Hearing Voices or Hallucinations

Do you hear or see things that other people don’t?

Seeing and hearing things other people can’t see and hear can be scary, but it’s a lot more common than you might think.

If you’ve ever been stressed, you might have found yourself jumping at something you saw out of the corner of your eye, only to find when you look back at it, it was just a shadow.

Sometimes our thoughts are so strong they can feel and sound like a voice in our heads. A lot of people who hear and see things other people can’t do not have a mental health problem.

Some people believe that they see spirits, other people hear voices they say are friendly and comforting. However, if what you see and hear is scaring you, or starting to have a negative impact on your life, it is important to seek help.

What is psychosis?

Psychosis, or a ‘psychotic episode,’ is not a diagnosable mental health condition. Psychosis describes when you have experiences that aren’t based on reality.

This often involves:

• hallucinations – seeing, hearing or feeling things that aren’t actually happening
• delusions – believing things that are not actually true.

There are different types of psychosis. You might only have one episode of psychosis in your whole life. It might be something that happens to you now and then, or it can be something you live with for most of your life. People with some mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are more likely to have episodes of psychosis than someone who doesn’t have that mental health condition. Psychosis can also be triggered by:

• a traumatic experience
• stress
• drug or alcohol misuse
• side effects of prescribed medication
• a physical condition, such as a brain tumour.

If you think you might be experiencing hallucinations and delusions, it is important to tell someone you trust and get help as soon as you can.

Take a look at this video from the BBC about psychosis: