Can you hear voices from trauma?

Life experiences You may hear voices because of difficult experiences you've faced. In particular, abuse or other traumatic experiences. Other life experiences can make you hear voices or make your voices worse.

rethink.org - Hearing voices and mental illness

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Treatment & causes

Do I have a mental illness if I hear voices?

Up to 1 in 10 people hear voices. Hearing voices is a very common experience. Hearing voices may be a symptom of a mental illness. A doctor may diagnose you ‘psychosis’ or ‘bipolar disorder’. But you can hear voices without having a mental health diagnosis. Research shows that many people hear voices or experience other types of hallucinations. It is not always a sign of being unwell. It is also common for people from different cultures to experience hearing voices differently. You may find it helpful to have a diagnosis. But you may not identify with a diagnosis. You may have your own explanation for your voices. Some people have spiritual or religious reasons to explain the voices they hear. For example, someone from a religious group may believe they hear voices due to demon and that they are possessed. It’s important to note that many churches agree that hearing voices is not due to demons.

For more information see our webpages on the following:

How do I get help if I am hearing voices?

If you don’t like hearing voices, or you are concerned about them, you can get help from:

The NHS

Charities

Self help

How can the NHS help me?

You can speak to your GP about your concerns. They will be able to talk to you about treatment options and coping strategies. You should listen to what the GP says. But you don’t have to act on their advice. It’s your choice what you do. Make sure that you understand the pros and cons of your treatment options before you make a decision. Your GP should not give you antipsychotic medication without first talking to a psychiatrist. Your GP should refer you to a mental health team if it’s your first time hearing voices and asking for help. You should be assessed quickly. A secondary mental health team will usually be called the:

early intervention team (EIT)

community mental health team (CMHT), or

crisis team.

In some areas of the country, you can refer yourself to secondary mental health teams. Early intervention teams specialise in helping people who hear voices for the first time. But they aren’t available in all areas of England. To find your local secondary mental health team you can try the following.

You can ask your GP for their details.

You can call the mental health helpline: www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-urgent-mental-health-helpline

Use an internet search engine. Use a term like ‘‘community mental health team in Cheshire’ or ‘early intervention in psychosis Camden’. Look at the next section, ‘What treatment should the NHS offer me?’ for more information

How can social services help me?

Your local authority is responsible for your social care and support. The social services team are part of the local authority. If you need help and support to look after yourself then you can have an assessment by social services. For example, you may need support so that you can:

get out of the house,

keep in touch with friends and family,

get a job or take part in education,

clean your house,

prepare meals or go shopping,

keep safe,

manage your money,

take part in leisure activities, or

contribute to society (e.g., volunteering, being in a club or group).

What other help is available if I hear voices?

Charities

In some areas, charities will support people who hear voices. This may be through support groups where you can talk to other people who have mental health issues. Or there may be a different service available, such as employment support.

Some of the main national mental health charities are:

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Rethink Mental Illness,

Mind,

Richmond Fellowship,

Together, and

Turning Point.

You can look on their websites to see what support they offer in your area. If you would like us to look for you, please contact our advice line on and let us know what sort of support you are looking for.

Self-help

There are things that you can do to help manage your mental health. This is called ‘self-help.’ You can read more about self-help further down this page.

See our webpage on NHS Mental Health Teams (MHTs) for more information.

What causes someone to hear voices?

Nobody knows exactly what causes people to hear voices. And it’s not understood why some people hear voices and others don’t. It’s thought that many people hear voices, either partly or completely because of life experiences. Which are largely out of our control. ,

Life experiences

You may hear voices because of difficult experiences you’ve faced. In particular, abuse or other traumatic experiences. Other life experiences can make you hear voices or make your voices worse. These include:

trauma, including physical and sexual abuse,

stress, anger or anxiety,

drugs and alcohol, ,

homelessness,

delirium. This is a state of mental confusion which may follow a serious physical illness or an operation,

grief after bereavement,

divorce or separation, and

tiredness.

