Hearing voices

Making sense of things

Lots of young people hear, see, feel, smell or taste things that other people don’t. For some people this can be a positive thing, it can bring them comfort, reassurance or maybe even build up their confidence. For other people it can be a neutral experience that is neither good or bad. For some it can be a distressing or overwhelming experience. Some people have a range of these experiences.

Sometimes it can:

distract you, or make it difficult to concentrate
leave you feeling scared or upset
feel overwhelming
remind you of painful experiences or people you’ve lost
make you feel like you have to do things that you don't want to
make you feel less confident.

Lots of people who have these experiences have been able to find ways to cope with them. If you’re worried about what’s happening, we can support you.

It's important to remember:

you don't have to cope on your own, our counsellors are always here for you
talking about what’s happening for you can really help
visiting the Calm Zone can help you to feel more calm
it’s possible to find ways to cope.

Why is this happening?

It can feel confusing if this is happening to you. You’re not alone, about 1 in 8 young people sense things that other people don’t. Some of the reasons this could be happening to you are:

not getting enough sleep
it can be caused by having a fever or an infection
when someone dies, you may find yourself hearing their voice or sensing that they are still there
it can be a side effect of taking certain medication or illegal drugs
being abused, bullied, or hurt by someone
going through a trauma or difficult time
hearing voices can represent repressed emotions, for example you may find you hear voices when you feel unsafe, or when you’re feeling angry and don’t have a way of expressing it.

It’s ok if you don’t know the reason you’re hearing voices or sensing things that other people don’t. Talking it through with a Childline counsellor can help you to try and make sense of what’s happening for you.

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Finding ways to cope

There are different ways to cope and different things will work for different people. It’s ok if you try something and it doesn’t work for you, you may need to try a few different things to find what works.

One way to figure out ways of coping that are right for you is to think about the following:

What makes your voices worse and sets them off?
Is there anything that makes them less bad?

When you have a clear idea of this you can try and find ways to make your voices less bad. For example if you find that your voices are worse when you aren’t getting enough sleep you can look at ways to get better sleep. Talking with a Childline counsellor may help you understand your voices better and find ways to make them less bad.

Hearing voices affects people in different ways so another way to come up with coping strategies is to identify what your need is. Examples of this are needing to:

Feel safety and comfort
Distract yourself
Vent and express how you’re feeling.

Once you know what your need is you can find what coping strategies help you meet that need.

Ways to feel safety and comfort

You could be feeling anxious and unsafe. A few things that could help you feel better:

Building a safe space with things that make you feel safe and comfortable
Playing the Build Your Happy Place game
Asking someone you trust to record a reassuring voice message that you can listen to when you need reassurance. You can also record one for yourself

Ways to distract yourself

You may feel that hearing voices and sensing things other people don’t can get overwhelming and you need ways of distracting yourself to help you cope. This could be by:

Listening to music
Watching your favourite TV programme or YouTube clips
Visiting the Calm Zone
Doing your favourite hobby
Learning about something you’re really interested in
Playing games

Ways to vent and express your feelings

You could be feeling strong emotions that you need to find a release for. This could be by:

Using the Art Box to express your feelings
Sharing your feelings with someone you trust, like a trusted adult, a good friend or Childline
Using the Balloon and Wall of Expression games to express how you’re feeling and then releasing this emotion

The Coping Kit is also full of ideas for things you can try to help you cope. It can be hard to identify what your need is and find the right coping strategies for it, but talking this through with a Childline counsellor can help. The Voice Collective can also help, they specialise in helping young people who hear voices or sense things that other people don’t.

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Calm zone

If you're feeling overwhelmed or anxious, we've got calming activities to help.

Coping Kit

Use our tool to find new ways to cope or distract yourself.

How to get help

It might feel difficult to open up about your experiences or to ask for help, but there are people who care and will listen. Here’s some ideas on how you might reach out for help.

Talk to someone you trust

It can really help to share what’s going on for you and to be listened to. You deserve to get the support that you need. Think about a trusted adult or a friend who will be compassionate and supportive to you.

Our conversation starter can make it easier to talk to them, you can use it to write down what’s been happening for you and how you would like to be supported. You can then give that to a trusted adult or a friend. You can also text them this or send this in an email or a voice memo if that’s easier for you. Another way to share what’s happening for you is to find a YouTube clip where someone describes similar experiences to what you’re going through and to tell your trusted adult or friend that you’re going through something similar.

If this feels too much that’s ok you can start off by just talking about struggling in general and get support for that. As you build trust you can open up a bit more until you feel comfortable enough to talk about hearing voices.

The Childline counsellors are also always here to listen and support you. Sharing what’s going on for you may help you understand better what’s happening for you and how to cope with it.

Get Specialist Support

The Voice Collective specialise in supporting young people who hear voices and sense things that other people don’t. They can provide support to you and your family and they also organise peer support groups where you can talk to other young people who experience these things.

Get support from your doctor

There are different ways that your doctor may be able to help you. For example you may have noticed that your voices are worse when you don’t sleep well, but you have tried a few different things and they haven’t helped. Your doctor may be able to help you find ways that can help you get better sleep or refer you to people who can help you.

You may also feel that your voices are causing you so much distress that you want to try medical treatments, your doctor can explain what options are available to you.

Family and friends

It can be hard when you find the courage to tell people close to you what’s happening and they aren’t supportive. People can be afraid of things they don’t understand and they may think that it’s going to really impact your life, when there are many people who have these experiences and are still able to live the lives that they want.

It can take time for people to come to terms with what you’ve told them. It may help for you to show them this webpage and the Voice Collective’s website so they can learn more about hearing voices and other sensory experiences. Please remember that if you’re feeling upset our counsellors are always here to support you. You can also get support from the Voice Collective too.

Family problems

Get advice if you're having problems with your family.

How to support a friend

If a friend tells you that they are hearing voices or sensing things other people don’t then it’s good that they trust you enough to share that with you. Try not to panic, just know that they are struggling, and being warm and compassionate will help. Being curious about their experiences will also help. You can ask them what it’s like for them and what would be helpful for you to do. You can also show them this webpage and the Voice Collective’s website.

If you feel that you need support with supporting your friend then please also remember that the Childline counsellors are always here for you. You can also encourage your friend to talk to Childline or the Voice Collective.