Hearing Voices

My boyfriend has been diagonsed with bipolar (im not sure which type) and tells me he hears voices in his head. He says they argue with him and eachother. There is one dominiant voice (other than his own) - an angry voice.

A few weeks ago, he was feeling terriblly depressed and the voices started to agrue with him. At one point i heard the angry one (in his own voice). He was whipsering "You're a coward" and other comments along those lines.

I was just wondering if anyone here has dealt with anything similar and can give me some insight as to how to help him when it happens or how he can help himself? Is it possible to make there voices go away?

I'm not sure if I'm bipolar or not (I've never been diagnosed), but I do have something similar to those voices. I don't actually hear them out loud, but I hear them in my head. I've always thought of it as being several different parts of me arguing. Sort of like the angel on one shoulder and the demon on the other. Only there are more of them than that. Sometimes I have the conversations/arguments with them in my head, and sometimes I do it out loud, but only if I'm by myself. I can't control it very well in my head, but I can usually control saying it or not. Sometimes, one of them yells at me, and insults me and makes me want to hurt myself (which I do at times, usually on impulse). One keeps defending me and trying to comfort me and tell me that I'm going to be okay. One just wants to cry and scream. One is just trying to avoid it all, and just trying to ignore everything. I have a lot of them, and they keep arguing with each other, and it's enough to drive me crazy!! I'm not sure what to tell you to tell your boyfriend. He could always talk to his doctor about it, but I don't know if he's already done that or what. I wanted to comment on this though, because I can relate to that.

Sorry if that was no help at all. Good luck, though.

I think many of us will agree, that with bipolar or the extreme case, i/e. pyschosis, the voices are auditory hallucinations, and you hear them outside your head. Like someone standing beside you or above you.

When you are manic, there are I suppose alot of thinking going on, rambling of thoughts that seem to never stop sometimes. But they are not individual voices as you described. Mine is usually attributed to high stress, lack of sleep ( due to a manic episode), anxiety. When I got off my anxiety meds withdrawls caused alot of paranoia, and when I felt psychosis coming on , I had to take a resperdol. But that is what my doc prescribed for me til the episode passes.
Hearing things, such as voices can indicate one of several things, depending on whether the individual is paranoid at the same time... and fear and paranoia can be quite different.

Here is a website dedicated to voices
http://www.hearing-voices.org/information.htm

I am bipolar 1, and have experienced psychosis numerous times. And this is the description I would give to my voices. I also had visual hallucination that went with it at times, and other times the hallucinations were frozen images, I had to walk up to to assure myself whether they were real or not. Sometimes they moved, but never talked.

I would suggest that whenever this happens, he write it down, the day, the time, the gender of the voice, and what it says to him, and also if he is seeing the images, and on his next visit show his doc.


He may need to temporarily be on an antipsychotic til it passes.

does he act paranoid?

Keep us informed. We learn something new everyday.

My best to you and him,

http://www.psycheducation.org/FAQ/MoodCharts.htm

If you want a chart to print let me know. or go to the upper section of this forum about mood charts there is .pdf link there.

ddee

He is very reluctant to tell me about the voices. He just let me know they exist. I think they are in his own voice but im not entirely sure. Ive asked him to tell me what they say but he says that it is something he will never talk about to anyone Do you guys have an suggestions about how i can get him to be a little bit more open with me, not only about the voices but also about his moods.

I'd love for him to use the mood chart. Have you found it helpful? How can I introduce it to him without comming out as "doctorly"?

I really dont know how to approach him. I bought this book about BiPolar to keep myself informed and try to understand what is going on. It has wonderful suggestions that Id like to try out but again like the mood chart I dont know how to approach him about it.

Honestly I really just care about him so much and want him to enjoy life and smile.

Thanks for your replies.

ddee wrote:I think many of us will agree, that with bipolar or the extreme case, i/e. pyschosis, the voices are auditory hallucinations, and you hear them outside your head. Like someone standing beside you or above you.

