Anyone heard voices before?

[creepedoutbyit]

Last night I heard a woman clearly say "you horrible little bitch" it was in my head but sounded distant but still clear. It wasn't my voice, like it wasn't that voice in my head it was a woman's voice and it was really mean.
I was about to fall asleep when it happened so hoping it's just a falling asleep thing, I've had it once before a couple of months ago and the voice wasn't nasty but normal and it said "(my name) let me in" again whilst I was in bed. So I think it's just a falling asleep thing but the voice last night was really horrible and has weirded me out !

I am going through a tough time atm with post natal depression/anxiety and currently switching between antidepressants if that's relevant.

Its called sleep paralysis. I get it quiet often.

Hi @creepedoutbyit this happened to me when I was a child and would come and go for years intermittently in periods of stress or tiredness. I put it down to stress and the complexities of the human brain and tried not to worry about it too much. I’m sorry you are having a tough time and I hope you find the meds that work for you as they can make all the difference.

I've had that before and it was absolutely horrible, I couldn't move, felt like something was on top of me pushing me into the bed, really scary. This was just a voice in my head

Oh and yes I occasionally get sleep paralysis and night terrors too as an adult. Maybe this is all related to altered states of consciousness. I found that mindfulness meditation was a lifesaver as well as meds for anxiety and depression and I learned through the Headspace app

I would mention this to whoever is doing your post natal health care x

Hi, thanks for this. Yes I do think it's tiredness and stress. It was just such a nasty voice and literally came from nowhere I was like what the hell?! Who are you calling a bitch 😆
So worried I'm slowly losing it and this is the start !

I would speak to a GP

I think you should speak with gp or whoever is treating your pnd. Post natal psychosis is a thing. It may just be stress etc but best to speak to a mental health professional.

I really think you need to tell your GP/HV so they can help support you, this may be in relation to your mental health, it’s important they know.

I hear people calling my name sometimes when I'm about to fall to sleep. I'd keep an eye on this purely because it was a mean voice.

I will mention it when I have my mediation review in a couple of weeks. Doesn't psychosis start early though ? I'm nearly 7 months post partum now

Interesting about the fact it was a mean voice, what does that mean in terms of mental health ?

Mine was a mean voice too. I have my own explanation for where it came from but I do agree with the PPs who have said tell your healthcare provider. I was only about 8 years old at the time so I wasn’t aware of psychiatric issues but I did tell my parents and they played it down.

I think you could tell them now rather than waiting for a review. It could be your medication making the slip between waking and sleeping longer but presumably that could be tweaked. You sound really sensible and self aware so I think use that insight to get the best care for yourself by giving the people treating you the facts as promptly as you can. I do think it’s a fairly common result of stress, so I wouldn’t be worried.

I used to get this and thought it was clairaudience. Although I never heard anything nasty.

Have you recently stopped breastfeeding? That can trigger changes in mental health as a result of the hormone drop. I would mention it to your GP because the post natal period is such a vulnerable time. However, I have had this over the years while falling asleep and waking up, particularly with changes in medication and/ or after a vivid dream. If you hear the voice outside of that context, it would be more worrying.

10% of people hear voices, mostly without having a severe mental illness. I can really feel the anxiety in your posts OP, it's heartbreaking. When I was in my teens, maybe when doing exams, I saw spiders all over my bedroom wall and freaked out. After a minute or so I woke up fully. I suppose I was in the same brain state as you are.

I would say, speak to someone but I would worry as post-party psychosis starts after birth. Re the fact it was a mean voice, why do we have bad dreams? Same reason I reckon, probably your stress.

I get this aswell OP , even images in my head.
There is a name for it but I can't remember what it is called it begins with an H . I get them upon waking aswell , once I saw a man's face by my bed.

Sleep deprivation?

Another one saying speak to a doctor on Monday. The first year after a baby is when you're most at risk.

Hyponagogic hallucinations is the name for it .
I've also had Postpartum Pychosis which is when I just hallucinated all through the day , so I would keep an eye on it if you have just had a baby though.

I get this all the time when I'm anxious or in a new place like a hotel. I don't think it's uncommon.

Hi OP, it's not sleep paralysis, it's a hypnogogic hallucination, it happens when you're transitioning from wakefulness to sleep. Completely normal experience.

Post partum psychosis wouldn't start 7 months after birth, usually hours/days/weeks after birth. Saying that, psychosis can start at any time for anyone.

I wouldn't be rushing to the GP for a one off experience personally (I say this as someone whose job is assessing people for psychosis) But maybe you can get additional support for your anxiety/depression, ie a therapy referral if you don't have one already? X

Apparently they can occur together simultaneously. Probaly why I suffer quite badly with sleep paralysis aswell . Tip , wiggle your toes/feet , that usually snaps me out of it .

Hypnogogic hallucinations are scary but relatively common.