[QUOTE]Ron Coleman was sitting in his office doing some calculations when a voice behind him said, “You’ve done that wrong.” He looked around, but saw no one.
“I put that down to stress and went out and got really drunk that night, thinking that would get rid of it,” he recalls. “Then it continued and then I started hearing other voices, and before very long there were about six of them going on at different times… sometimes all together.”
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On a personal level hearing voices is a grey area for me . Occasions of what might have been internal voices or loud thoughts have been rather infrequent and tended to happen at night when in bed.
There was a period just before going on the depot and having a regular AP that I would get phrases quickly flashing through my mind that were unconnected to each other . It was hard to tell if they were voices or loud thoughts.
This had gone on for several months each night for several hours at a time.
Whilst seeing that more humane treatment of people who hear voices is important, I question whether HVN’s emphasis on voice hearing to the relative exclusion of other factors that go with psychosis/schizophrena is helpful/wise.
How in the 21st century do they not know how to stop people from hearing voices yet?
There has to be some type of procedure they can do to correct this.
I would question whether if they are not distressed or functionally impaired calling such people mentally ill is appropriate.
I do wonder how many of the HVN fall into that category.
When I was in the first stage of my treatment, and my dose was very high and I was very scared with the side effects, I was looking for alternatives and came to this TedTalk, which I found and still find fascinating:
She talks about embracing the voices as potencial allies instead of foes. I don’t hear voices (and I don’t want to hear them either) but this is a very interesting point of view.
I think hearing voices alone (without other SZ symptoms) can change a person’s way of thinking. Since they are opened
\ <— Chewy’s input. He’s now on my lap and I have my laptop sideways on the arm of the chair…
As I was saying, they are opened up by having the input of all of these voices all day, they are more easily led by people who have an agenda. I didn’t have voices for a long enough time to really change my whole world view once I was medicate and the psychosis was in check. I personally don’t think that talking to voices in public should be seen as a good thing, because that means the person needs help. Though some might do okay with this. I just don’t know. I think it is sad.
I think this is yet another area that has no absolutes. The demon voices terrified me when I was young, and my Seraton has tormented me, but as I’ve gotten older, and with the great help of CBT, I have no interest in stopping the voices. I wouldn’t miss the mumbling crowd in the next room, or the demons who only rarely speak anymore, but my Seraton is my companion. He never says nice things, but when he disappears and is quiet for a few days or so, I miss him.
If voices are so debilitating and can not be managed, then if they can be stopped they should, but if an individual chooses to and can function with voices, then no harm…
.
Now, I do think that the voices are bad.
People very often hear negative things, or just rubbish, I think that healthy people manage great without
voices, and that is a clear indicator to me that it is better to be without them.
Now, I do agree with you @metime that the voices can be a tool of manipulation,
but I hold the opinion that normies there is also an attempt to manipulate them,
not just schizophrenics.Bottom line, I think that the voices are bad, it is better without them,
normies manage great without them and schizophrenics should as well once they are cured,
or their symptoms properly managed.
???This should be seen as a general reply, not addressed specifically to metime???
I hear voices. Michelle and Jerek are nice voices. Very helpful Jerek is my guardian angel. He is always around. I also hear many voices in the morning. It’s like they all woke up at the same time and need to say everything I missed during my sleep.
From what I’ve experienced and studies on myself (as well as listening to others) we’re all connected but I think the interaction from that connection isn’t mean to be so strong.
To a certain extent I believe we share experience and insights over a telepathic connection however some of us have a brain disorder allowing too much in to the point where we are overhearing the thoughts going on around us; even though the majority of those thoughts have absolutely nothing to do with us.
While meditating or falling asleep you’ll notice the issue more; since our conscious is taking a back seat during those times our firewalls are not as strong hence images or clearer voices start coming to us.
The meds prescribed help to dull the nerves which secret excess receptors (ahem “receivers” ) therefor weakening those connections so you can still benefit from the shared knowledge while not being burdened by others’ moronic brain trash.
I don’t hear voices but I have intrusive thoughts.
I have heard voices while psychotic but my psychosis is so powerful that they are more like hallucinations that I can see. I used to wake up to an orchestra of Palestinians chattering over my bed about different things, with this eerie paranoid vibe. That all went away with a couple shots of Invega. I don’t know how I would do if I had that continuously. Just thinking about it makes me want to hide.
I like this way of thinking, but i believe it doesnt work for everyone. I dont have voices, but I tried to do the same with my delusional thoughts, intrusions and vivid dreams at several times. It is tough…eventually I get such terror and guilt. Thinking it is all real and I am receiving some real messages (something I often secretly believe), and rationally argueing with my thoughts, makes it more terrifying. Ignoring them fails at a.certain point. I want to learn to live with it without meds, because meds kill love, but I am not sure whether I will ever succeed…living with something telling you all the time that you are a horrible person and will go to hell is not easy…whether it is a voice, hallucination or delusional/intrusive thought.
Good point Firemonkey, I have had contact with HVN and some of them are people who hear voices but are not diagnosed with any mental illness, and whose voices are kind, friendly and helpful. There does seem to be a number of people who are perfectly ‘normal’ and functional and their only difference is that they hear voices.
I’d like it if i could get along with my voices, but it’s impossible for me to do the things they demand that I do and they clearly want to ruin my life.