Things that have helped me with my voices

[Cyborg101]

I take olanzapine. it takes the edge off, but they are still vocal

Tried it I have been told I’m medication resistant

 

[Chamomile]

Thankful for this forum. I hear voices everyday but it’s gotten a little better so maybe not every day anymore

 

[llittlelostlady]

Thanks for that te.reo.orooro, I found it useful to think about and I think it could be very useful to other people too.

I thought I'd contribute some of my own approaches to my own voices too, I think sharing information like this between peers is very helpful for all of us:

Distraction:
Just attempting to ignore them, usually while surfing the internet and/or watching or listening to something to drown them out a little. It's a little bit like listening through background noise to someone who is speaking to you.

Attempting to interact:
I've tried talking back to them in various ways and tones, and gauging how they react. I think one approach which is under utilised is talking to distressing voices in a nice and understanding tone, approaching them in a thankful manner. Always worth trying.

I also find interacting with my environment can effect them.

Attempting to put in perspective:
Reminding myself that just because a voice says to do something it doesn't mean I will or that I have to do it. I can choose not to just as when anyone tells me to do something. Or that if they say something will happen that's not necessarily true.

Reminding myself this doesn't mean I'm crazy it just means I've been in emotional distress in a way many others haven't, but at the same time in a way many others have.

Reminding myself the voice is not always literal in nature.

Reasoning out the probability of the voice being from my mind rather than the outer environment when things are confusing. Reasoning out the probability of what's being said actually happening. Deciding what actions to take based on this probability.

Working out what they represent:
Not just who they are (be it persons known or unknown to me) and what they are saying, but the level beyond that, why would my mind create them in this way, what's the meaning behind why my mind is creating this voice in this way - what are they really trying to tell me? What is the basic emotion behind them grief, fear, sadness etc so I can accept that (and react to/deal with that) and not have to worry so much

For example voices saying they are going to do something to me I can acknowledge as a result of me subconsciously feeling vulnerable and unsafe, which can then take the sting out of them, and getting to a safer feeling environment (even part of the house for example) can further take the sting out. Or I can recognise it as the residue of past trauma that needs dealing with, and that they are the minds way of trying to help me process this, or an attempt to protect me.

I view them very much as a window through to my subconscious and many as remnants from the past traumas of a fragmented mind.

Surrender:
Just lying down, accepting it's happening and trying to root myself in my body and waiting for the worst of it to pass. I spoke about this process a lot in this thread.

Survival mode.
That's the digging in and getting through it however that happens. It's just permission to myself to say anything that isn't life threatening to myself, or physical harm to another, is okay here. Anything in this zone that seems weird to other people I don't consider my problem.

they are peskie but very funny and cute