You may find it helpful to have a diagnosis. It is also common for people from different cultures to experience hearing voices differently. Research shows that many people hear voices or experience other types of hallucinations. But you can hear voices without having a mental health diagnosis. A doctor may diagnose you ‘psychosis’ or ‘bipolar disorder’. Hearing voices may be a symptom of a mental illness. Hearing voices is a very common experience. Treatment & causes Do I have a mental illness if I hear voices? They may become more upsetting during difficult or stressful times. You may find that your voices change at different times. They can say hurtful or cruel things about you or someone you know. They can threaten you and tell you to hurt yourself or someone else. You may hear voices that are negative and upsetting. Or they may be helpful such as remind you to do things that you need to do. The voices may be encouraging and comforting. You might find that the voices help you to understand more about your emotions. Some people find hearing voices as a positive experience. The voices may talk between themselves or comment on what you are doing. talk at the same time as other voices.Or only say occasional words or phrases, and be sounds, such as the sound of a car or of animals,.speak different languages or have different accents to the ones you’re familiar with,.feel like they’re outside of you, as if someone is speaking over your shoulder,.be familiar to you or ones you’ve never heard,.

Hearing voices is a different experience for everyone.

hearing background noises, like people chatting, or the sound of a car going by.

If you hear voices, this means you hear something that other people cannot. A hallucination is something you see, taste, smell or hear, that other people cannot. Mental health professionals often call hearing voices ‘auditory hallucinations’. You don’t have to tell them about the voices either.About What does the term ‘hearing voices’ mean? Based on that alone, there must be something to it, right? Many people affiliated with an organized faith - or even spiritual, not religious - would be pleased to give you their perspective once they understand you’re sincere. On the other hand, consider how many people have been praying for thousands of years. Talking about prayer with someone else may feel awkward.

It doesn’t have to be a minister, though a minister may have more complete, well-thought-out answers for you. If you’ve tried prayer and it feels unnatural, and you’re not sure you’re doing it right, ask the advice of someone you feel respect for, someone who seems wise to you. Prayer can be very effective in crowding out voices. However, don’t do this in public because that would create a scene. Tell them something like, “You get more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Put the voices in their place. If they’re nasty, tell them they have no right to talk to you like that. They can be very positive.Īlternately, engage the voices. Some people report hearing them as they’re drifting off to sleep. You can have them in dreams when you’re asleep. You can have these experiences when you’re awake. This fits in with the experiences of people worldwide. Mystics and tradition tell us that there is a whole range of entities we can’t see: spirits, demons, angels, and so on. Modern physics tells us there is much more to the world than what we can see with our eyes. It wouldn’t be accurate to suggest that because the person can’t see the voice’s origin, that would preclude the voice from being real. Which voice was real? We really don’t know. Conversely, one that impairs your ability to function makes you worse off. A voice that builds you up and gives you strength is enriching. Why this is so is because of what illness is considered to be. Even so, Jeff’s experience wouldn’t be classified as a mental illness. The voices didn’t belong to anyone or anything either man could see. On the other hand, Jeff heard a voice soothing him and felt an embrace. What you do about auditory hallucinations can depend on how you experience them.

Auditory hallucinations before sleep