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

Hello, everyone. My name is Darrell Holtze and I'm a 31 year-old single male from Canada, the youngest of five children, and have lived my entire life at home, with my parents, although now, it is only my mother and I. My father died in the summer of 2003, of old age and a weak heart, and my mother is in her early seventies, but very much agile, spry, and full of life. She enjoys gardening, and is currently looking forward to the spring months here in Ontario and cultivating her backyard flower garden. I currently hold a part-time position at a retail store here in the city (population, circa 110,000), after working two full years for this company full-time. When my father died, he being the breadwinner, I was not only distraught (I was very close to him), but worried for my future and what would become of my mother and I. Would we have to sell the house and downsize, move into an apartment? I knew how much this house and its grounds meant to my mom, and so I promised her that I would try going out into the world and see if I could find a full-time job that was suitable for me, and which I could handle. By no means am I a shiftless person. It's never been the work itself that has been the issue for me. I have always been an overly withdrawn and shy person as far back as I can remember, and retreated into myself at a very early age, 'living inside my head' as the saying goes, pretending, for example, in my pre-school days that I was the star of my own TV show and what not (I even made up end credits using hand-gestures) while the other boys and my older brother preferred the cold outdoors and the normal activities that young boys engage in. I am a mild and soft-spoken individual, though you would never know it sometimes, if you read some of the things that I write. For instance, much of my free time is spent watching films. Since 1998, I have become a dedicated videophile of films, viewing, on average, two to four films per week. I love the old classic movies, in particularly, and my eclectic taste ranges from films dating back to the silent era and pretty much everything in-between up to 2004, when, in the month of October, all hell broke loose on me, and I had to give up this pastime of mine for two whole years, as I thought my life was coming to an end, and began to see no other way out from this hell but through the taking of my life, in those very dark moments when I so much wanted to but couldn't. I love my mom too much to ever do such a thing as this, in her lifetime. It has been her life that has been keeping mine alive these past 3-and-a-half years. I told her this just once, and it hurt her so very much that I vowed I would never mention it again to her. In the spring of 2006, I felt good enough to take up where I had left off, and began doing the thing that I love most, that of watching films and writing reviews for them. In order to hone my craft of writing, I also began reading and studying very carefully how other reviewers of film, film critics, approached their writing, and sometimes, I can see a lot of sarcasm and nasty wit come out in my own writing of film reviews – whenever I try to be clever or cute or witty – especially so if the film I thought was a stinker, do I tend to say a lot of things, and in such a manner, that it often works against me, and has an alienating effect on the reader (so I've heard from a few online readers of my material in the past who have mentioned this to me, and who have also imagined me to be curt, cynical, or sarcastic – the very opposite of what I am by nature and at heart). Those few people who know me in person can testify to the fact that I'm kind and considerate, and I don't know why in some of my writing that these qualities don't come through enough as I would like them to. And so, with this in mind, I ask of you that if you sense me becoming a little too borderline off-putting for your liking, please feel free to say so and point this out to me, for likely it will simply be a case of me not knowing how it is I come across to other people at times, in my choice of phraseology or tone. In fact, as I write this I am trying to pay extra attention to my phraseology and tone, as what I have to say is very serious and I don't want to alienate myself here from members on this forum, whom I would like feedback from and to maybe even befriend some. I'm a deep thinker, for starters, and my mother often criticizes me for being such – an overthinker, she thinks I am at times. Maybe this is a contributing factor to why in the past few years I have been as paranoid as I have been, 'reading into things' as my mother puts it. The paranoia no longer exists, but the unseen voices remain. I have always just referred to these as "voices" until I read and came across the expression "unseen voices," which, I guess, is a more apt term to use, and so I shall, as I do enjoy referring to things as properly as possible. "One must be so careful with words," Mr. Smith has written, and I tend to agree. Incidentally, that is how I became introduced to the HVN, through the reading of Daniel B. Smith's book, 'Muses, Madman, And Prophets,' of which I'm just about to start Chapter 10 of. The Chapter which HVN was mentioned I had read just last week, and I was excited to learn that such an organization exists such as