Other Peoples Thoughts

[Deleted member 10686]

@change So you think my "voices" are trauma related? I'm sorry, I'm just trying to understand[DOUBLEPOST=1405283883,1405283677][/DOUBLEPOST]To answer my own question, they don't seem related to my own trauma, or to trauma at all 50% of the time. They are just random thoughts. "Did you spill my coffee?" But in a southern black mans voice and tone (with an image of whose thinking it) as a random example, but lots of these random thoughts, filling up my head and taking up space so that I don't have room for my own head space. It's not all trauma related. It's just garbage thoughts that end up in my head for some reason

 

[Deleted member 10686]

I also experience intrusive thoughts the way you've described.

 

[Justmehere]

My doc told me (and I have found studies to confirm) that 4-10% of the population hears voices.

I think a critical factor is if you think they are from real other people or not. (This was also what my doc explained to me because of what a family member was experiencing.)

Like the southern man's voice that you are hearing - if you think a real southern black man is actually talking to you, when no such person is, and you acted like he was talking to you, then that would be cause for more alarm.

It does seem like you have some insight that this is just stuff happening in your mind.

 

[Seasounds]

I offer this next piece of information to use, preferably after you've consted a mental health professional.

I have known clairvoyants and healers, who have been tremendously helpful to me, offering me another perspective, that psychology did not give me. I used their information along side my Providers' assistance.

When these healers described how their intuitive abilities opening, they described being able to be aware of other peoples' thoughts. In such cases, the Spiritual Emergent Network (SEN) was helpful to them. It use to have many professional, psychologically trained, members. I do not know what professionals oversee the SEN now.

 

[jmni]

I understand that they are not malicious, and very random and somewhat meaningless. But even though they are not malicious, they still seem to be disruptive and it seems like you do not like them. Because of that it will be necessary to speak to a doctor to accurately diagnose the symptoms. If you do not want to put up with these thoughts/voices/images, then seeking assistance from a physican would be the first step.

I didn't want anyone to freak out by my admitting this ... I feel like some peoples reactions were a bit... Intense I guess. I'm not extremely psychotic or anything. It's just thoughts that aren't mine.

You chose a good place to open up and ask for advice and it was the right thing to do. Sometimes people can be a little blunt, but I believeeveryone means well and have provided the best advice possible. I think that everyone appreciates that it is difficult to be honest about what is going through our heads.

I can tell you that I also see and hear voices and images. For me personally they are only malicious. I just want you to know that you are not alone in suffering this.

 

[blackswan]

@forwardmotion462 - some of the folks I've met with "voice hearing" don't actually hear voices per se, but have experiences closer to your own or even more abstract perceptual experiences. And my understanding is that voice hearing is more common in people who experienced trauma in childhood, but the "voices" don't have to be related to that trauma.

From my external perspective, it seems a key point is that your stress load is currently higher. Any steps you can take to reduce or manage stress are likely to provide some relief from the thoughts/voices.

Sending best wishes :)

 

[Deleted member 10686]

I am already on an antipsychotic drug. (Geodon) so I don't know what the next step would be. I'm a little nervous about too many medications and that interfering with my schooling and other daily functions

 

[Justmehere]

Did the voices come before starting Geodon? Have they gotten any better with it? Any worse with it?

Are there any other things that you notice might be correlated to them getting better or worse?

For my uncle, his voices get worse the more stressed he is. Regardless if this particular symptom is PTSD related or not, I wonder if dealing with the other PTSD symptoms and working through the trauma might help.

For me, when I tried antipsychotics, it caused me to see things that were not there like a flight of stairs or a wall that wasn't really there. When we changed the meds, it didn't happen for me.

Meds are tough, it can be a real trade off between symptoms the med is treating and side effects of medication.

Maybe one of the hearing voices support groups might have other ideas in addition to medication.

 

[Deleted member 10686]

I think it's gotten better with the geodon, but has gotten worse again with new stressors and I'm on the highest dose possible of geodon so there is no going up. I'm scared to try more meds, I've been on so many. When I started geodon all I could explain was that my head was loud and hectic, I couldn't explain it this way.

The stress is definitely a big factor. School stress has for some reason stirred up PTSD symptoms and now this stuffs going on more loudly again.

 

[Justmehere]

That makes a lot of sense that stress is making is worse. Sounds like a vicious cycle too - outside stress and then having to deal with the voices too. Maybe adding in more support and skills for handling the stress from school would help calm things down a bit. Some schools have counseling centers with support groups for school related stressors and support just around how to handle all the stress of school. (It gets to lots of students.) it might help lower your overall stress level. Maybe another med could replace the Geodon and work better than Geodon at a lower dose. I'm not sure, but don't lose hope!

 

[jmni]

Also maybe you could try to find a doctor who specializes in voices/hallucintions. Someone with a speciality would be more well informed and could probably help you more effectively. They would be more familiar with the different medications. They could also refer you to a therapist.

At this point you've determined that stress and anxiety trigger the hallucinations and that medication has decreased it. You can do physical activities to reduce anxiety like exercise and yoga. And home activites like art and crafts. Personally I think that living environment and social interaction influence stress more than anything. So I would suggest you limit your social interaction to decent people and make sure you are living in a safe neighborhood. But stress isn't always avoidable.

I worry that if they are left to develop that they could become malicious. Then it would be more difficult to live with and more difficult to treat. As I see it there are two goals. Hopefully there is some medication that can get rid of them completely. I also agree that the voices are related to trauma so I would also encourage you to speak to a therapist and speak to them about your past and hopefully deal with that trauma. We all have a past and we've been hurt before. We all need to work on those issues.

 

[The Albatross]

What Jmni says. I'd leave of the conviction of where the source is, and go after the fact that this is intrusive in your life.