Hearing Voices--What it's like...

[roady]

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I was thinking of buying this, but would I be just throwing my $ away for a tape that supposedly simulates the experience?? Does anyone think this is possible!?

Anyone out there ever actually hear voices? What is it like??

Thank you.

 

[Anasazi23]

I heard that thing at APA last year. It's kinda interesting for a minute or so, then you want to get out of the chair and keep moving - not necessarily because it's disturbing, but I felt I got the point after a little while.

If you're very curious, I suppose that $3.99 on ebay isn't so bad (who knows what the ending bid will be).

It will probably sell for significantly more however, as it seems there's a decent market for drug rep items. I'm not sure if it's premed diehards that want to go to chem class with an Avelox, or Effexor XR pen or what, but they sell like crazy. Double the price if it has Viagra on it.

I've often said I was going to get the tons of drug rep pens, staplers, clocks, paperclip magnetic holder thingies, highlighters, foam stress brains, and other junk and put it in a box and sell it for like $200 on ebay. Then someone told me it's illegal to resale drug rep items for some reason. Not sure if that's true or not. Then again I've sold other sketchy items on ebay and got away with it.

 

[psychedoc2b]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6199653446&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1

I was thinking of buying this, but would I be just throwing my $ away for a tape that supposedly simulates the experience?? Does anyone think this is possible!?

Anyone out there ever actually hear voices? What is it like??

Thank you.

I do hear voices. You must understand that everybody who hears voices has their own unique experience. My experience is not quite the same as anybody else's who also hear voices.

My voices are in the background. I sometimes hear music, phones ringing, and people talking. If I am doing a task, I don't really pay attention to them. But, when I just lie down to sleep, I can start to decipher what the conversations are about. In content, they are usually discussing about me. My voices are not bad voices. They are just critques of what I did during the day or how I feel about myself. It's like an extension of my subconscious talking out loud in my head. I live in an apartment and sometimes imagine that the conversations are coming from people above me. But, I can test myself by thinking out loud in my head. That is, I say things to myself as thoughts in my head and tell myself that they are just voices. And in my head, I hear, "They are just voices." And, the conversations stop when I think about this for a moment but then continue babbling on. Thus, I have a mechanism to distinguish between voices in my head and actual "noises" in my external environment. I don't think everybody who hears voices has this "defense" mechanism. I also take meds and this dampens the voices to a certain extent. Again, if I focus on a task, then I don't really hear much of anything. It's only when I start daydreaming or vegging out that I start to decipher voices in my head.

I believe that the voices on the "tape" one can buy are frightening and critical voices. The people who made that tape wanted to give others the worst example of hearing voices. I believe that my medication side effects are worse than the voices I can distiguish. But, I have read as much as I possibly can about voices and medications. I realized that if I don't take my medications the voices can become louder and more intrusive. This is the reason I take my medications.

Bottomline: All "voices" are not the same. There are good voices vs bad voices.

Take care,
psychedoc2b

 

[Anasazi23]

Bottomline: All "voices" are not the same. There are good voices vs bad voices.

Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

I've had a couple patients in my years that were certainly schizophrenic, but enjoyed their voices because they were consistently funny, complimented them, and even provided encouragement.

The literature is somewhat scarce on "positive" voices. But I did confirm that these patients indeed are reluctant to take and even non-compliant with their antipsychotic medication because they do not want the voices to be diminshed. They provide a sence of company and even companionship in what would otherwise be a lonely existance for them.

Anyone else had these experiences with their patients?

 

[50960]

Have one right now...only takes meds when the voices turn mean. 🙂

 

[roady]

Psychedoc2b,

Thank you very much for your frank discussion of your experience.

By the way, did you appear on the prep4usmlel.com forums earlier last year? If so, I know you to be a very kind and wonderful person. I hope you are still pursuing your dreams of psychiatry--you'll be terrific.

Sincerely,
Roady

 

[Anasazi23]

Have one right now...only takes meds when the voices turn mean. 🙂

Too bad the pharmacology doesn't work that way.

 

[50960]

Will you tell her that??

😉

 

[Anasazi23]

Psych hospitals often have protocols for PRN meds in times of agitation or exacerbation of psychosis. In terms of the latter, the "PRN Zydis or Zyprexa" will help the patient, but for the wrong reason pharmacologically.

 

[50960]

This is outpatient.. 🙂

 

[MoosePilot]

What is the difference between "voices" and the running commentary you conduct in your head with yourself? Like if you're trying to do something difficult and you coach yourself "Come on, Moosepilot, steady... watch the ball... swing!". Is it the sort of thing where it could be tough to distinguish between normal "thoughts" and "voices"?

 

[Anasazi23]

This is outpatient.. 🙂

A patient can still be pretty debilitated even with positive voices - even in an outpatient setting. Responding to internal stimuli, laughing, etc can get you looking for a new job or losing friends real quick.

Unless the patient is an older, burned out schizophrenic or someone similar who is very comfortable with their symptoms and has developed good coping mechanisms, doesn't want to take meds, and isn't debilitated themselves, it's best they take the meds as rx'd. Though I completely understand. In the end it's what works best for the patient, even if we know it's placebo.

This is not too different from the post manic depression after lithium or other mood stabilizer kicks in. We see an induced depression all the time on inpatient. Wouldn't you feel sad if you thought you were the son of God, only to realize you're living in an SRO and had no special powers? 😱

 

[Anasazi23]

What is the difference between "voices" and the running commentary you conduct in your head with yourself? Like if you're trying to do something difficult and you coach yourself "Come on, Moosepilot, steady... watch the ball... swing!". Is it the sort of thing where it could be tough to distinguish between normal "thoughts" and "voices"?

