If the voices talk to you, should you talk back?

If someone really is hearing voices (called auditory hallucinations, not your mother-in-law) there’s a whole scientific community debating how best to handle it. My brother is a ventriloquist so obviously I can see how talking back could lead to a career.

If you’ve ever been around someone with mental illness, a head injury or dementia you’ll know just how awkward the whole thing is. Should you tell granny that Uncle Bob is actually dead? For me it depends how many times I have to tell them.

For those living with schizophrenia or a large bump to the head, they may well know that the ‘voice’ or ‘person’ isn’t real. But its still chatting away to them. Previously we told patients to ignore the voices – play scrabble, watch TV, read a book.

I delighted to hear (no, just read actually) that this is all changing. Patients are encouraged to challenge the personalities (usually depressing, self-destructive rather nasty creatures) rather than ignoring them. Specialists are worried it may give the voices more power – make them more ‘real’. But I guess that’s easy if you’re not the one with the psycho living in your head!

A fascinating account from a guy with paranoid schizophrenia explains how the negative voices have become less frequent since he started addressing them. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/apr/04/mental-health-health-and-wellbeing  I know Martha Beck advocates giving them names (she calls her negative alter-ego ‘Fang’ and anything coming from ‘Fang’ is not to be believed).

More problematic –the guy now has a new young, friendly voice which also chats to him. He’s a teenager who is ‘mischievous and funny’. Technically this is not a good sign – he’s hearing voices. But if you’re going to hear them, might as well get them to make you laugh. I wonder if he’s considered getting a puppet?