Voices

BTW merry unxmas to anyone who doesn't enjoy xmas or maybe you're just a bit dark. I salute you.

Hi @Cleo2

The forums are not shut down, just not as active as they normally are. There are still people around to talk too.

If you feel like you need help then by all means ask for help. There are services like Life Line or Beyond Blue that you could call to ask for help. They might be able to point you in the right direction.

If things get really bad then you could always go to the ED and ask for help that way.

I'm not to sure what other things you can do, but it's good that you are reaching out for help on here.

Thanks for trying to help @Snowie . I really appreciate it.

Hi Voices

My stepdaughter, who, to quote Love Actually, turns out to be the f**king love of my life (but not in a creepy way), recently disclosed to me that she hears voices, lives with voices, talks to voices - that the voices have personalities, names, etc.

Backing up a bit. The disclosure came after I found a note. She'd been acting differently, secretively, for a few weeks, and the note confirmed why. She was pursuing a crush with a guy she'd met online, even though she was in a long-term, supposedly committed relationship with this lovely young woman. I confronted her after giving her the opportunity to share with me. This behaviour went against all her espoused principles, and mine, infidelity, and then she disclosed it was one of these voices, these as I know now 'alters', that had initiated and pursued this relationship. Oh how I long for the days when I could think of her as being an untrustworthy, selfish, despicable, young woman for cheating on her girlfriend.

In the meantime, I spend every waking moment scared for her - mostly in tears when I'm doing things about this. I've researched dissociative identity disorder like there is no tomorrow. I now know so much about it, but in doing so, it's raised more questions than answers for me. Existential questions. My entire world has been turned upside down and I don't know what is real anymore.

This on top of a chronic anxiety disorder of my own. Yeah, I know, fun, right?!

Anyway, Voices, stay strong. Don't give into self-wallowing. Research. Go to ChatGPT and ask questions. Treat yourself in the third person ... which is kind of weird given that you may be living with different personalities inhibiting you, but treat yourself like your best friend. What would you do if your best friend came to you with this problem, with this concern, with this fear? You'd be compassionate, right? You'd be loving and caring. Do that with you. Be that with you. And seek help. Never be afraid to ask for help, even when you ask the wrong people. It's you and your best friend that you're helping, and that best friend is you.

Look after yourself Voices. It's confusing, painful, scary, terrifying even, but accepting it and then seeking to know about it and dealing with it, in the third person as your own best friend, will help.

Generally your GP would be first point of call. Unless you are an imminent threat to life (Your own or that of others)

If you already have mental health professionals, that's another option

The content of the voices might dictate the next steps. Like command hallucinations needing more immediate assistance than voices commentating local weather patterns

Your doctor can ask a series of questions to ascertain threat, if any. As well as a possible cause. They might begin with blood tests, brain scans, sleep studies etc to rule out physical cause(The diagnostic manuals say that if physical, sleep issues or substance abuse can possibly explain it: go with those first)