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Hearing voices in your head? Then, you are in good company, from Socrates to Churchill, says Intervoice
First World Hearing Voices Day on 14 September 2006
Hearing voices in your head should not carry a stigma. That is the view of Intervoice, the International Network for training, education and research into Hearing Voices, whose research into both the cause and the effect of this well–documented phenomenon is conducted on a fully scientific and international scale and who welcome input from any who have had inner–voice experiences.
The problems which arise from a purely subjective experience such as the hearing of voices are many. Indeed, as Paul Baker, the co–ordinator of Intervoice, has said, ”People who hear voices are simply labelled as ‘mad’.” It is impossible to prove scientifically, there can be no witnesses and anyone bold or unwise enough to confess his or her experiences to a neighbour will be met with either blank incredulity or suspected of being on the verge of insanity.
There seems to be no half–way house.
Yet hearing voices does not automatically mean that mental illness is involved. Such experiences are often linked with schizophrenia, but not necessarily. Intervoice states that there are an estimated two million people in this country who hear voices and that well–over half of them have “never had a problem”.
The current work of Intervoice, which was originally established by Professor Marius Romme, a Professor of Social Psychiatry and has been active for over 15 years, has been given a fresh impetus by a broadcast feature in the UK on Channel 4 in June of this year, when it was claimed that hearing voices was simply, “what spiritual and artistic people did and was perfectly normal”.
aul Hammersley from the University of Manchester in the UK and Dr John Read, a New Zealand clinical psychologist, who have been conducting research into the connection between child abuse and subsequent signs of schizophrenia, have worked closely with the Hearing Voices Network and have come to the conclusion that the experience of hearing voices “is consistently associated with childhood trauma regardless of diagnosis or genetic pedigree”.
Dr Read said, “I hope we soon see a more balanced and evidence–based approach to schizophrenia and people using mental health services being asked what has happened to them and being given help instead of stigmatizing labels and mood–altering drugs.”
Recorded incidences of the voices phenomenon go back as far as the experience of Abraham in The Old Testament who believed that he was instructed by the voice of God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, but was stopped at the last moment by fresh instructions and given a sacrificial ram to offer in the place of the boy.
Abraham’s reward for his unquestioning obedience was to be named the Father of the Jewish Nation, with descendants as numerous as the stars, or as the grains of sand on the shore.
Isaac’s thoughts on the incident were, unfortunately, not recorded for posterity.
Extreme cases these days, which may or may not culminate in committing actual bodily harm, whether to others or to one–self, are likely to have a markedly different outcome. Certainly, becoming the 'Father of a Nation' is very unlikely to happen.
Much publicity is always given to anyone accused of crimes of savagery who claims in his defence that voices in his head had told him what to do, so there is little doubt in the minds of most ordinary citizens that 'Hearing Voices' equates with mayhem and murder and anyone who claims to have such experiences is looked upon as a danger to the public and should be locked up – preferably for good. The media is not altogether free from the hysteria which can surround such cases.
he experienced professionals of Intervoice, who have investigated innumerable instances of these secret voices across many countries from every continent on the globe, maintain that there is much to be learned from the inner voice, and quote an impressive list of well–known personnel who have all tuned in to their inner selves, from Socrates to Sartre, Beethoven to Byron, and Dickens to Dumas. The obverse side of the coin included Attila and Hitler.
The experiences of Charles Dickens were widely publicised by the author himself. He used to tell the tale with relish about becoming so involved with his characters that they actually spoke to him, the best known being the disgusting old ‘nurse’ from his novel Martin Chuzzlewit, Mrs Gamp who, he said, would tell him dirty stories in church during Sunday service and make him laugh out loud.
Perhaps this was why Dickens could create such unpleasant and decidedly unsavoury female characters so realistically, while his ‘good’ women were merely alabaster statuettes with little or no credible personality and the strength of character of loosely spun candyfloss.
There could be some truth in the old saying about ‘The quiet voice of conscience’. Perhaps we should be listening to it a little more closely.
Paul Baker said, “We would like to hear from people who hear voices and do not have problems with them or have found ways to overcome their problems. We want to use these stories to help reduce the stigma associated with the experience and publish them on the first World Hearing Voices Day on 14 September 2006.
“We promise to protect the confidentiality of people who contact us, and to use their stories in a positive way – as a means to help other people who hear voices and are troubled by them and to dispel the myths about voices that are held in our society.”
If you want to tell your voices story email Paul Baker at: 965263097@terra.es There is also a confidential helpline in the UK: 0845 122 8642 from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday.
Some useful publications on voices
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