please... even if you just want to say "hey, you're attention seeking", i'd like to hear something. Thanks again.

Hi, Being educated in criminal justice and very psychic, it is my natural life path to assist in crime solving. My A.S. in C.J. has me well rounded, ready for anything. Born in the year of the dog in Chinese astrology, justice is the dog’s mantra. I am, in Mayan Aztec astrology, an inner eagle as well as outer eagle. Very conversant with numerous famous people in the spiritual, I am ready to help. If I do not help solve the crime, you do not pay. I am now in my 4rth year at Kaplan University School of Criminal Justice. Paula

Hi, I am 23 years old and I am a voice hearer myself. I have a whole new approach that might change everything for everybody. Just go to (http://voiceswithinyourhead.blogspot.com/). Your opinions will be very important to me. I just started my research and I will continue to post my ideas as soon as possible. Voice hearers are my new obsession. The truth is out there…

This site has been awesome. All of you are so so insiteful! My son is a voice hearer or diagnosed schizophrenia. He has been hearing and seeing things since he was about 14, he is now 27. Just in the last year he has been able to talk about his voices to me . Mostly he laughs so most of them must be funny, but some of the day he gets scared and always says this one thing, "Somebody's trying to kill me". And i always respond saying thats not true it is false and he seems to be ok then. I wish i knew more to tell him. I ask him their name but he won't tell me. I notice that he does certain things that he is being controlled to do. He burned himself with a cigarette and said if he could take a lot of pain then he would be immortal and never die. I think that stems from loosing his grandma when he was about 13, they were really close. He was bullied in school and picked on so very much. I just thought it was going on with all kids, but later i found out it was severe. Then it was too late to do anything, his emotions were already scarred.I would just like some step by step info on what to tell him when he gets the bad voices. Also he tells me a lot that he is human and he is a man. Maybe this is a new discovery, that he still feels like a little boy. I tell him yes, he is but he will always have a little boy within. Like we all do. There are no drs around here that believe anything can help except the meds, that it is all biological. Recently i started taking him to our family dr, just an md. but he has helped him more than all the psy. i have taken him too. This dr listens to me about nates symptoms and tries things when i ask. He takes zyprexa, xanax, propranalol and the last thing he has been on with this is paxil, which the md. prescribed with me asking for it, the paxil has really helped him, he don't pace anymore, the blisters on his feet are healing, what a relief to see him calm most of the time. Just recently he stays at an assisted living and goes to a psr, clubhouse, they have here. He is home on the weekends, I just thought it would be good to be around ppl and there are some young ppl there. He is ajusting and it helps me to have some time to work and do a few things. Please comment on any of these choices i have made for him as his guardian and mom, if u think they are good or not, i need to hear others ideas. Thanks, a mom in need of folks like u. mary

I am a third year psychology student at Aston University In Birmingham, I have been working with a service in Northampton who work with people who hear voices. A recent training course that i went on introduced me to the work of Marius Romme, and I have not stopped reading up on this since. I am very aware that many services (including ours) are very medical based and 'treatment' is very medication focussed. I am very keen to learn more about the holisitic approach to hearing voives and I hope to attend the hearing voices network conference next month. I have decided that I want to research this more in the hope of gaining more understanding of peoples individual experiences of hearing voices and I intend my final year study at university to be a qualitative look at the impact that hearing voices has on relationships. I am looking for any useful information, any advice, ideas etc. I would also ideally want to make contact with people and hear their personal stories. If anyone can help with this please contact me. my email venablek@aston.ac.uk I would be extremely grateful for any help, Kate.

I would like to know how to find a holistic psychiatrist near me, I live in statesville nc and i have heard there is one in winston salem nc , but cannot find it online. please help me to search it. i think it's a femail dr. You can email me at livelife51@gmail.com.

humm........no one ever writes here anymore. I am very interested in the comments on this site. Would really like some feed back. I am in America and people here just don't understand at all. And yea the drs here just medicate, thats it. You're in there maybe 7 minutes, they ask if u hear voices and if u say yes they go up on the medicine or consider hospitalization. So when my son used to go he would always say no. Now he goes to my family dr, just reg md. And has done much better. I have copied this site and my son (nathan) is reading it and pointing out what helps. I would just like to know if anyone writes here anymore or if I am at the right place. thanks

Hi Mary - I agree with you it doesn't seem like anyone responds or writes much on this site. I too have a son who is hearing voices. He was ADHD growing up, although unfortunately while he was young you did'nt hear of it much and we never took him to a dr. for it. He has told us that the voices have been going on for over a year and he apparently was able to act ok around us so we never would have thought. The scarriest thing to happen recently is him hearing a voice telling him to commit suicide. He rents a house of ours with his sister and she called us that night to tell us. When my husband went over there he acted ok and the following day said no such thing had happened (said he couldn't remember any of what we were saying). We reached his dr. (a phsychologist) over that weekend and had mobile crisis on standby. Thank the Good Lord nothing came of it, but nothing has gotten any better and I go through each day praying for a sign or a solution. I agree so much with you that it doesn't seem like the doctors are any help. I don't want him to be hospitalized or given some medication that turns him into a zombie, but yet I don't know how to help him either. I am not aware of what the medications are that your son is on, but I will look them up. Before your son started taking meds, did he get really angry when you tried to talk to him? I never know what mood he will be in, and he won't take any meds the drs prescribe unless it's Adderall because he says it helps him focus. Hope I hear back from you and i am so glad that your son is doing better. Sounds like you are an awesome, loving and caring Mom. I just want my son back and i am very happy to have run across your posts. I had given up on this site until tonight when I though I'd check it out again. Take care, Mary, and may God bless.

