New here..

@ParanoidPanda

Firstly, Hello! I am also relatively new here! But Welcome!

If it was as easy as just imparting a few tips, then I would do so, as I also suffer from hallucinations, but not always. To be fair, mine have never been that bad, but I also never even knew they were happening. As I recently discovered, it's not the voices you hear, it the voices you don't hear. Which is cryptic, but I can explain if needed.

Mine get worse if I take psychoactive drugs, or if I'm stressed, or afraid, or triggered, or if I haven't slept well, or if I'm really excited and obsessed with something. Which leads me to the tipping part, which is to practice self-help strategies to minimise all of the former states of being.

There's no easy fix, I'm sorry to say, and eradicating them entirely for ever and ever is, at least for me, somewhat unattainable, so instead I just think of myself as a gardener, who manages the weeds, and cultivates the bonsai, and rakes the sand garden every morning contemplating the impermanent nature of reality.

🤔
deshift

Hey @ParanoidPanda @deshift ,

I hear how stressful it is to hear these voices. I don't have first hand experience of hearing voices, but I've met people who do. @ParanoidPanda , as you said, medications can only do so much.

Besides medication, do you have psychosocial supports to help you manage and work with these voices? While the voices may not 100% go, there are ways to identify what's reality and what's not.

By connecting with others, I hope you get the support you deserve.

Hey @tyme

I did have a psychiatrist, but he stopped contacting me and then went into private health. So now I'm on my own. I've thought about using BetterHelp but unsure if it will help or not.

As leaving the house is a struggle for me I prefer in home therapy, hence online.

@ParanoidPanda

Hello again!

Hearing your story unfold reminds me of mine when I was trying to find the best medication for me. (If you've already been through this, then I apologise for assuming you haven't, and it's worth mentioning for anyone else lurking with similar problems.)

But, psychiatrists in Australia have a habit of prescribing the cheapest, oldest pharmaceuticals, under the guise of "established efficacy". Which is a load of nonsense. Tell your doctors about the hallucinations not going away, and don't take "no" for an answer. Tell them about the side-effects and refuse to believe they are just a normal part of the medication, they aren't.

Mostly anything to do with the brain chemistry is trial and error, and everybody reacts differently to various medications. Ideally, you only want to be on one brand of something, not taking 4 different pills everyday and feeling like a zombie who has their own internal TV channel. This is completely unacceptable treatment, and most psychiatrists.... well, let's just say most psychiatrists...

While I completely support the use if pharmaceuticals where it's neccessary, the stigma and discrimination seems to stem from the APA and the AMA, and then gaslight the rest of society that its the patients that are the ones who have white-coat syndrome. They are above the law, but they have a charter to help you, and if you advocate for yourself, or inform someone you trust to advocate for you, then the treatment can begin.

🤐
deshift