[likewater]

I hear voices . Sometimes they are repeating things or telling me to do things. Do "normal people" hear these? I also see images sometimes and know they are suggestions of things i'm wanted to do like cut or drive car off road. Don't worry i dont do it. But does anybody else get these voices and images? I' m afraid to tell T.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by likewater

I hear voices . Sometimes they are repeating things or telling me to do things. Do "normal people" hear these? I also see images sometimes and know they are suggestions of things i'm wanted to do like cut or drive car off road. Don't worry i dont do it. But does anybody else get these voices and images? I' m afraid to tell T.

yea I get those things. with me its called auditory and visual hallucinations, symptoms from my bipolar disorder. when this happens I contact my treatment providers. they adjust my medications and adjust my therapy schedule so that they can help monitor and be available to me when these symptoms are going on.

I also get auditory and visual hallucinations like these when I am under stress, sleep deprived or havent been eating correctly, getting enough fluids.

the self injury thoughts and images are also part of my having bipolar disorder. its at its highest during my depressive phases. when this happens I contact my treatment providers so that if medication changes are needed it can be done.

my therapist and I also have therapy contracts that spell out what my treatment providers and I will do during these times so that no harm can come to me during these times. one of those agreed upon terms in the contract is that I will let my treatment providers know when the thoughts are there and if need be enter the hospital for my safety and well being.

I hear voices in my head, but I always know they are parts of ME. Even before my diagnosis, I knew they weren't other people ordering me around or supernatural or anything, if that makes sense. I do think this is something that you could safely discuss with your T - it IS something other people experience, but the way in which you experience it could impact your treatment.

[missbelle]

Don't be afraid to tell "t". You are there to get help and believe my "t" understands and has heard a lot of "stuff". I know you feel embarrassed, and scared but it really is o.k. There is medication that can lessen the voices, and images but first they have to know what you are experiencing.

I sometimes have hallucinations of smell. A good example of this is years ago when my husband was dying he always said he smelled burnt rubber. After he died for months all I smelled was burnt rubber.
Sometimes still I have other "smell" halluncinations or whatever. Its frustrating to say the least.

Thanks for posting . I bet it took a bit of courage even to post that!!

[likewater]

Thanks. I feel comfortable asking with all of you. It's different out in the real world. I'm just afraid my T will think i'm suicidal and ihave never attempted or listened done what the voices tell me. It is just draining on me to fight these other parts of myself

Yes. This happens all the time to me. I have read that people with dissociative issues hear voices inside their heads and people with schizophrenia hear them outside. But I don't think that is ALWAYS the case. Just usually.

Hearing these voices is what got me a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Which I don't have. Some of the others like to try and cover up the DID with a diagnosis like schizophrenia, but it's not true.

I experience mine much like you. I know what you mean by "images". Like playing a scene in your mind over and over. I have a few of these I won't go into detail about, because they may trigger others. I also hear voices, chitter chatter, even as I write this... it's constant, never ending and up until about six months ago I called them "prominent thoughts" because I've had them for so long, they just seemed normal.

All the time. Every alter hAs their own voice. They talk almost all day.

[likewater]

Well now that i think about it, i do some if the stuff they want, because i like it too like buying a yummy cereal or chocolate bars or
Making a snowman but i just dont do things like run naked down the street or kill myself and things that are dangerous. There are mean voices and little kid voices and bossy voices. The bossy voices tell me to get out of bed go to work . Kid voices can be scared or want cookies or want to paint- stuff like that. Oh and then like adolescent one drives fast listens to loud music wants to cut. Mean
one is horrible wants me to die. Hates me. Dont think they are personaties though. They dont seem to have names.

Originally Posted by likewater

Dont think they are personaties though. They dont seem to have names.

I'm not diagnosing you or encouraging you to seek out a DID diagnosis, but mine don't have names. I think finding names takes a certain level of coawareness, that I don't have. I have no evidence of names anywhere. I refer to them as "the small ones" "the rageful one" , etc. The only evidence I have that another name COULD exist, but I'm not even certain of that is my username here. I have no idea who Lydia is, or why my username is that name. It's definitely not the name on my birth certificate.

[likewater]

Oh. Well, i dont care. Sometimes a diagnosis is just a label. I keep the voices a secret anyway. I think my last T suspected. I don't
think my new T could really even help me with this. If i ever get better insurance, i'll go back to old T and maybe look into it. It is
just tiring fighting the ones that want me to hurt myself.

[Tosspot]

hmmm interesting likewater. I have lots of voices in my head too and images. Mine don't have names, i'm not DID, but I still believe the voices in my head are in fact my own, aspects of myself that i've sectioned off and refuse to incorporate into myself. I have a girl who screams and tells me to cut, kind of a daring one (masculine) low voice, who dares me to drive my car off bridges or crash into trees etc. There's my alcoholic voice thats kind of annoying, i get him to shut up easily, i've learned how to manage him. etc etc etc.

I have no help to offer, just saying you aren't alone in this. I haven't told my T yet either, i've lived with the voices so long i didn't realize it was "different" until recently.

[likewater]

Wow, Tosspot your voices sound really super similar to mine. I'm sorry you have ones telling you to cut and crash your car and the mean alhoholic one. I hope you don't obey the one telling you to cut or crash your car. Thanks for saying i'm not alone. Maybe you should tell your T. Hugs.

[Tosspot]

I'm so glad your voices sound like mine!! And no, I don't listen to the girl who wants me to cut anymore. She;s probably there because I used to be a cutter in my teens/early 20s. It's been 4 years since i did that, it think that voice is just getting annoyed with me hehe.

I'm nervous about letting my T, you know? I don't want her to think im "really crazy!" I see her tomorrow, maybe I'll tell her. I like her. Its my pdoc i'm scared about!

[likewater]

I was so close to telling T today. Now T is on Christmas break so i bought some time. I'm a reformed cutter and was doing super well until realized my bfriend has my absolute favorite of all time razor blades in his cupboard. I could slip some of those babies in my
pocket , take them home and be good to go. I'm getting tired of fighting everybody. Especially cutting. I like cutting too. Easy to say no to suicide. At least razor blades arent here. Thats why dont keep any in house.

Oh, why is your pdoc scary?

[Tosspot]

He's always trying to drug me! I hear ya on the cutting likewater, i'm also a reformed cutter as you call it. I'm not sure how I stopped. I just knew I had to stop. It was a struggle the first year, but now I'm not really compelled to do it. Sometimes that girl voice in my head tells me to do it, but she only gets through when my brain is already starting to go. I quit cutting and drinking at the same time, maybe there's a connection there?

Its ok not telling T today. Although I have my appt in an hour and now I don't want to!!!!

On a lighter note, last night I was feeling hurt by my bf (he said I should lay off the chips and dip, i assumed he was calling me fat) but anyways, this voice I don't know, it was a female, a teenager i think, told me to crush the chips and throw them across the room. I did. My bf was not too happy. BEWARE THE CHIP CRUSHER!!!!

[likewater]

Lmao. Yeah voice tells me to throw coffee cups etc. Finally took some old dishes and just threw them. Felt awesome. Never at anyone. Long time ago threw tampax like little missiles at first husband. Tampax aren't deadly weapons. Beware the pms.