this. The following day, I drove down to the local library branch here, where they have a number of computer terminals open to the public, and Internet access as well. I do own a computer of my own, but have never felt or have had the need for the Internet at home. I basically just use the Internet for a few sites, printing off sports columns and film reviews, and that's about it. Library patrons are only allowed, however, 45 minutes of computer time each day, and knowing this, that doesn't give one a lot of time to sit there live and to gather one's thoughts to compose a letter on the spot or to leisurely browse the Net or a website, and so what I did is composed a letter at home, copied it on to a floppy disk, pulled up the letter at the library terminal, copied it on to a clipboard, typed in "Hearing Voices Network," and in the designated area pasted my pre-written letter and sent it off to a few of the "Hearing Voices Network" websites. Promptly, and I thank her for getting back to me as quickly as she did, I received a response from a friendly lady respondent named Becky Harper, who directed me to this website here. And so here I am. I want to apologize for the way this post has gone thus far, likely there are a few out there who may think that I am rambling and not getting to the point, but everything I have so far said I have felt the need to make mention. Perhaps there may be lots of time to get into my experience specifically, but I just felt the need to introduce myself and tell a little about my background instead of just barging in here with my voices and theory as to the origins of these. Hopefully, in the coming weeks and months, in dribs and drabs, I am allowed to share with you all when this all started for me, the hearing of unseen voices and the rest of the baggage that comes with it. It's utterly ironic that at the time of this writing I feel as under control of the situation more than ever. At this moment, I'm calm and have a sense of inner peace that has been apart of me, strangely enough, throughout all this. (I had been looking for God and the truth about life and had dabbled in many various searches for this prior to getting mixed up with these voices; always with a sense of emptiness inside. I have been through hell – no mere figuratively speaking – but as soon as the voices started I had sensed a contentment inside that continues to this day and which has always made me think that despite all this horror, I have been protected – though a fine way of showing this – however intuitively felt, by some higher and more benevolent power than these abysmal voices, even though it has brought me to the brink of suicide a handful of times.) But I have experienced these cessations a number of times already, in the past 3-and-a-half years, enough to know that the voices and the torment will – and can – return at any moment 'they' please, that these brief interludes are nothing but a tease. In fact, although it seems the voices have gone, I still sense that familiar skin sensation pressing against my scalp and arms, in particularly. It's a warm 'heat' and kind of nauseating, too. It has been with me pretty much each day since October of 2004 when it all began; it has been one of the constants of the unusual sensory perceptions that I have experienced. I have only seen one visual "hallucination" throughout it all; for the most part, it's been abysmal voices, the occasional – I want to stress that it has been very rarely – poltergeist-like anomaly (once it was my closed bedroom door that began quickly opening-closing-opening-closing shut, way back some four years ago, one night as I was alone in my room, at around 9-ish in the evening, with the lights out and the Dead Can Dance album blaring loudly, as I stood exercising my biceps and triceps, lifting barbells and singing along with the music. It scared the crap out of me at the time, and that experience took place right before the world caved in on me), and this aforementioned 'icky' skin sensation, that you wish you could just shed, it's so uncomfortable. If unseen voices are a product of the mind, which I am not totally convinced they are (I've been through too much strangeness and have experienced some unexplainable things that I feel just cannot be explained away by the human mind alone), than I suppose this 3 year-and-counting 'tactile hallucination' is too? – that is smothering, and sometimes feels so 'warm' I can only liken it to the feeling of getting sunburned. I don't wish to go into too much detail at the moment, for 3-and-a-half years worth of experience equates to a rather lengthy post, and so if you will allow me to proceed at my own pace I would very much appreciate this. I would like to cover all aspects of my background and experience before jumping in to the theories which attempt to explain what this may all be about, and so I would hereby like to kindly ask of those who should read this and wish to respond that you please allow me just a little more space and time for me to first share with you a little bit about my personal and family history, which I myself feel is very important to my experience, before proceeding in with your own personal theories as to what you think my unseen voices and such are the cause of. I think by just relating to you some of my past bad decisions and aspects of my personality, that a lot of what I will have to say will speak for itself, on the matter as to the possible cause of my experience, without even me having to spell it out as it were, as to my own theory and where I stand on the issue. My intent is not to come on to this forum and preach. (Although there's a part of me that's fairly certain about what triggered all this, and I'm so sure of it that if and when I should speak of this I could very well come off sounding preachy.) I have been a very suicidal individual throughout the low points of this 3-and-a-half year ordeal, and often in these moments I had wished there was just one person I could speak to as to what it was that I was going through, how difficult it was, how it took all one's inner strength to face each day and get through it – which was an accomplishment in and of itself, just making it through another day. Many times I had wished my mother were not alive so that I could just take an overdose of pills or something and just end it all. No one would ever know the hell that a human can be put through, psychologically, and they would be better off for it, any way, I had felt. But there was no one I could turn to with this. Co-workers? Yeah, whatever. I went into work each day while being continually harassed by these voices and sensations, and tried my best to appear as normal as I could, but I couldn't even smile or get the tone of my voice to sound pleasant, and many have since then just left me alone to go about my business, thinking that maybe I'm stuck up or full of myself, the reason for my lack of social skills and wanting to talk with them – which has been in recent years a combination of my shy and introverted personality and the hell of this experience, which has likely caused me to appear anti-social in the eyes of many who are in the presence of my company. I don't blame them for the reputation that I have given them, although, that said, I just wish there was more people in this world who weren't so, I don't know, superficial, that didn't go about reading a person and his entire profile by that person's countenance and body language alone, that were mature and sensible enough to think that maybe that person is going through something in life and that it doesn't have anything to do with you. Many times I have felt that people take things too personally, and can be easily offended by the reaction of one human being who rubs them – or comes across to them – the wrong way, not realizing that maybe that person is hurting within and doesn't mean to bruise your ego. What was I to say to the people I work with: oh, don't mind me, I'm just being harassed and attacked by unseen entities. And so you keep everything to yourself, trying your best to concentrate on your work, but often finding that you can't. Many times I called in sick when I just didn't have the mental and physical strength to go in and put in a day's work. Naturally, I wasn't believed by my (cynical) supervisor who would answer the phone and hear a person on the other end who didn't sound sick at all to him – none of your common sniffles, no coughing, no complaining of an upset stomach – and so he would fill in my name on that day's sick list as a "no-show" instead of others who were believed and written in as "sick", no doubt thinking that I was a malingerer all these years. I knew that enough times calling in ill would not be good for the record, and so often it was a case of me summoning all the power in me to make it in and face smiling, "how-are-you?" fellow employees. For one whole year I lived with this hell without even telling my mother about it. I just didn't want to place any added stress on her. She's a worrier by nature, and I'd rather see her obliviously happy than continuously in concern over my psychological welfare. But it became just too much for me to handle alone, and so eventually I had to give in and confess to her the truth. She immediately suggested I go see a professional about it. Her own mother, she said, had "emotional problems" (she once through herself in front of a subway), which was true and which I already had known about (I had witnessed the last few years of my grandmother's life for myself), and had to be on medication. Correct, but her mother never heard voices and never went through what I was going through; this went beyond a mere "emotional problem." She also suggested I speak with a congregational elder (that's a spiritual older man for all those not familiar with the term), and for a good year this kind, caring man would take time out of his schedule and visited me each and every Monday night, often in long theological and psychological discussions lasting into the wee hours, that one time, his wife got a little concerned when he didn't arrive back home until almost 3 in the morning. This man has been a tremendous support for me, a shoulder to lean on when I needed one the most, and I have written to him about some of the things that continue to plague me, and ever since then it almost seems as if he's shied away a bit. There are reasons for this which I would like to get into later with you, but for now, I think I have said enough – if a bit too much – for one post. I have requested to the board administrator of this site that I be welcomed into the forum, so that I can get into this more with those who are willing to just listen to