If your child reports hearing voices this can be quite scary and often our minds jump to worst case scenarios to try to understand what this might mean. However, what we understand about this is that anybody can hear voices, sometimes this is inside your head and sometimes through your ears. They might seem clear or more muffled. Some people who hear voices have a positive experience of the voices they hear and they are helpful in their lives. Other people experience them as unkind, critical and that they negatively impact their life. Increases in stress and anxiety can often be a cause for young people to experience hearing voices. If you child is on the Autistic spectrum you might find that they also struggle with making sense of internal thinking or conversations we may have inside our own heads, these can be interpreted as “voices”. Sometimes the voices can be heard once and then never again, they may come in particular situations like when we feel more stressed and anxious, and other times they are more persistent.
Hearing voices, or “auditory hallucinations”, can be a part of a mental health problem, such as Psychosis, which requires a careful assessment by a mental health professional. However, Psychosis is not common in young people and the “voices” are more often related to anxiety, difficult situations, substance misuse or a traumatic event such as a bereavement, family breakdown or experiencing abuse. It can be helpful to talk with your child to begin to understand their experience of this and to consider if there are other difficulties such as those listed above.
It is very important to understand that not everyone hearing voices needs support or help with their mental health and wellbeing; however it is important to seek help if the voices become hostile, intimidating, giving instructions or start to have a negative impact on your child’s day to day living. Below are some helpful resources. If you are concerned about substance misuse for your child then please see our section Struggling with Substance Misuse for further advice.