Understanding hearing voices

The experience of hearing voices can different a lot person to person.

Sometimes you may feel well and able to manage your voices – other times you may need more support.

You’re not alone in trying to understand your voices. We’re here to help.

I was in my wife's car, happy and relaxed, when I heard a nasty comment in my head frightening me to death.

What do we mean by hearing voices?

Hearing voices usually means hearing a voice or voices that other people can't hear.

It isn’t the same as having intrusive thoughts, although you may experience both. If you’re hearing voices it sounds like someone is actually speaking.

You might hear one voice. Or it might be many different voices and sounds. You may hear them as a one-off, or regularly as a normal part of your life. While medical professionals may call them auditory hallucinations, they can feel very real when you experience them.

People can assume that if you hear voices you must have a mental health problem. But research shows that many people hear voices and don't have a mental health problem.

It's a common human experience with lots of different causes.

Common questions about hearing voices

Here are some of the most common questions you might have about hearing voices:

Where do voices sound like they come from?

Your voices may sound like they come from:

• Inside your head
• Right next to your ear
• Outside and through your ears like other sounds
• An object or animal
• Other people's thoughts, or as if other people can hear your thoughts

What might my voices sound like?

How voices sound is very personal. They can be fast or slow, loud or quiet, and can sound like people you know, famous people or strangers.

While hearing voices you may also:

• Hear sounds that aren’t voices – like animal noises or music
• See, hear or smell things others can't – often called sensory hallucinations
• Feel heat, pain, pressure or sensations – in your head or wider body
• See lips moving or hands signing words – this is more common if you're deaf

What might my voices say or do?

Your voices might:

• Threaten or try to control you
• Mock or criticise you
• Describe all the bad things that could happen to you or someone you love
• Say kind, supportive or helpful things – or switch between kind and unkind
• Talk about you or argue with each other about you
• Describe what you’re doing while you do it

When might I hear voices?

You might hear voices when you’re:

• On your own
• Falling asleep
• Feeling stressed or upset

How long will I hear voices for?

You may hear voices for a short period of time, for example if the voices are related to a physical health problem or a very stressful time in your life.

Young people sometimes have one-off experiences of hearing voices as a normal part of their development. For some people voices never go away completely.

If you’re finding your voices difficult to manage and want them to stop, see our page on treatments for hearing voices.

Why am I hearing voices?

There are lots of reasons why you might hear voices. These include:

• Physical illness. Hearing voices can be a symptom of many physical health problems. Certain infections, dehydration or even being low on certain vitamins can make you more likely to hear voices. Many of these can go away quite quickly with the help of a doctor. Sometimes they might be a sign of something more serious.
• Drugs or medicines. You may hear or see things after taking recreational drugs or drinking alcohol. You may also hear voices as a side effect of some medicines, like anaesthetics after an operation. You might also have these experiences when you're coming off drugs or medicines.
• The process of falling asleep or waking up. Some people hear voices when they fall asleep or wake up. This is because when you’re half-asleep your brain is in a dreaming state. The voice might call your name or say something brief. You might also see strange things. This will usually stop when you're fully awake.
• Hunger or poor sleep. Not eating enough or having sleep problems can cause you to hear voices.
• Intense stress or worry. You may hear voices when you’re feeling very stressed or anxious.
• Abuse or bullying. You may start hearing voices after being abused or bullied. This may include hearing the voice of someone who abused you. You may hear them being unkind or threatening, or telling you to harm yourself.
• Other traumatic experiences. You may hear voices because of other traumas, including things that happened when you were a child. These can also be related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and with dissociative disorders.
• Bereavement. If someone important to you has died, you may hear them talking to you or feel that they are with you.
• Spiritual experiences. Some people hear a voice as part of a spiritual or religious experience. Whether this feels good or bad is very personal. For example, you may feel the voice or voices help you make sense of your life. Or you may feel as though you’re hearing the voice of an evil spirit.
• Being under 18. Research suggests that you’re more likely to hear voices when you’re a teenager. While it can be a sign you need support, it can also be a normal part of your development. Most people won’t go on to have related mental health problems in the future.
• Being aged 60+. As you get older, you’re more likely to hear voices if you have neurological problems – where your brain struggles to communicate with your nervous system. For example, dementia, Parkinson’s and epilepsy can all increase your chance of hearing voices.
• Mental health problems. You may hear voices as a symptom of some mental health problems, including:
  • Psychosis
  • Schizophrenia
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Schizoaffective disorder
  • Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
  • Depression, when severe
  • Postpartum psychosis

Talking to other people about my voices

It can be hard to talk about hearing voices.

