Coping with hearing voices

If you're struggling with hearing voices, you're not alone. There are lots of things you can try to help you cope.

Different things may help with your voices at different times. Some of these ideas may not be helpful or possible for you right now. But you can always come back to them later if you like.

Try a few different things and see which work best for you.

I realised hearing voices isn't always about losing touch with reality. It's also being hyper-sensitive to the pressures of your situation.

Before exploring ways of managing your voices you should be sure there are no underlying physical health problems causing you to hear them. Our page on understanding hearing voices has more information.

Explore and try to understand your voices

Reflecting and asking yourself questions about your voices may help you to better understand them. You can try doing this on your own, or with the help of a counsellor or therapist in talking therapy.

Understanding your patterns and your triggers can be particularly helpful. This in turn can help you:

• Feel more in control
• Notice when your voices are causing problems
• Stand up to them when necessary

For example, you may wish to keep track of your voices by asking some simple questions. You could write down your thoughts in a diary (physical or digital). Or record yourself speaking on your phone.

It's not always easy to work out what your voices mean. Sometimes they might not mean anything. And that's okay too.

Here are some questions you could try:

Voices and your past

These questions might help you think about how your voices relate to your past experiences.

• What was happening when I first heard voices?
• Where was I?
• How was I feeling?
• What did they say and sound like?
• What age were they?
• Do they represent a person or problem?
• Are there any patterns to the voices?

You may recognise voices as people from your past or as your own voice at different ages. They may be related to painful experiences or trauma, such as abuse.

Voices and your life now

These questions might help you understand why or how your voices show up in your life now.

• When and where do I tend to hear voices?
• What is happening when I hear voices?
• How am I feeling before I hear the voices?
• What do the voices want me to do?
• What do I want to do?

You may start to recognise when your voices are causing problems and what makes them worse.

This could help you identify when you need to look for support or look after yourself.

Video: Learning to manage my voices

Watch Lilith talk about how hearing voices lead them to commit arson. And how a local paper's disclosure of their mental health problems made them confront their problems at a very difficult time.

By facing the significance of this voice, and owning the actions he compelled me to take, I am learning a new and sustainable way to live.

Communicate with your voices

Changing how you communicate with your voices might help you:

• Feel like you have more control over them
• Build a more positive relationship with them
• Stop them having as much power over your life

It's not always easy to communicate with your voices, especially if they're controlling or aggressive. There are different approaches you can try, depending on the type of voice and how you're feeling.

Here are some ideas.

Challenge your voices

This may help you feel more in control. You could try to:

• Stand up to them – tell them they have no power over you
• Be assertive – imagine what you'd say or do if you weren't afraid of your voices and practice until that feels more natural
• Ignore their commands or threats – tell them you’re not going to listen or do what they say

Be kind to your voices

Sometimes it's more helpful to treat your voices with kindness and compassion. You could try to:

• Ask them what they need – trying to understand them may help you feel more in control
• Remember where they come from – angry or frightening voices may be coming from a place of fear, pain or trauma
• Thank them for trying to keep you safe by reminding you of your fears – but tell them you're not going to listen right now
• Practise treating them kindly – it may feel hard at first, but after time it can become more natural
• Be kind to yourself about what they're saying – if your voices are saying things you find offensive remember it isn't a reflection of who you are

React neutrally to your voices

Sometimes, reacting neutrally to voices can be the most helpful way to communicate with them. You could try to:

• Acknowledge what they say without agreeing or disagreeing 
• Use neutral phrases to reply, for example, ‘okay' or 'sure’ 
• Keep your responses short and simple
• Distract yourself and get on with your day once you've responded

Negotiate with your voices

It may help to set boundaries with your voices. You could try to:

• Give your voices times when you'll pay attention – and when you won't
• Tell them you’d like to wait before you do what they say
• Gradually spend less time on your voices, building this up each day
• Set alarms or timers to limit the time you spend on your voices

Communicate in your own way

There's no right or wrong way to communicate with your voices. You could try to:

• Practise ignoring the voices you don't like and focussing on ones you find easier to listen to – this can get easier with time 
• Speak aloud to your voices – if you're in public, you might find speaking into your phone helps separate the voice and gives you something physical to speak to
• Journal or write down your responses to your voices, if writing things down works best for you
• Switch how you communicate depending on the voice – some voices might be easier to challenge, and some better to ignore
• Use creative activities like art or music – this may help you express your voices in a way that feels separate from yourself
• Go at your own pace – it's ok to go slowly and take whatever time you need

I wrote letters to my voice asking what they wanted from me, and how I didn't like what they were doing to me anymore.

