Hi there,

I’m not sure if this will help at all, but I’ve had some experience with negative voices myself.

We think it was an allergic reaction to a medication that I was taking… I went psychotic for four months in high school. (Many people who hear voices are perfectly sane, of course. Voices by themselves do not mean you are psychotic– not even close.) It was a contributor to crushing depression and anxiety. I could not focus and failed out of school (but was eventually allowed to return). The voices and delusions had religious overtones. While people were telling me it was primarily medical, I found it impossible to separate the voices from spirituality. Not only that, but crises often bring people closer to “God” or “Dharma.” So realize that it was a genuinely spiritual “awakening” as opposed to one that was purely based in delusions and psychosis.

They each had personalities, different voice timbres, and were largely capable of maintaining coherent conversations. With respect to their negativity, I remember that they would talk over me and about me as if I was not there. They would tell me to move out of the way; they would tell me that I am worthless; they even brought me to believe that I was/am monstrous and cruel. They told me to do dark things, and they would say dark things about the world. It took time, but I gradually learned to disregard bits of what they told me-a demanding task. It’s hard to ignore supernatural, real, and sensible voices that speak to my innermost thoughts/delusions/secrets.

Prayer was a “healthy” channel that sometimes could bring me and the voices onto the same page. Music was a way of communicating with them, but oftentimes frightening. Meditation and grounding exercises could sometimes level my head. I would occasionally stand up to them, and even try to do kind things in defiance of them. Sometimes nothing could stop their disruptions.

These lists would have been helpful had I known about them at the time.

Coping Stratigies_poster [1].pub (hearing-voices.org)

Hearing_Voices_Coping_Strategies_web.pdf (hearing-voices.org)

Ultimately, you must figure out what works for you.

As weird as it sounds, they were like friends. For a few years after (and before I found Buddhism) I actually missed their presence; truth be told, I still have passing moments of yearning. Nonetheless, I’m grateful to say that I am well and happy now. Best wishes 🙂