Hearing voices

‘Hearing voices’ means hearing a voice (or different voices) when no one is present, or voices that others with you cannot hear. Around 8% of children and young people hear voices others do not.

Up to 75% of young people have a one-off experience of hearing voices in childhood, and most do not need extra support from mental health services. Many young people hear, see, feel, smell or taste things that others do not. However, hearing voices and other unusual sensory experiences can sometimes be a symptom of a mental health condition. Sometimes, hearing voices can:

• Distract you, or make it difficult to concentrate
• Leave you feeling scared or upset
• Give you comfort or support
• Feel overwhelming
• Make you feel like you have to do things that you do not want to
• Make you feel less confident

Hearing voices is a different experience for everyone. The voices might:

• Be familiar to you or ones you’ve never heard
• Be male or female
• Feel like they’re inside your head
• Feel like they’re outside of you, as if someone is speaking over your shoulder
• Speak different languages or have different accents to the ones you’re familiar with
• Whisper or shout
• Be children or adults
• Be sounds, such as the sound of a car or of animals
• Talk to you often. Or only say occasional words or phrases
• Talk at the same time as other voices – they may talk between themselves

Some people find hearing voices a positive experience, as they may help you to understand more about your emotions, comfort or encourage you. You may find that the voices change at different times, becoming more upsetting during stressful times. It is important to seek help if the voices become hostile, intimidating or start to have a negative impact on you. Whichever experience you relate to – it is important to tell an adult such as a parent if you are hearing voices.

Why do I hear voices?

There are many reasons why someone may hear voices. Some of these include:

• Falling asleep or waking up – this might happen because your brain is partly in a dreaming state
• Poor sleep – a lack of sleep may cause you to hear voices
• Hunger – you may hear voices if you are experiencing extreme hunger
• Physical illness – if you have a fever you may hear voices or see things
• Drugs – after taking recreational drugs or as a side effect of some prescribed drugs
• Stress or worry – you may hear voices while feeling very stressed, anxious or worried
• Bereavement – if you have recently lost someone very close, you may hear them talking to you or feel they are with you
• Abuse or bullying – you may start hearing voices after being abused or bullied
• Other traumatic experiences – you may hear voices because of other traumas
• Mental health problems – you may hear voices as part of a mental health problem, including psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder or severe depression

What to do while I can hear them?

When you are hearing voices, it can be difficult to know how to cope. These things might help:

• Listen to music – Pick music that helps you to feel happy or safe
• Keep your mind busy – Practice a grounding technique
• Distract yourself – Focus on something you enjoy
• Focus on your breathing – Try to take deep breaths or try a breathing technique
• Write it out – You could keep a diary/journal of what you are thinking/feeling
• Respond – If you feel that you can, answer back to your voices calmly and politely to help you feel more in control

Often with young people ‘voices’ may well better explained by a response to a difficult situation. However, hearing voices may be part of a psychosis, which needs assessment by a mental health professional. This is very rare in young people but can sometimes occur.

If the voices are associated with psychosis often you will experience other “prodromal symptoms”. Prodromal symptoms are often the first signs of a disorder and so being educated on what to look out for is helpful. Prodromal symptoms of Psychosis occur on a spectrum from very mild to severe.

These can include:

• Withdrawing from friends and family/feeling suspicious of others
• Changes in sleeping or eating patterns
• Less concern with appearance, clothes or hygiene
• Difficulty organizing thoughts or speech
• Loss of usual interest in activities or of motivation and energy
• Development of unusual ideas or behaviours
• Unusual perceptions, such as visions or hearing
• Feeling like things are unreal
• Change in personality
• Feelings of grandiosity

What is psychosis?

In a psychotic episode, a person loses touch with reality as others see it. They might hear voices, see things, feel paranoid or believe things that do not rationally make sense. These symptoms are often present for several weeks. Psychosis can be a symptom of serious mental illness like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Other people might notice symptoms of psychosis before you do. This is because psychosis can make you feel like things are normal when they are not.

Common symptoms of psychosis include:

• Hallucinations where you see, feel, smell or hear things that aren’t there
• Delusions, where you ‘just know’ things that seem unreal to other people e.g. Paranoid beliefs that there is a conspiracy against you
• Feeling that you’re being followed or your life is in danger
• Muddled thinking and difficulty concentrating
• A feeling that you’re being controlled by something outside yourself
• Feeling like time speeds up or slows down

Although it can be scary, there are treatments to help with psychosis. Therefore, it is important to make contact with the GP if you feel this is what you may be experiencing.

Within the Northern Trust there is a service designed to meet the needs of young people aged 14+ who may be at higher risk of developing Psychosis. Referrals to this must be made by another Northern Trust service such as CAMHS, Community Mental Health Teams and GPs:

Service, Treatment, Education and Prevention (STEP) Team – Northern Health and Social Care Trust (hscni.net)

Resources:

Parents-Booklet-1-Intro_web.pdf (hearing-voices.org)

Helpful links:

• Young people and hearing voices | Understanding Voices
• National Hearing Voices Network – For people who hear voices, see visions or have other unusual perceptions (hearing-voices.org)
• Voice Collective
• Taking Risperidone to Treat Psychosis: Andrew’s Story | YoungMinds

Useful Apps:

• 7 cups – Self-help guides and online support chat. Ages 13+. (Free Aspects)
• SafeSpot – Promotes positive mental well-being for children and young people, teaching about coping skills. (FREE)
• Feeling Good Teens – audios based app for various topics such as muscle relaxation and building self-confidence. Ages 10+. (In app purchases)
• Atmosphere: Relaxing sounds (FREE)
• Anti-stress relaxation toys (Free aspects)
• Calm – Mindfulness app (Free 7 day trial then subscription cost)
• Headspace – Mindfulness based app (Free trial then subscription cost)
• Sanvello – psychologist-designed tools to address anxiety and stress. Ages 14+ with parental guidance. (Free aspects with subscription cost)
• Mindshift – help with anxiety for ages 15+ (FREE)
• Worry Watch: Anxiety and Mood – Mental Health Tracker/Journal. (Free trials with premium features)
• Worry Tree:  Anxiety Journal – Record, manage and problem solve your worries and anxieties. (In app purchases)