me. I also would like to join the forum, I'll be honest, not so much to have someone preach to me their own thoughts on this, but in the chance that I should meet another human soul who can relate to what I've been through, and for this person to share his or her own thoughts on how they have coped and how life has been going for them. I respect psychiatrists, to an extent, but I've now been on an antipsychotic for more than a year now, and it might as well be a sugar pill, it hasn't done a bit of good, other than help shut my racing mind off at nights which has allowed me to get the much needed rests that I have. I continue to take the prescription because I do need it. I use it as a sleeping pill; without it, and I've tried going to bed without taking it, I just can't seem to fall asleep. No sooner do I swallow one, and in about 15 to 20 minutes I'm feeling drowsy. There is some good, I suppose, in the taking of drugs, but that's as far as it goes in my case. The medication has done nothing in regard to the evil voices I have experienced and the skin sensation that I have spoken of. And there is one aspect of it all which I have been hesitant to convey to these doctors, in respect to their profession, which simply cannot ever explain the things which I have experienced which seem to point to something other than just the human brain at work. Without going into any detail at this moment, I just would like to say that my life, for the past 3-and-a-half years, has been seemingly controlled by, what Carl Jung referred to it as, synchronicity. At least I think that's the proper term to use to describe what I have witnessed. These voices that I hear seem to know my immediate future. They can foretell things in advance, and always what they whisper to me comes true. In the journals that I have kept, I have recorded some of these instances, which, at first were extremely unsettling to witness – eerie, is the word. Now, it's become passe and 'they' (whatever 'they' are, and I say 'they' for I refuse to believe that all of this is coming from me) rarely use this on me, anymore. I am no longer astonished or freaked out by this power they seem to possess, not because I have, like others here have mentioned, grown to accept these voices to the point that they have become some benevolent companion (1. I have never engaged, and do not engage, in conversation with them. I have never wanted their company around. 2. Not once have they ever been not evil, intrusive, and mocking in nature with me; they have always been "abysmal" is the term I like to use – the opposite of "divine"), but because long ago I simply accepted my defeat and have made myself, in the process, attracted to the thought of my death – finally, release from these captors, I reason – and so what more can they do to me that hasn't already been done? I've seen and heard it all. They stomped on my soul, tore it out from me, and shred it to pieces, and my death would only be a formality. I already consider myself kind of dead because they have killed the beauty of life, and have brought me so low to the very brink of killing myself that I have unwillingly overcome the will to survive, the innate instinct of self-preservation, that once is taken away, is never reclaimed. Here I am going on again, but I would like the attention of all you psychiatrists out there. Psychiatry is how old, in the grand scheme of things? Who created the very human brain that you currently believe is the root of all this psychological evil? Do you never once think that there could exist creatures more powerful than you've ever imagined, and that if you invite these in, as I foolishly did, that they can take over your mind and even seemingly your life? Here I go tipping my hand, but the ineffable, horrific torment which I have witnessed first-hand ... no one can convince me that it's merely a product of the imagination or biochemical in origin. I've often said to myself that I would not wish this – the trial that I have been through – on any other person, not even my worst enemy, it's so insufferably inhuman. But I tell you, if some of you psychiatrists could experience what I've had to go through, you would blaspheme God if you had believed in Him – that's how low you would sink, and why I can no longer speak with the aforementioned elder or others in my congregation about this, for if I did, they would have to hear their God being told off by someone who they think loves God and is in complete good mental and spiritual health. And this would only hurt them, and I'm not into intentionally hurting people, and hence why I've sought out others of my human family – regardless of their background and beliefs – to confide in, here at Intervoice, for example, because there's just too many people that exist who aren't ready to hear any of this, whether it be because it affects their spiritual faith in God or because it may threaten their scientific upbringing. I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers, that's why I no longer confide in the 'older men' of the congregation about this, or to medical professionals, either. It was at my mother's behest that I seek out a psychiatrist, and it took me months before she persuaded me to go see one. I was both reluctant and resistant: reluctant because I was a bit nervous about taking medication which years on down the