A good clinical interview can determine whether these are internalized thoughts, or hallucinatory voices. After enough experience, one can even make determinations on people who are faking hallucinatory voices by carefully asking certain questions. Although of course, this isn't always 100% reliable.

Basically, we all speak to ourselves at certain points and recognize that the thoughts/words are coming from ourselves, especially during periods requiring intense concentration. As I type this, I can hear the commentary in my head telling me what to write.

During an auditory hallucination (voices specifically), the voices are often described as "coming from somewhere else" or are external. In addition, the words may not be germaine to the situation and are deemed to be coming from a source that cannot be controlled. It should be stated, however, that many schizophrenics and others with psychotic disorders can describe hallucinatory voices that are indeed "internal."

There's a lot more I could say, but I'm getting paged.... 🙁
See ya!

 

[50960]

I totally agree with you anasazi, and do not endorse her taking the meds as she wishes. I am currently working with her PCP and psychiatrist to try to get her to be more compliant or to switch to a longer acting antipsychotic. 🙂

 

[kchan99]

A good clinical interview can determine whether these are internalized thoughts, or hallucinatory voices. After enough experience, one can even make determinations on people who are faking hallucinatory voices by carefully asking certain questions. Although of course, this isn't always 100% reliable.

Basically, we all speak to ourselves at certain points and recognize that the thoughts/words are coming from ourselves, especially during periods requiring intense concentration. As I type this, I can hear the commentary in my head telling me what to write.

During an auditory hallucination (voices specifically), the voices are often described as "coming from somewhere else" or are external. In addition, the words may not be germaine to the situation and are deemed to be coming from a source that cannot be controlled. It should be stated, however, that many schizophrenics and others with psychotic disorders can describe hallucinatory voices that are indeed "internal."

There's a lot more I could say, but I'm getting paged.... 🙁
See ya!

This is a little off topic... In "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", physics Nobel laureate Richard Feynman describes an encounter with two military psychiatrists at an exam for the draft. Because Feynman said he heard voices in his head and tried to interview the psychiatrists, he was declared unfit for military service. This section, "Uncle Sam Doesn't Need You!" is pretty funny.

 

[psychedoc2b]

What is the difference between "voices" and the running commentary you conduct in your head with yourself? Like if you're trying to do something difficult and you coach yourself "Come on, Moosepilot, steady... watch the ball... swing!". Is it the sort of thing where it could be tough to distinguish between normal "thoughts" and "voices"?

For me, normal thoughts are thoughts under my control. I can have full control of what is being said in my mind. Whereas, "voices" are not under my control. They have no rhyme or reason about what's being discussed. Voices come at the least expected time and are intrusive and annoying. For me, the voices are not pertinent to the task at hand. They are just a running commentary of any subject related to me. The voices are always related to me. I'm the main protagonist in all of my voices. But, the voices are not concerned about what I am doing at the moment I hear them.

I also hear a GROUP of VOICES comprised of men and women talking. I don't just hear one voice unless it's my own thoughts. Thus, when I start hearing a group of voices having conversations in my head, I know they are "voices". Also, I have gone to other countries where English is not spoken, but my "voices" always talk in English.

The main confusion I have is when I hear doorbells ringing, phones ringing, knocks on the door, music being played, etc. This is really is confusing for me more than the voices that I hear. It does become annoying after awhile. I take medications which help to a certain extent. But, I never know when the "voices" or sounds come in my head. They just pop up whenever or whatever the occasion.

I think the main problem that people with voices have is that one can become sucked into the world of their "voices". It's not bad to listen to conversations about oneself, especially if they are not saying anything bad about you. However, it does become scary if the voices start dictating what one should do. I don't have this problem. But, the reason one reads about people with voices in the news is because they hear voices telling them what to do. That is, for example, they hear that a certain person is the devil and must be killed. At this point, the person with voices has full-blown psychosis and probably has no distinction between the voices and reality. This is where the problem arises. For example, in the case of Andrea Yates, she heard voices telling her that her children would be saved and go to heaven if she killed them. She was extremely psychotic and had lost all touch with reality that she truly believed this. Voices, thus, that dictate one's actions can be dangerous to people with full-blown psychosis.

I hope this helps. I have to go now.

psychedoc2b

 

[roady]

Thanks again for your very frank and thorough explanations, Psychedoc2b!

Best wishes~

 

[psychedoc2b]

Thanks again for your very frank and thorough explanations, Psychedoc2b!

Best wishes~

Hello,

I used to think I was one of the very few people who made it through medical school with schizophrenia. However, I joined this group which advocates for doctors with mental illnesses and addictions and was quite surprised there's quite a number of doctors with mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disoder. I think there are alot of more doctors who have mental illnesses who are in the closet. I know of other doctors who are "out there" always discussing their illnesses as a means of public education. However, I plan to just do my job as a future psychiatrist and not try to focus too much on my illness. I don't want my illness be the focal point of my life. I have too many other projects I would like to do on top of becoming a psychiatrist. I think it's great that people think that it's quite an achievement that a person with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder can actually finish medical school and do medical training. But, it's not that unique as some might think. I think, yes, I have insight into mental illness which gives me a different perspective than others who don't suffer. But, I'm not alone in this perspective. Just a thought.

psychedoc2b

 

[Nikki2002]

Thank you so much for your posts!! 🙂