Voices

Hey there @RichardRichard

It sounds like there's a lot going on for you right now, and the impact these internal voices are having on your wellbeing is very real. You have done well to recognise that this is something you have experienced before and being aware of your triggers (as well any changes in how you differentiate the 'real' from the 'not real') places you in a great position to get some extra support. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable about your challenges isn't always easy to do, and we hope your peers have some insights to share with you soon.

That big change with work may also be adding to your stress, and trying to steer clear of self-sabotage and self-destructive behaviours can be hard when you are already feeling so overwhelmed. This isn't something you have to carry alone, and we will share with you a few resources that we hope you can find helpful:

• Self-help when hearing voices - The SANE Blog
• Hearing voices | Mental Health Foundation
• Strategies for Coping with Distressing Voices
• How to Break Cycles of Self-Destructive Behavior | MHS

Struggling with voices sounds difficult enough, but not being able to talk about this with professional supports can make it feel infinitely harder. We understand that speaking with others in your personal life may not feel like an option for you right now, especially with all these big changes happening for you. We do want to recognise that you have already taken a big step to reach out on the forums for support. We encourage you to take that next step further to connect with some mental health helplines, as they are able to offer a safe space to provide free and confidential support, working with you to support your current challenges. We will share a list of helplines with you here. Take a look, and perhaps try connecting with a service that feels most comfortable for you.

Take care !

Hey @RichardRichard, thank you for sharing your experiences with the community!

It sounds like you are going though a lot at the moment with your voices and changing jobs and both can bring on stress. It's really brave of you to share your experiences and be vulnerable with the community. You are demonstrating your courage by reaching out to your peers which is not always easy to do.

I can understand how you feel about being watched and that the voices are real. I am diagnosed with schizophrenia and had many psyhcotic episodes which lead to me being admitted into the hospital and mental health ward. In between the episodes I believed my delusions that I was being investigaged and watch by authorities. It was a very stressful and confusing time for me and I had a lot of emotions and thoughts present that were out of character for me.

After having psychotic episodes for 10 years I have not heard voices since 2017 and I have turned my life around which I am very relieved about. My tuning point was being diagnosed with schiophrenia in 2016 and engaging with my treating team. I learned to accept that my experiences were an alternate reality that I was living and it did not serve me to believe in it. I looked at the fact, were my life had lead me and what was going to happen next if I stayed on that path.

You have mentioned some pretective factors in your life that can support you with your experiences. It sounds like you have a job where you can chagne roles which is amazing that you can do that and hold down employment. Having a home can be so important as we can feel safe and be in familiar surroundings. And having a partner is amzing as you have support and someone to share you life with. Not everyone who has experiences like what you have discribed has these so I encourage you to lean into them.

At SANE we have a program where you can speak with a Peer Support Worker or Counsellor for up to 15 weeks. You can check out the Guided Recovery here - Welcome to SANE’s Guided Recovery and decide if you want to pursue it. Whenever you are ready, you can chat to SANE’s mental health support workers who can assist with a referral, simply call 1800 187 263 or chat on the webchat at sane.org and let them know that you were referred from forums. They can help you with questions and check things like whether you have enrolled before or not. They're available 10am – 8pm Mon-Fri.

I encourage you to take a look as it can be really beneficial to have a chat with someone who gets it!

We also have this thread that you might like to take a look at too: https://saneforums.org/t5/Our-stories/Hearing-voices-and-psychosis-%EF%B8%8F/td-p/1682014

Thanks again for sharing you experiences with your peers!

Take care

RiverSeal

Hi I know the feeling of being watched they call it just being paranoid but it's an easy cop out to use such a word to dismiss such sences your tuned into. I believe we are being watched mainly by the government with tactics of voices to head devices which they use on sensitive voice hearers just to bring you down and to make yourself feel like shit. The attention is not what you want I get this too..but amazingly we are all apart of a collective level sharing such thoughts with other people and the deceased included.. most voices I hear have always got something to say and can relate it to it being on a trauma related experiences most of us have had especially if U have had a hard times in your childhood. They want to be heard and fight over your consciousness to have a voice heard. Mainly negative jagger full of stories on why they are there. Spirit attachments plus walk-in can be to blame too but a doctor won't agree to that..even tho if you feel possession going on ECT ( electro convulsion therapy) has been apparently a way you can take care of that instead of an exercisom now days.

• Ive veen raped, but couldn't see them in physical form to fight them off..I've been bullied and pushed around and blamed for all there problems and also being a problem..trying to make me take responsibility for them hurting people and animals that I care about . They live to isolate you, keep you in a scared state so you become desperate state to then get easily manipulated by them and what they say.