Distract yourself from your voices

Sometimes you may want to ignore or block out your voices. This may be helpful if you don't want to communicate with them. Or if you don't have time to listen to them.

Here are some different things you could try:

• Focus on what's around you. Try listing 3 things you can see, touch, hear, smell and taste. This can help give your brain time to start feeling quieter.
• Focus on your breath. Breathe slowly and deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth. Some people find it helpful to count while doing this.
• Do activities or tasks. For example, you could try exercising, cooking or knitting. You might have to try a few different distractions to find what works for you.
• Listen to other things. You might find music, audiobooks or podcasts help distract you from voices. It might help to use headphones.
• Use a grounding object. Keep a small object with you to hold and focus on when you feel bothered by your voices. For example, a stone, a fidget toy or a piece of fabric.

Video: Hearing voices and hobbies

Watch James talk about how his hobbies have helped him manage his voice hearing and depression. Content warning: this video includes a brief mention of self-harm methods.

I find hobbies are the best medicine. Write, draw, plug in my guitar, play away.

Reach out to organisations for support

Mind has services that can help with general mental health support.

Other organisations

There are several organisations that offer help specifically for hearing voices or can help you find local support services that do.

These include:

Talk to other people who hear voices

A safe space to talk to other people who hear voices can help you to feel heard and understood.

Peer support groups for people who hear voices can:

• Help you feel less alone - you may be relieved to hear that other people have similar experiences
• Create a safe, non-judgemental space for you to talk about your experiences
• Give you new ways to understand your voices
• Offer you the chance to support others - helping other people may improve your mood or help to reduce stress
• Help you feel accepted – being part of a group means you will be listened to and the facilitator will create an accepting atmosphere
• Make you feel better about yourself and improve your self-esteem
• Increase your confidence to make your own decisions about how you cope with voices

Our peer support pages have more information, including how to find support. You local Mind may run voices groups. And the Hearing Voices Network has over 180 groups across the UK. 

You could also look for online peer support. This is a good option if you don't want to an in-person group, or if you can't find one locally. You might like to try Side by Side, a supportive online community run by Mind.

Or you could look on social media for people or groups that have similar experiences to you. See our pages on looking after your mental health online for more information.

Look after yourself

It’s not always easy to look after yourself when you’re facing mental health problems, but even small steps can make a big difference.

Our physical and mental health are closely linked. So it can help if you:

• Try to improve your sleep. Hearing voices may make it difficult to get enough sleep. And if you're not sleeping well, you may find it harder to manage your voices. But sleep is important for giving you energy to cope with difficult feelings and experiences. Our pages on sleep problems have more information.
• Think about your diet. Eating regularly and keeping your blood sugar stable can make a difference to your mood and energy levels. Our pages on food and mental health have more information.
• Learn ways to relax. Some people hear voices when they're very stressed or anxious. Worrying about hearing voices can add to this. Our pages on relaxation have some suggestions.
• Spend time in nature. Being outside in green space can improve your wellbeing and help you feel more in touch with your surroundings. Our pages on nature and mental health have more information.
• Try to exercise. Physical activity can be really helpful for your mental wellbeing. 

Find spiritual help

If you feel that your voices are a spiritual experience, you might want to talk to someone from your faith. You may be able to find support through:

• Places of worship
• Community centres
• Local support groups
• Online groups or social media

Our page about looking after your mental health online has more information on how to find help safely online.

Unfortunately, not everyone will understand your experiences. It may be hard to find someone who understands your spiritual needs as well as your mental health needs.

Some psychiatrists may be able to suggest someone who can help. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has more information about spirituality and mental health.