Hi

I´m the cordinator of INTERVOICE and support this site. I´m sorry that you are disapointed by the lack of discussion on htis page.

Mostly the comment section was set up to let visitors respond to and make contributions related to the article or the site. So the amount of comments left can vary from time to time. If you want to discuss your experiences with other voice hearers and with family members you can join our discussion forum where here are lots more discussions and where people do answer your questions.

You can do this by going to this page and following the instructions.

http://www.intervoiceonline.org/2008/5/3/scottish-voices-project

Best wishes

Paul

Dear Brenda, I was really glad to read your post this morning. Yes my son used to be real angry a lot. The medication helps a lot, he doesn't have that anymore. It was very hard to keep him on meds. until about 2 years ago. When he was 18 first diagnosed was when he was very angry and several years befor that. Sorry to say he has had 12 hospitalizations, most of them were involuntary. He would starve himself and say all the food had poisoning in it. He would ask me a lot of times if ppl that committed suicide went to heaven. Now he is 27 and doing much better. It's not all due to the meds, some of it is they mature and learn how to better manage the voices. If he could of ever had a dr here that understands the voices he would of been better a long time ago. Much damage has been done by the hospitalizations and forced drugging. Thanks for saying i am a good mother, it didn't come naturally, it came with acceptance into his world and instead of rejecting it now i look at it as a gift. I even tell him that. I wish still it were different, but as the serenity prayer goes, accept the things i cannot change, change the things i can, the wisdom to know the difference. The one thing they want is acceptance of the way they are, as everyone does. You are not alone in this, maybe we can email each other and come up with some solutions, at least comfort each other as mothers can do. Email me if you want to at livelife51@gmail.com. I would be glad to hear back or just write here and i will be checking it often. Also i want to thank the staff for giving me the other post, i will check it out. Take care Brenda and just know you are stronger than you know. Your strength will get you thru and u will have enough to love your son and provide what he needs also.

Hi Mary - it is so nice to hear back from you. I can't begin to put into words how comforting it is to talk with another mother who is going through this. My husband and I also tell our son often that he is gifted (they really are). I have found through much research that the most beneficial way to communicate with him is to listen, even ask questions about the voices, stay calm, and go about each day as I normally do. It seems to help him. At first this was all so scary for his Sister, Dad, and me (well especially me as I am a "worrier"). Don't get me wrong it is still scary , but each day I feel a little stronger and more determined than ever to help him get back to the life he once had. To be happy and know again what it is to feel peace and just loving life. They deserve to be heard, understood, loved and happy. I believe the most damaging aspect of this is the "labeling" they receive. Unfortunately some Drs. who specialize in this field just don't get it. I mean no disrespect for those professionals, but who better to know and undersand them than their own family? Yes, I agree that some medications can be very beneficial, but they shouldn't be so quick to say that they should be commited. I have had nightmares of straight jackets and meds that turn them into zombies. Oh I did want to ask you if your son hears loud ringing in his ears? My Son says there is constant loud ringing and the voices still come through. He has extremely sensitive hearing and feels that this all came about due to the environment, electronics (things like cell phones, radio frequencies, etc.) , and even the military. Did your Son ever mention this or experience the same? Thanks, Mary, and again it is so comforting just talking and sharing our situations. I don't feel so alone now. And to think I had almost given up on this site but for some reason went there last night. Must be some sort of devine intervention. God bless you and your Son. I would love to stay in touch. My thanks also go out to Paul and any others involved with this site. It has given me much insight and hope, and my hope is that anyone who finds this site learns and benefits from the sharing of information.

Hey brenda, My son never talked about the ringing in his ears, but when he first started this he was very paranoid and didn't open up. My sisters husband has the ringing in his ears and takes a natural supplement for it, i think it is potassium, i will ask her and let you know. She is a councilor in Roanoke Va. and married a former patient, drug addicted. She also works with voice h. and mostly addictions. I know what u mean about the dreams, unfortunately mine were not dreams, my son was taken many times in shackles and handcuffed because he would run from the police. I was responsible for calling them because he wouldn't take meds and would starve himself and some self harm. Like burning himself with cigarettes and saying if he could take a lot of pain then he would be immortal. He also bruised his arm really bad by pinching it all over, it looked like the blood was gonna drip out it was so bad. I didn't know what else to do besides a commitment. You have no choices but to do that sometimes. And him knowing it would happen he just still would not take his meds nor would he listen to any reasoning. Yea his sister and brother went thru a lot too, but not like me and his dad. They could always leave and escape it. How old is your son? When they are in the early stages it's worse, or it was for us. We finally began to put meds in his food but he figured that out, then we had to go to liquid risperdal and inject it into his drinks. So crazy, but i didn't want to see him go into the hospital again. He would also go for a week without any sleep. So at least the meds made him sleep at nite. So glad to hear from you also, it is comforting to find ppl that know. I look forward to hearing from you and also thanks again to this site! love mary