When you are manic, there are I suppose alot of thinking going on, rambling of thoughts that seem to never stop sometimes. But they are not individual voices as you described. Mine is usually attributed to high stress, lack of sleep ( due to a manic episode), anxiety. When I got off my anxiety meds withdrawls caused alot of paranoia, and when I felt psychosis coming on , I had to take a resperdol. But that is what my doc prescribed for me til the episode passes.
Hearing things, such as voices can indicate one of several things, depending on whether the individual is paranoid at the same time... and fear and paranoia can be quite different.

Here is a website dedicated to voices
http://www.hearing-voices.org/information.htm

I am bipolar 1, and have experienced psychosis numerous times. And this is the description I would give to my voices. I also had visual hallucination that went with it at times, and other times the hallucinations were frozen images, I had to walk up to to assure myself whether they were real or not. Sometimes they moved, but never talked.

I would suggest that whenever this happens, he write it down, the day, the time, the gender of the voice, and what it says to him, and also if he is seeing the images, and on his next visit show his doc.


He may need to temporarily be on an antipsychotic til it passes.

does he act paranoid?

Keep us informed. We learn something new everyday.

My best to you and him,

http://www.psycheducation.org/FAQ/MoodCharts.htm

If you want a chart to print let me know. or go to the upper section of this forum about mood charts there is .pdf link there.

ddee

what do you think about mine? Pm me about it if you want to. I'd really prefer it.

Anonymous wrote:He is very reluctant to tell me about the voices. He just let me know they exist. I think they are in his own voice but im not entirely sure. Ive asked him to tell me what they say but he says that it is something he will never talk about to anyone Do you guys have an suggestions about how i can get him to be a little bit more open with me, not only about the voices but also about his moods.

I'd love for him to use the mood chart. Have you found it helpful? How can I introduce it to him without comming out as "doctorly"?

I really dont know how to approach him. I bought this book about BiPolar to keep myself informed and try to understand what is going on. It has wonderful suggestions that Id like to try out but again like the mood chart I dont know how to approach him about it.

Honestly I really just care about him so much and want him to enjoy life and smile.

Thanks for your replies.

Well the first thing is wait til he brings them up again, then that probably indicated his frustration and a cry for help. Something happened that he doesn't want to tell anyone. but the mood chart doesn't call for that kind of info.

I would just have them printed off, and show them to him, or if you are around him all the time, you can fill one out, It asked moods , anxiety level, daily occurances, meds times, so that you can see what might be causing sx's, whether it is the meds or the mind, or the enviroment, then the doc, can see the pattern and use the process of elimination to assess the situation better. Just tell him'Hey I have something really cool that might help you to figure out what is causing these, I can help you fill it out, or you can do it show your doc." " you do want these to stop right?", that should help open up the conversation, if not, he is not ready for help. so you can do them, it will help you to understand.


Here is the link to the pdf printable.
http://www.manicdepressive.org/images/moodchart.pdf

DDee

thanks.

Guest

Hello. Your boyfriend could possibly have dissociative identity disorder.

I believe I have this (although my Pdoc calls it post traumatic stress disorder with dissociating symptoms). I also have bi polar and OCD.

I hear voices in my head. Sometimes they argue with me and/or each other. Sometimes I feel like they take contol of my body and move around in it. Sometimes I feel I become them or they become me (but I'm in the background observing).

Did you boyfriend have an abusive childhood (either physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neclect?).

You might want to check it out on the WEB. Often, when people think of DID, they think of sybil but that is an extreme case. Many people with DID don't even know they have it. Often, they will complain of hearing voices inside their head.

How I know this isn't bi polar related is because this sense of the voices (or, others inside) stays with me even in normal periods.

Just thought I'd throw it out there because what you describe (without knowing anything else) sounds awful familiar.

Good luck,
Stolen