You may see or hear things that other people can’t. This can range from hearing clicks or banging, to whispers, to clear voices, and from seeing shadows to clear figures. This can feel scary, but you’re not alone and there are ways to cope.
Key points
- If you’re hearing voices you’re not alone. Around 12% of adolescents hear voices that others don’t, and 5-15% of adults hear occasional or fleeting voices.
- Hearing voices seems to be linked to various things like stress, traumatic experiences, lack of sleep, or taking drugs.
- These experiences don’t necessarily signal severe mental illness, but for some people they could flag a higher risk of developing psychosis.
- Some voices are experienced as positive or neutral, but others can be really distressing.
- There are various ways of coping with voices that may be helpful in different situations: these are Safety, Blocking, Empowering, Expressive, Compassionate, and Connection Strategies.
Coping strategies
| Type of coping strategy | What do these do? | When is this useful? | Examples of coping strategies |
| Safety strategies | Designed to help you feel calmer, safer and more secure. | Useful if your voices threaten you, or make you feel scared or anxious. | Grounding exercises, creative visualisations of being in a safe place More info |
| Blocking strategies | Can help you block out the voices or make them seem quieter and further away. | Useful if you need a break from your experiences or want to concentrate on something else. | Exercise, keeping busy, listening to music or audiobooks /podcasts More info |
| Empowering strategies | Designed to change the power balance between you and the voices. | Can help you feel more in control of your experiences. | Identifying patterns or cycles, filtering the voices, interpreting the voices More info |
| Expressive strategies | Useful when you want to express your feelings and the experiences you are going through. | Can be carthartic and/or a way of letting off steam. | Getting creative, making noise, social media More info |
| Compassionate strategies | Can help you to be kinder to yourself when you’re distressed by your voices, emotions or other difficult experiences. | May also involve being compassionate towards the voices themselves. | Reminding yourself of your strengths, being compassionate towards the voices More info |
| Connection strategies | Can help you feel more connected to yourself, others and the world. | Helpful if you’re feeling isolated and alone, or disconnected from yourself, your body or the world in general. | Connecting with others, being with animals, spirituality More info |
These descriptions are taken from the Understanding Voices website, which provides a toolkits with examples of strategies related to each.
Resources you might find helpful
Read what Mind says about coping with hearing voices: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/hearing-voices/coping-with-hearing-voices/
You might get some ideas from the Manchester Hearing Voices Network ‘Hearing Voice Coping Strategies’ booklet or the Australian HVN ‘Strategies for Coping with Distressing Voices’: https://www.hearing-voices.org/resources/free-downloads/
Research on hearing voices and social connection: Coping with voices: Being with people – Oxford Sparks
Want some ideas for distraction techniques? Try https://www.meandmymind.nhs.uk/media/1553/distraction-techniques_oasis.jpg
For some suggestions around relaxation techniques take a look at: https://www.meandmymind.nhs.uk/media/1556/relaxation_oasis.jpg
The Voice Collective: www.voicecollective.co.uk
Here’s an animation about voice hearing made by young people for young people: https://youtu.be/BB9_Zy0I3VU
Suggested reflection questions
- How do you currently respond to and deal with the voices/visions?
- How is this current response going?
- Do any of the 6 types of strategies listed above seem like they might be helpful or not helpful for you
- Take a look at some of the examples on the Understanding Voices website and see if you’d like to try some of them out.
- What could you do to improve the way you respond to and deal with the voices/visions (i) in the moment and (ii) in the longer term?
- How would you know if these new strategies are helping?