road a new study would prove to have long-term damaging side-effects; resistant because I already knew what the source of these voices were of. I could trace it to the exact moment when I 'invited' them in, in my private sessions of 'contacting the dead,' voices of which, first revealed themselves to me on audiotape, verified by my brother who was invited over one day and he too heard a distinct and unusual voice "answer" one of the questions I had posed while conducting the spiritistic interview. Just the other day I was watching a movie and again, a voice is heard at about 20 minutes into the DVD, and to me it says, "I exist!" in a semi-revealing and adamant whisper-like voice. Granted, 95% of the voices I hear are aurally so, some I hear – as in perceived implanted thoughts – enter into my mind, but occasionally I will get one of these voices "caught" on an audiocassette or video or DVD. I can't say whether these voices actually make it on to these software, technically speaking (for what if the source of these voices simply repeat themselves over and over again at the same spot and only make it appear as if we humans have "captured" them on some form of media), but I can tell you this: I go back and listen to what I think I've heard and 'the voice' sure enough is there. I'm not imagining it. I may be interpreting what I think it is saying, but clearly there is something there that's not supposed to be there. I have read and learned that the expression is called "consensual validation"; this is when an individual who thinks he has seen or heard something very unusual and who wishes to see if it's just a product of his mind seeks out a second or third opinion, only to learn that, yes, others – in my case – hear it too. This is only one example of what I mean, by things that I have experienced which I feel cannot be explained away by psychiatry or neurology or what have you. 'Fateful coincidences' is another thing that I have personally encountered in my life, these past few years. I use this term for I am now convinced that when something seems really creepily coincidental, that it's not. I can say this with certitude because in the past close to four years I have seen things that suggest to me that there is a greater – and clearly manipulating and operating – force at work upon mankind than the majority of earth's inhabitants, especially here in the secular West, with all its fast-paced, hectic, and sensory overload, is blinded to. As I have alluded to earlier on, I have always been a loner throughout my entire life, looking at life from the outside in, instead of being a participant, brought to the brink of committing suicide, while others simply go about their merry lives. I don't think I'm "special" for having been a victim of such an indescribably horrific multi-sensory experience, but I do feel like the guy who has – to use a movie analogy – seen that body snatchers (here I'm only using an illustration, not to be taken literally) are among us but who no one believes – heck, in fact, is given a hypo, as I have been with my placebo-like Seroquel. My voices do not have names, do not sound as if they have a gender or belong to a certain age group, and I do not engage in dialogue with them. (The closest I have ever gotten to 'conversing' with these vicious voices is when they have riled me up to the point that I can't take it any longer and in a fit of rage – which has when my mother has been around disturbed her – I yell and curse back at them and tell them where they can go in no uncertain terms. They can go ahead and kill me before I ever just sit there and take their verbal abuse.) Neither have they ever spoken in more than three monosyllabic words at time to me. I have always just wished that they went away, but they remain after all this time, and I have come to accept that there is no such thing as recovery in my case. I could be wrong, and I hope I am. Whenever they do leave me alone, as they are doing to a degree now, that's when I get to experience and taste life once again, the way it should be, and this is how I've managed to survive as long as I have with this – besides my mother acting as an oblivious lifeline, I cherish these little windows of absence that they seem to give me every now and then, and I don't know why they do, when I know them well enough by now that if they had their wish I would have been dead long ago, such is their desire to have me commit suicide. My mother, my aforementioned spiritual friend/advisor, and one or two others in the congregation who have an inkling that I am going through something (of what, I haven't made specific for it could very well shock them) have told me personally that I'm in their prayers, and maybe this has something to do with these brief letups in voices and attacks. Who can no for sure why these voices come and go like they do? They are either playing a game with me, or there are two polar forces at work in the universe. I hope I may be allowed onto Intervoice's forum so that I can 'start from the beginning', as they say, instead of just venting like I have done just now. I apologize to anyone if I have seemed to come across as a mere rambler, but I get locked in a zone when the fingers sometimes hit the keys and before I know it, I have let out at least a purge.

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 Aspergerâ