Dealing With The Voices

Schizophrenia, if nothing else, has one benefit. For what its worth, the patient may never become bored again. With voices in their heads and the possibility of actually seeing things, there will certainly to occupy the mind and the time of the average schizophrenic. However, while that may seem interesting, that is not always something that can be taken as a benefit by the person involved. Oftentimes, living with the voices is a hard thing to do, and many would prefer to just be rid of them entirely.

Most of the time, auditory hallucinations are associated with severe cases of mental illness, such as schizophrenia, and often find themselves connected to bizarre delusions. Disordered thought and emotional dissociation are also commonly observed symptoms occurring with auditory problems. An approximate 75% of all people who report experiencing auditory hallucinations are eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia, and the vast majority of these people find that being part of the psychiatric care system is highly negative. This is on top of the highly negative nature of what they hear from their voices. Berating, insults, commands, and comments of an unpleasant nature are often reported, sometimes bringing patients to contemplate suicide.

However, some groups question whether or not the voices are actually a sign of mental illness. Certainly, they can be very distressing and there is no end to the problems they can cause, but they might not be as indicative of psychosis and mental damage as previously believed. Some groups assume that psychiatry is incorrect in many assumptions regarding the voices. One theory is that more people hear these voices, or hear a wide variety of them, than the statistics would have people assume. Another holds that hearing these voices is not a pathological problem in need of treatment, but an experience that is ultimately linked to the person's life and experiences, and may lead to unresolved personal issues.