Genetics

Research does suggest that mental illness can run in families. But it isn’t yet possible to separate genetics and life experiences to work out the cause of mental health problems. Research suggests that changes to your brain chemistry can cause you to hear voices.

What treatment should the NHS offer me?

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that you should be offered antipsychotic medication and talking therapy if you hear voices. If you decide not to take medication you should still be offered talking therapy. NICE produce guidelines for how health professionals should treat certain conditions. You can download these from their website at www.nice.org.uk. Your GP may refer you to a specialist mental health team such as the early intervention team (EIT), community mental health team (CMHT), or crisis team.

Medication

Antipsychotic medication can help with hearing voices. Medication may not make symptoms go away, but it can make voices seem distant or less noticeable. Sometimes the first antipsychotic that you try may not help. This may be frustrating. Please know this is normal. There are lots of different antipsychotics to try because people respond differently to different medications. You might need to try more than one before you find one that helps. Doctors should explain the benefits and side effects of each drug. In the past, some antipsychotics had negative side effects. Some people find that the side effects of newer antipsychotic drugs are easier to manage. If you have been on an antipsychotic for a few weeks and the side effects are too difficult to cope with, you should ask your doctor about trying a different one. NICE state that people who have not responded to at least 2 other antipsychotic drugs should be offered clozapine. The main issue with taking medication is that they can sometimes have bad side effects. A common side effect is weight gain or feeling drowsy.

Talking therapies

There are different types of talking therapies recommended for people who hear voices.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

CBT can help you to manage your voices and to notice any patterns with the voices. This can help you learn what is your trigger for the voices. And how to cope with them. For example, for some people stress can trigger voices. CBT can help you find ways to deal with your stress. Voices may say things that you think about yourself. CBT can help you be more positive about yourself which can help reduce your negative voices.

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What is CBT?

CBT is a talking treatment. It is there to try and help you to:

understand links between your thoughts, feeling and actions,

understand your symptoms and how they affect your day-to-day life, and

look at your perceptions, beliefs and reasoning.

CBT aims to:

help you to be aware of signs that your thoughts, feelings or behaviours are changing,

give you a way of coping with your symptoms

reduce stress, and

improve your functioning.

You may be offered a type of CBT called CBT for psychosis (CBTp). This is for people with psychosis or schizophrenia. You can read the NICE guidelines for CBTp here:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs80/resources/psychosis-and-schizophrenia-in-adults-pdf-2098901855941

Family intervention

Family intervention is where you and your family work with mental health professionals to help you to manage your relationships. This should be offered to people who you live with or who you are in close contact with. The support that you and your family are given will depend on what problems there are and what preferences you all have. This could be group family sessions or individual sessions. Your family should get support for 3 months to 1 year and should have at least 10 planned sessions.

Family intervention can be used to:

learn more about your symptoms, and

improve communication among family members.

Family intervention could help you and your family to:

learn more about your symptoms,

understand what is happening to you,

improve communication with each other,

know how to support each other,

think positively,

become more independent,

be able to solve problems with each other,

know how to manage a crisis, and improve mental wellbeing.

Art therapy

You may get art therapy if your voices keep coming back. Art therapy may be more useful if you have depressive symptoms, such as withdrawing from people or losing interest in things that you used to enjoy. You will have arts therapy with a therapist. It will usually be in a group. This can help with feeling less isolated by being able to share experiences with others. It can also help with building self-esteem and confidence, being creative, and expressing yourself. Art therapy aims to help you to:

learn new ways of relating to other people,

express how you are feeling,

accept your feelings, and

understand your feelings.

Therapy for trauma

We understand that many people who experience trauma may hear voices. This is something which can be treated with counselling or psychotherapy. Your therapist can help you to understand the root causes of your voices. Your therapist will explore ways to help manage difficult voices. The NHS does not usually offer counselling or psychotherapy to people who hear voices. But they should listen to you if you ask for it. Especially if other therapies like CBT, family intervention and arts therapies, are not available locally.

rethink.org - Hearing voices and mental illness

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