Voices can talk about very personal matters, which can be quite frightening. Often, other sounds like music, animal calls and the telephone ringing can be heard. These may be experienced as coming from anywhere in external space or 'in the mind'. The noise volume varies from very quiet to very loud.
Most commonly though, people diagnosed with schizophrenia will hear multiple voices that are male, nasty, repetitive, commanding, and interactive, where the person can ask the voice a question and get some kind of answer.”
Patients who suffer from schizophrenia often have auditory hallucinations. They hear voices that are not there. Many times these hallucinations say things like “You are a terrible person, you are lazy, you are a waste of time” and other derogatory or critical remarks.
Although psychosis is rare, many people may hear voices that other people cannot hear or experience other hallucinations. Hearing voices or having other hallucinations does not mean that a person is definitely experiencing psychosis.
Major symptoms of psychosis are hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations are sensations that are not real, such as hearing voices or sounds that aren't real. Hearing voices is a common hallucination, but hallucinations can be experiences with any sense—hearing, sight, smell, taste, or touch.
First episode psychosis (FEP) is defined as the first time a person outwardly shows symptoms of psychosis. When patients with FEP become aware of their problems, they show distress and confusion, ruminate their symptoms, and have interpersonal problems caused by enhanced sensitivity (1).
The auditory hallucinations experienced by people with schizophrenia are phenomenologically diverse. One dimension on which the sounds and voices vary is their perceived location. Although always perceived as if other-generated, they may be heard as coming from some external location or from inside the head.
People with psychosis typically experience delusions (false beliefs, for example, that people on television are sending them special messages or that others are trying to hurt them) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that others do not, such as hearing voices telling them to do something or criticizing them).
Auditory hallucinations can take the form of hearing sounds or noises, such as music, animal calls, nature sounds or background noises. They may seem like they're coming from anywhere in the space around you or in your mind. The noise volume can vary from very quiet to very loud.
The voices can vary in how often you hear them, what they sound like, what they say, and whether they're familiar or unfamiliar. Sometimes hearing voices can be upsetting or distressing. They may say hurtful or frightening things. However, some people's voices may be neutral or more positive.
Many times the voices can start gradually and are often described as a vague or fleeting impression of hearing your name called or people talking about you. People with schizophrenia can hear a variety of noises and voices, which often get louder, meaner, and more persuasive over time.
I usually try not to listen to them, but sometimes my schizoaffective voices are so loud even music can't drown them out. And sometimes, as other people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder may know, the voices say good, or even helpful, things.
Up to 80% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia have this symptom, too. Doctors call them auditory hallucinations. It's as if someone is speaking to you, but they're not actually there. The voices feel very real and can be distracting and stressful.
People with schizophrenia suffer a wide range of social cognitive deficits, including abnormalities in eye gaze perception. For instance, patients have shown an increased bias to misjudge averted gaze as being directed toward them.
It is possible to experience hallucinations while being aware that they aren't real. As with delusions, this would require a meta-awareness of the unreality of what appears to be a real 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.
Hearing things that no one else can hear
When they hear things that others do not hear, they are experiencing auditory hallucinations. They may hear voices telling them to do things, murmuring, commenting on what they are doing and/or saying bad things about them. These voices can be disturbing and confusing.
While many recognize it as a condition characterized by “high” and “low” mood swings, BD symptoms can also include auditory hallucinations. In fact, up to 25 per cent of people who have BD experience auditory hallucinations at some point during their illness.
The most common type of auditory hallucinations in psychiatric illness consists of voices. Voices may be male or female, and with intonations and accents that typically differ from those of the patient.
During an episode of psychosis a person's thoughts become confused. Words and ideas lose their meaning or take on meanings that make no sense. These disturbances in thinking can affect a person's ability to concentrate, remember things and make plans.
People who have psychotic episodes are often totally unaware their behaviour is in any way strange or that their delusions or hallucinations are not real. They may recognise delusional or bizarre behaviour in others, but lack the self-awareness to recognise it in themselves.
It turns out that people with schizophrenia are actually hearing their own voices in their heads. This is due to a phenomenon called subvocal speech, which most of us experience in a slightly different way. Have you ever thought so intently about something that you subconsciously said it out loud?
One of the main symptoms of schizophrenia is disordered thoughts. Your thoughts may feel blocked or jumbled. When you speak them out loud they may not have a logical order. When you talk to yourself you might make up new words, repeat single words or phrases with no context, or give new meanings to words.
They may believe other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. They may sit for hours without moving or talking. These symptoms make holding a job, forming relationships, and other day-to-day functions especially difficult for people with schizophrenia.