Voices

yellowmonkey

Hi and dont know if this the right place for this but here goes

My DD who is 7 has been playing up a bit lately. Now I have 3 other children so I am no stranger to the various stages of growing up. When I challenge her recently about her behaviour she tells me that she gets a bad feeling telling her to be naughty.
I thought nothing of this until tonight when she was getting ready for a bath. My OH was with her and she told me that when she went into the bathroom she was just sitting on the edge of the bath. When she was asked why she was not in the bath she said that the " bad feeling " was telling her to put her head under the water and to keep it there. My Oh asked if it was a boy or gir's voice and she said it was like a growling and it tells her to be naughty and not do her work at school etc.

Really dont know what to do. Do I take her to see a doctor and face the possibility that they will think she is a fruitcake and put her in a straight jacket. That may seem extreme but that is what I am thinking is going to happen or is it perhaps a phase she is going through and try to battle it out with her and try to convince her that it is not real and that we love her and tell the voice to go away.

Seems a bit of a silly post but this is starting to panic me at the moment.

ym

shelley_crow

Hi, I'm afraid i don't have much experience of this behaviour, my son is only 3.

However, the first thing that came to mid is that your daugter may have an ear infection causing the gowling in her ear? Or tinnitus. It might be worth a visit to the dr to check this out.

There is a mental health group called "Hearing voices" who run a helpline. They may be ble to give you more specific advice on the mental health side without seeing your dr.

http://www.hearing-voices.org/information.htm

x

Toto

I always think that if a parent has concerns they should follow them up. No one will think badly of your daughter but there may be a simple explaination which could be sorted for her.

You have 3 other children, that to me sends huge signals that you do know what is within the realms of normal childhood behaviour. The worst that will happen is that there will be no evidence of a physiological problem (such as an ear infection) and your daughter will be reffered to the childhood development/psychological department for a once over.

That in itself is nothing to worry about at all. My daughter (who has severe autism amongst other things) has been going for years and is now in the process of being diagnosed as bi-polar too (sigh). The doctors have seen it all and will really help you to understand what (if anything) is going on, and they will help to sort out the problem.

This must be quite scary for your little girl, but it might be something very simple. I know my daughter talks to herself all of the time and gives her voices names, but we have finally figured out that what she is hearing are simply her own thoughts, but because of her disability she can't understand that people think, so she answers them and thinks it is someone talking to her.

I'm not suggesting this is what is going on with your daughter at all, but honestly from expericence I would say, get these things checked out. because the worry is often far far worse than anything that will happen or even be diagnosed.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Oldernotwiser

yellowmonkey wrote: »

Really dont know what to do. Do I take her to see a doctor and face the possibility that they will think she is a fruitcake and put her in a straight jacket.

I can't offer you any help on this but hope that you can access whatever you need. I just wanted to suggest that you moderate the language you use about this; there are many people here with mental health issues and your comments are quite offensive. I realise that you were probably trying to be humourous about something that worries you but this isn't appropriate language. Good luck.

DigitalJedi

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I can't offer you any help on this but hope that you can access whatever you need. I just wanted to suggest that you moderate the language you use about this; there are many people here with mental health issues and your comments are quite offensive. I realise that you were probably trying to be humourous about something that worries you but this isn't appropriate language. Good luck.

OP is looking for support. Forgive the fact she's not being 100% politically correct for a split second.

My mother suffers from mental illness, was sectioned a while ago but I am not offended.

YellowMonkey. If you are concerned and with 3 other children you have plenty of experience then I would suggest you do visit the doctor. Keep a record of what she's said, her behaviour etc.

For a long time I thought my mum had too much time on her hands and was just worrying over nothing. Turns out she had a mental illness which got progresssively worse.

My gut instinct is that perhaps this is your daughter's strange version of an imaginary friend. But if you don't act on your suspicions then you may never forgive yourself and will constantly wondering "What if?"

Poppy9

If the voices are unnerving your DD I would talk to your GP about. Perhaps initially you could attend the doctors alone without your DD to talk to the doctor more frankly before he sees her.

Many children have imaginary friends and maybe your DD is finding something in school or at home stressful.

I was the youngest of 4 children and my sister just older than me resented me and used to deliberately try to scare me by telling me people lived in the attic and came out at night etc. I was still sleeping with a quilt up almost over my head till about 11 as I used to be terrified of the attic monsters. I never told my mother till I was older by which time I realised it was funny.

aliasojo

The woman is worried about her daughter and is using flippant comments because she's torn between feelings. Most people would understand that and if there is anyone that would take offence from that post, I respectfully suggest it's more because of their own issues rather than the comments in the OP.

If the comments were taken out of context, then I agree they are inappropriate generally but that isn't the case here, imo.

As for the little girl, I strongly suggest you take her to the Doctor and make sure you tell him/her everything that you have concerns about. This could be something or nothing but you wont know until you check. If it's just a phase then no harm done, if it is something beginning to develop then early intervention is always a good thing.

Try not to worry too much (easier said than done I know).

Mips

It is probably her own thoughts and she thinks they are voices - don't worry until you have had her checked over.

This must be really hard for you.

Oldernotwiser

aliasojo wrote: »

Most people would understand that and if there is anyone that would take offence from that post, I respectfully suggest it's more because of their own issues rather than the comments in the OP.


.

That was the point I was trying to make, "people with their own issues". My comments were intended only as a gentle "nudge" to the OP and I hope she took them in that light.

aurora_borealis_2

I found this for you.

I have some experience of this in my own family.
Don't worry too much or show worry to your daughter.

I would take her to the GP.

foreign_correspondent

Useful link from AB - Also - It is worth remembering that people conceptualise their own thougts in different ways - some people would describe their thoughts as largely visual whilst others may percieve them as more abstract, or more like voices.

Children have vivid imaginations, and phenomenon such as 'imaginary friends' are vere common and can be very real to a child.

As a child I read a lot, and often had an imaginary narrative going on inside my head much in the style of the last book I had read - eg, I would be wandering off to the park but the imagined voice would say "Foreign correspondent bravely makes her way to the park, riding on her trusty BMX - who knows what drama will meet her when she arrives...."!! (if you all think I am bonkers now I will not take offence!)

A voice is often used as a metaphor for the internal debates we all have about what to do - (ie, the angel on one shoulder, devil on the other often portrayed in films!). She may also be using this voice as an excuse for naughty behaviour so she can put the responsibility onto the voice rather than herself - some children blame their imaginary friend for breaking things, eating all the buns etc!

There is also the slim possibility that she has seen something similar on a TV drama, and is trying it out on you... however I do think you are right to monitor this. But, in my opinion, this needs to be done carefully as a big reaction may only serve to give what may turn out to be a very transient phase more significance, and may perpetuate the behaviour.

I would be concerned about what she feels the voices are telling her though - to engage in bad behavior rather than good. I would talk about the reasons against bad behaviour and ask her if she can tell this naughty voice to go away, cos she isnt listening!