The way other people react can make a big difference to how you think and feel about your voices. If you're worried about someone’s reaction before talking about your voices, you could show them this information.

Some people accept that voices are a part of who you are and don’t mind them. While others may not understand or may make assumptions. Some people might also get frustrated when you're distracted by your voices.

If this is the case you may feel that other people’s reactions are more of a problem than the voices themselves. Or that you need to hide what your voices say or how often you hear them.

Try to find at least one person you trust that you can talk to about your voices – this could be a friend, family member or a professional. There are people who will respond kindly and accept you – keep looking if you don’t get this in the first couple of conversations. You deserve understanding.

Eventually I did confide in one of my closest friends. He told me without any drama that it was a normal reaction to a highly stressful situation.

Stigma around hearing voices

Some people have ideas about hearing voices that are harmful and wrong. 

They might think that hearing voices means you're definitely dangerous or very unwell all the time. This can be upsetting, especially if the people who feel this way are family, friends, colleagues or medical professionals.

If people around you hold negative views, you might feel afraid to tell anyone or ask for help. This might increase your stress levels and make the voices more distressing.

Remember you're not alone though – there is help out there.

See our page on stigma and misconceptions for information on dealing with stigma.

What if my voices are part of my religious beliefs?

Our culture or religion is really important to how we understand and describe our voices. For example, some people may feel lucky to hear voices, or that they’re hearing God.

But in the UK professionals and support services may:

• Use a culturally British way of understanding your experiences
• Make assumptions based on your identity or background
• Not realise they’re doing this and think they’re doing the safest or most helpful thing

This can feel stigmatising and may make it hard to get the support you need. But there are people who can help.

See our page on racism and mental health for more information.

My relationship with my voices

You might feel differently about your voices at different times. It can depend on how you're feeling, what's going on in your life or the types of voices you hear.

You might find them:

• Comforting, helpful or funny
• Distracting or irritating
• Frightening or upsetting
• Unpredictable and changeable

You may worry that you’re the only one who hears voices, or that no-one else hears the types of voices you hear. But remember there are lots of other people with similar experiences. You’re not alone and you deserve understanding and support.

Hearing voices isn’t necessarily the problem. What matters is your relationship with them. There may be some you like and others you don’t.

It can help to:

• Try out different ways of responding to your voices
• Think about how you relate to them

What if I like my voices?

Some people find hearing voices a positive experience.

Your voices might be friendly and supportive. You may welcome them or miss them if they stopped. They might make you feel better or encourage you during difficult times. And that’s ok.

If you’re able to keep yourself safe and well while hearing voices, there’s no need to try and stop them.

Can I trust my voices?

It might be hard to work out if your voices want the best for you or not.

They might feel friendly but tell you to do things that make it hard for you to look after yourself. Or stop you doing what you want to do. And if your voice sounds comforting, it can be hard to recognise that it's saying manipulative or harmful things.

If you’re not sure you can trust your voices, speak to someone you trust and ask them what they think. This could be a friend or family member. Or a GP or mental health professional.

Difficult experiences of hearing voices

You might find your experience of hearing voices difficult for a few reasons:

My voices are harder to deal with at specific times

• You might only hear voices at certain times. For example, a time of day like mealtimes or a time of year, like anniversaries of important events.
• Your voices may get louder or more frequent during periods of stress.
• You may only hear voices in certain places. For example, you might hear voices when you leave the house or when you go to a place which reminds you of past stress or trauma.

I don't feel able to control my voices

Your voices might:

• Feel as if they are controlling you, or stopping you from doing things you’d like to do
• Interrupt your thoughts, making it very difficult to concentrate or hold a conversation
• Say things you find offensive or that go against your values. This can feel shameful or embarrassing, making it harder to tell others about what you're experiencing

I feel threatened or upset by my voices

Your voices might:

• Be unkind to you – criticising and undermining you
• Tell you to do things – including things that are wrong
• Demand that you hurt yourself

These experiences are likely to make you upset, scared or angry. You might feel that you deserve to be shouted at, or that it's hard to stand up to anyone.

I want my voices to stop

There are lots of reasons why you may want your voices to stop. They can be distracting and upsetting.

Not everyone is able to stop hearing voices completely, but with support you may be able to:

• Reduce how often you hear voices
• Change the content of what the voices say
• Develop ways of coping with your voices

See our information on coping with hearing voices or treatments for hearing voices to learn more.

Video: Hearing voices and hallucinations

Watch Juno talk about his experience of hearing voices.

It's very hard to tell what's a hallucination. Even little things like a cup on the side. I don't know if it's there. And then you start questioning everything. And that's a slippery slope.