People with trauma who hear voices

When voices appear in a person’s mental universe, they are almost never kind. They are intrusive, threatening, critical and conspiratorial. Sometimes, they may even have the doorbell of a deceased relative. It is even common for there to be more than one and for them to all speak at the same time… Few experiences are more disturbing than auditory hallucinations.

We typically associate the phenomenon of voices with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or certain personality disorders. However, it is important to keep in mind that these experiences are more frequent than we think. So much so that they can appear in people who do not suffer from any psychological disorder.

However, A part of the population that is most likely to hear voices at some point are those who suffer trauma as a result of sexual abuse. To the adverse event itself, these types of terrifying and dangerous experiences are then added. Because we insist, the messages and statements that these internal presences emit are never harmless and can incite the patient to self-harm and isolation.

Although hearing voices is associated with psychotic disorders, there are people with trauma who also experience them.

Yes, people with trauma hear voices

We are not wrong to say that traumatic spectrum disorders are conditions that we do not yet fully understand. We know that if these adverse experiences are experienced in childhood they have a greater psychological impact on the person. So much so that various neurological regions can see their development altered.

Suffering from abuse, mistreatment, attacks, losing a loved one, living in threatening contexts, suffering bullyingsuffer a natural disaster… There are multiple situations that can trigger the psychological fracture of a trauma.. Thus, among the symptoms that are triggered by them in most cases, the following are known: anxiety, insomnia, flashbacksemotional ups and downs, feelings of guilt and shame…

However, What we do not always expect to suffer in these clinical conditions is a hallucination, an alteration of reality. People with trauma hear voices and this is a fact that scientific research has been demonstrating for years. We analyze it.

Who is at greater risk of experiencing them at some point?

The University of Groningen, in the Netherlands, conducted research to analyze the relationship between childhood trauma and auditory hallucinations. Something they highlighted is the need to develop more personalized treatments in view of this relationship, which is indeed significant.

Average, Women who were sexually abused as children have a higher risk of hearing voices at some point.. It is not a cause-effect relationship. There is only a higher risk and, therefore, we are faced with a clinical picture that we must understand to offer the best therapeutic approach in these cases.

The content or narratives of these voices always have a negative tendency that can incite self-harm or suicidal behavior. The anguish they generate is immense, inciting distrust of the environment and dysfunctional behaviors that further intensify the emotional pain.

We have to talk about the voices

Sometimes, people with trauma hear voices, and some – not all – do so because they lead to psychotic states.. Although post-traumatic stress and psychosis are different conditions, we have more and more scientific literature that tells us about this relationship.

The Medical University of South Carolina, for example, stands out in some somewhat interesting work. Trauma can also cause secondary psychotic characteristics.. They are very particular cases that show unique neurobiological and genetic characteristics. Therefore, although these are clinical cases that not long ago seemed quite specific to us, they are currently being described with increasing frequency.

Be that as it may, there is one indisputable fact. Suffering from trauma can cause, at a given moment, an auditory hallucination to appear. It should also be noted that this is a phenomenon that still carries a great social stigma. However, It is necessary that we talk about the voices, that we make them loud to facilitate better attention and awareness.

Likewise, it is necessary to normalize a reality that any of us can live in our “own mind” at some point in our lives.

When addressing the appearance of voices in trauma, psychological therapy is prioritized.

How are auditory hallucinations treated in trauma?

Risperidone, quetiapine… There are various drugs on the pharmaceutical market to treat hallucinations. HoweverIn the case of people with trauma who hear voices, antipsychotics are not recommended. Currently there is no scientific evidence that the use of this type of second-generation psychotropic drugs is useful.

The most important thing is to offer people a therapeutic approach based on scientific evidence. There are various very useful therapies for the treatment of psychological trauma. We have cognitive-behavioral therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR). ). Both have proven effectiveness in this type of case.

The most important thing in all cases is to request specialized help as soon as possible. Let’s not let a traumatized child reach adulthood living with the burden of that experience that they have not been able to process. Let us not neglect ourselves either; as adults, we sometimes choose to put aside our wounds from yesterday until one day we break completely and then they arise. The voices.

Likewise, and to conclude, let us also understand that hearing voices is more common than we think. We are all susceptible to feeling its uncomfortable and threatening presence at some point. There are ways to treat them so that they become silent; There are also people prepared to help us. Let’s talk about them and not give them power.

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