Invisible intruders – the voices in my headInvisible intruders – the voices in my head
All In The Mind
How do you deal with the voices in your head? We all hear them – but for some it’s terrifying. What happens in the brain and why engaging with them can actually help to heal.
29:19•1 Dec 2013
Invisible Intruders: Reframing the Voices in My Head
Episode Overview
- Voice hearing can include both comforting and hostile voices, and may be linked with trauma and intense emotional states.
- Learning to relate differently to voices, including curiosity and acceptance, can reveal important personal information.
- Severe voice-hearing experiences can affect eating, social interaction and safety, yet some people integrate them into creative and spiritual life.
- Public perceptions often wrongly associate voice hearing with danger, increasing stigma and silence.
- Medication can play a useful role in easing acute psychotic distress, while some clinicians advocate lighter, more holistic use of drugs.
“I've learned to really live with that and to maybe also welcome it in sometimes and be curious about it because often there's important information.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This episode of All In The Mind turns its attention to a different kind of inner battle: hearing voices that no one else can hear. Host Lynne Malcolm opens with a stark audio impression – “So stupid. Look at you. Stupid. Stupid.” – mirroring the harsh messages some people live with daily.
Research mentioned in the episode suggests that at least 4% of the population hear voices, and that these experiences range from everyday thoughts and dreams to vivid, menacing voices while awake. Therapist and trainer Will Hall shares his long history with altered states, hospital admissions and a schizophrenia diagnosis. He talks about a spectrum of voices: some comforting and protective, others aggressive, echoing his father or a “demonic” tone, and even machine noises and echoes of everyday speech.
He describes being frozen in fear, struggling with social interaction, and sometimes becoming suicidal or stopping eating. Yet he also sees these states as part of his creativity, sensitivity and spiritual life, saying he’s learned to “welcome it in sometimes and be curious about it” because the voices can carry important information about himself. The conversation also touches on public fear and stigma.
There’s reference to how TV often paints voice-hearers as dangerous, reinforcing myths that make it harder for people to talk openly about their experiences. Clinical psychologist Dr Rufus May discusses his own psychosis and recovery and why this led him towards more holistic approaches to mental distress. Another contributor, Dr David, talks about the role of medication in acute psychosis, stressing that while many have negative experiences, drugs can still help reduce extreme distress when first entering a psychotic period.
You’ll come away with a more nuanced picture of voice hearing, and a strong sense that changing the relationship with these “invisible intruders” might be as important as trying to silence them. Could your own inner critic have more to say than you think?
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