Here we can all be heard for a little while

mellymoo74

Your very literate WaS.

X

elsien

Can I ask if meds affect all the voices in the same way? I'm interested because I've had people say to me there are some friendly voices that they value and don't want to lose, but they want to get better control of the other bad voices, and they worry that increased meds might lose the friendly supportive ones as well.

Waves_and_Smiles

That sounds like me, elsien. I think it largely depends on the cause of the voices. My Schizophrenia voices will lessen with medication and would possibly go completely if I could take enough of it. The MPD voices are unaffected by whatever I take because they aren't part of Schizophrenia. I would love to lose the bad voices but would be distraught if I lost the MPD ones. The latter have been with me all of my life and I can't imagine being without these people in my mind to talk to, laugh with and have comfort me. These 'people' were there when I was 4 years old, I can't imagine life without them.

Oh, and I wasn't ignoring your other question elsien but I don't know the answer, perhaps JM might be able to help? I have only ever been sectioned voluntarily with complete agreement between me and the doctors. I have also left hospital with the same agreement although sometimes a little reluctantly on my behalf. I become acclimatised to a hospital environment very easily because I barely have to function which means I slip into my inner worlds and happily join my others in their house. Hence it is on my records to discharge me as quickly as possible and I have to be very ill before they will admit me.

mellymoo74

Only one of my family ever took the medication and that was my uncle. It appeared to affect all of the voices from what he said, having said that he always stopped taking the medication on the advice of a voice.....
I self medicated years ago (it's supposed to bring on schizophrenia which is the reason I took it) as I know they're me it's a bit different think.

elsien

Thank you for the helpful replies.
I'm going to have to love and leave you all now - my bed is calling to me and I can't oversleep again. Have a good night, all.

Waves_and_Smiles

I know that one, melly. I often go to take my medication and I have mischievous voices telling me that I could skip it today. Reasons can be that it's harming me, I might not need it anymore, that people are purposely trying to suppress my thoughts or even that it would be fun to be without it for a while. Some days it is a huge battle to take it and if I didn't have Wasp here I think I would miss more of it than I do. I admit that I don't take all of my medication everyday without fail but I have found a way to appease the urge not to take it for now - I skip the non-psychiatric medication for a day (no longer) and instead and take my anti-psychotics as normal! It isn't ideal but it stops the overwhelming compulsion not to take any of it and it means my brain chemicals hopefully stay stable. It is very common for people with psychosis to feel that they cannot take medication and is a big cause of relapse.

mellymoo74

I can see how that would work.

One of friends is also schizophrenic and his voices are mainly benign knowing my experience with the uncle and mum OH was amazed at how I was with the friend (he doesn't try and hide he's listening iyswim, I get no feeling g of threat from him) He knows I'm going to sk lot of questions and give him hugs (I'm one of the only people he will hug)

Waves_and_Smiles

Aw, that is so lovely that you are his friend. I often tell WaSp to be quiet suddenly if I am trying to hear a voice, although I pay more attention to the nice ones than they mean ones because the latter rarely have anything kind to say to me, so I am better off ignoring them. I am so used to all of the voices now though that I just say "Later!" in my mind if they are getting too loud and I am in a conversation. Unless I am stressed or particularly unwell this tends to work.

geminilady

WaS, So the schizophrenic voices are the mean ones?Is there a clear divide between them? Have the MPD ones "grown" with you ? curious as they are a part of you and a four year old is a lot different from an adult with a lifetime of experiences

Waves_and_Smiles

Hahaha! Someone just said she was not a grown up! in response to your question. No, the MPD voices have stayed the same. Lucee is as much of a little girl now as she was when I was also a little girl. They don't age at all but there personalities can change if they experience new things just like anyone's can. They just experience new things as someone would within their age range. The MPD voices are ordinary people of all ages, with likes and dislikes, fears and wishes like anyone has. The mean voices are the schizophrenic ones and only appeared when my psychosis started when I was in my early 20's. Although I recognise the MPD voices as part of me (in that we are all a big diamond if you like made up of different shards), the mean voices I class as part of the illness. They only exist due to psychosis and are a symptom of it. They aren't part of me anymore than a sinus infection is.

The mean ones are also disembodied voices, the MPD people have bodies that I can see, clothes, their own bedrooms and are fully rounded people other than the fact that they live in my mind! The other huge difference is I hear the psychosis voices as if they are outside of me, the sounds come from next to my ear or from the seat next to me. The MPD voices I hear within my mind, in the same way that one remembers a conversation. That is what I use as my dividing line.

Just a note for anyone new reading, by MPD I mean what is now called Dissociative Identity Disorder. When that term was introduced everyone with me reacted very strongly against it. They like that they are classed as multiple people with different personalities (like any other group of people), they certainly do not like being classed as an identity that has a problem. Hence I always use the old term or people will yell at me and little ones will cry. I don't care either way but therapy taught me to go with the majority for a quiet life providing it doesn't hurt anyone!