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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by pretty_paints on January 8, 2005, at 12:03:20
Hiya
I suffer from psychosis but not voices.
However I just read a post from someone further up, about what they thought constituted "voices". So I thought I would ask here to see what you guys thought. I don't personally think they are voices.
Well it's my voice in my head and I'm describing or commentating on something I'm doing. I can't do anything to stop it. I am thinking it, but not like normal thinking, it's like speaking in my head. I talk like I'm on Big Brother (a reality tv show for all those outside the UK!) and I'm in the diary room and everyone's listening to me, fascinated. It comentates on everything I'm doing, and why I'm doing it. It only comes occasionally.
I'd be interested to see what you guys think. I have never mentioned it to my pdoc, or answered "yes" when she asks about whether or not I hear voices, because I personally have never thought these were in fact "voices". But yeh, any info would be gratefully appreciated :) xxx
Posted by Ritch on January 8, 2005, at 14:38:08
In reply to VOICES, posted by pretty_paints on January 8, 2005, at 12:03:20
> Hiya
>
> I suffer from psychosis but not voices.
>
> However I just read a post from someone further up, about what they thought constituted "voices". So I thought I would ask here to see what you guys thought. I don't personally think they are voices.
>
> Well it's my voice in my head and I'm describing or commentating on something I'm doing. I can't do anything to stop it. I am thinking it, but not like normal thinking, it's like speaking in my head. I talk like I'm on Big Brother (a reality tv show for all those outside the UK!) and I'm in the diary room and everyone's listening to me, fascinated. It comentates on everything I'm doing, and why I'm doing it. It only comes occasionally.
>
> I'd be interested to see what you guys think. I have never mentioned it to my pdoc, or answered "yes" when she asks about whether or not I hear voices, because I personally have never thought these were in fact "voices". But yeh, any info would be gratefully appreciated :) xxx
It kind of sounds to me like "talking to yourself" that everybody does from time to time. Except you aren't always talking, you are just thinking it. A lot of times, talking to yourself consists of negative commentary about something you are doing (usually a work task, etc.)-I hear that at work a lot from others. It doesn't sound like hallucinations to me. I've had some strange medication induced auditory stuff happen (and visual) especially from Prozac. Whenever I would read a report written by someone I know I could hear the voice of the author in my head (not loudly) reading it instead of in my own "voice".
Posted by xjs7 on January 8, 2005, at 15:03:19
In reply to VOICES, posted by pretty_paints on January 8, 2005, at 12:03:20
Most true auditory hallucinations are characterized by a disorder not only in the form of thought (in that they are thought to be 'voices') but in the content of thought (they are overly religious, suicidal, homicidal, or related to a certain delusion). So if you have thoughts that you truly perceive as voices, generally they are also delusional or severely disturbed. This is why everyone who hears music in their head is not considered severely psychotic, and why people who have internal dialogues with themselves are not all taking antipsychotics. True psychosis presents a constellation of symptoms, everything from disturbed affect, to, like I've said, disturbances of content and form of thought.
Most hallucinations are benign (in the same way that some tumors are benign--benign does not equal 'good' or 'harmless'). Some hallucinations only occur as one is waking or going to sleep. These are usually not related to any psychosis per se. I hope this helps--this is just what I have learned in the past 5 years of reading about this subject.
xjs7
Posted by alexandra_k on January 8, 2005, at 16:22:30
In reply to VOICES, posted by pretty_paints on January 8, 2005, at 12:03:20
Hey there. I wasn't attempting to define what it is to 'hear voices' in general I was just describing and talking about my experience.
Different people have different experiences. I would say that your experience is only a problem if you consider it to be a problem (ie if it distresses you in some way).
Posted by pretty_paints on January 8, 2005, at 16:50:29
In reply to Re: VOICES » pretty_paints, posted by alexandra_k on January 8, 2005, at 16:22:30
Hi Alexandra,
I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to offend you. I read a load of posts really quickly and something you wrote stuck in my head I guess, and set me off thinking about something that's been on my mind for a while. You're right, that wasn't what you were saying, I totally misrepresented what you wrote. Sorry.
It's just me quarreling with myself really! Mainly I think it doesn't consist a "voice", sometimes I question whether it does. So your post just made me think about it.
Anyway I really hope I didn't cause any offence. It's so annoying when people misread what I've wrote or go off on something after not reading my post properly! Sorry.
xxxx
Posted by alexandra_k on January 8, 2005, at 17:28:41
In reply to Re: VOICES, posted by pretty_paints on January 8, 2005, at 16:50:29
Oh hey, I wasn't offended! I just didn't want anyone to think I was trying to say what it was like to experience voices in general because I know already that mine are a-typical in the sense that meds don't help and also in the sense that I can properly converse with them.
> It's just me quarreling with myself really! Mainly I think it doesn't consist a "voice", sometimes I question whether it does. So your post just made me think about it.
I have heard a theory that 'hearing voices' is really hearing ones own thoughts but that somehow or other those thoughts fail to be tagged as 'self initiated' or 'self generated'. You do seem to think that they are the result of your brain / mental processes - but they feel different from your thoughts, right?
I don't think you have to worry about them unless:
-They drive you nutso cause you can't get any peace
-You think that you MUST act on what they say
-You think that they are infallible in what they tell youThe difference between 'hallucinations' and 'pseudo-hallucinations' is supposed to be that people with hallucinations judge that the 'voice' is the result of an external agency. To have an experience of 'voices' but not to judge that they are the result of an external agency counts as a pseudo-hallucination. You don't need to worry about these unless you find them distressing.
Really.
This is the end of the thread.
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