My 9yo daughter told me today she hearts voices in her head

[GingerbreadHead]

So today my 9 year old told me that she hears voices in her head, specifically a man and a woman who say things like Do It or Come On repeatedly in a slightly aggressive manner. She says she's had them since she was about 3. I have no idea why she has never mentioned it before. She says she wasn't sure if it was normal or not for a few years. I've tried to respond calmly and interested. But I am freaking out. What do I even do with this information. Where am I supposed to go!!

Poor girl, I hope she's not been worrying about this. I'm really glad she told you. I think I'd have a word with the doctor without her there first.

I think you need to see the GP as soon as you can. I know a very sweet little girl with childhood onset schizophrenia. I had known her for 4–5 years before someone mentioned it, you would never guess.

It is so good that your little girl could confide in you about this. I would ask GP for a Paediatric referral to CAMHS or similar service in your area.

It must be terrifying but don't panic. There are loads of reasons this could be happening and it's actually a lot more common than you think. Go see your GP and go from there xx

Oh OP, must be so worrying. As PP says I'd chat it through with your GP on your own first and see what they advise. It's a real positive that she feels comfortable to talk to you and knows you're there for her. Lots of love to you both xx

This is not uncommon and not necessarily a sign of anything wrong, but if you and she are concerned then yes you could go to your GP. . This article may be reassuring to you though: www.google.co.uk/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/parents-dont-panic-if-your-child-hears-voices-its-actually-quite-common-78964

It may just be a sign of stress OP.

When my DD was 9, we had just enrolled at a new school. Everything was very different to the old school. We thought DD was doing well, but she felt a classmate was picking on her. She also worried about losing sports kit as the school insisted on a lot of items including three separate lots of footwear, two pairs of shorts, three tops, long socks, short socks and tracksuit.

I was alarmed when she told me she'd been hearing voices and it worried her.

I was ready to go to the GP, but appointment were hard to get.

A quick internet search suggested stress. So I told DD that she was absolutely right to tell me, not to worry at all, that it was a really common thing and the GP would probably be able to sort it out very easily.

I said I would speak to her teacher about the classmate (I did).

I said not to worry at all if any sports kit went missing as it was a crazy amount to have to look after and I could never have managed without losing a few bits if I had been in her position.

Amazingly, once we had had this conversation the voices completely stopped. So we didn't go to the doctor. I monitored the situation for a few months. But as she relaxed and became more confident, the voices didn't return.

Thank you all. I think a trip to the gp is definitely in order. I'm just scared where it might lead.
She's had a sore leg for the last few months too which we're still trying to get to the bottom of, which I was worried and concerned for her as no one knows what's wrong with it or how to fix it, so this as well just feels like so much to have to deal with.

She's a bright, loveable, sociable girl who is so kind to her sisters and lovely to have a conversation with. I just don't know how I'd deal with their being something 'wrong' with her or her changing as she reaches her puberty years.

How did your trip to the GP go?
Please don't worry about where it will lead. It's really quite common, research shows that 7/10 young people hear voices or have visual hallucinations due to anxiety.
In my experience young people sometimes struggle to identify their inner voice.
Of course it's worth checking out but there are often NORMAL explanations for this.
Hope you get sorted x

Hi OP. I think it’s wonderful your daughter confided in you. I experienced something similar as a child and didn’t tell a soul. As an adult I was diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and I am convinced this is why it happened - I was a very anxious child but good at hiding it behind great school results etc. I have a very harsh “inner voice” that gets quite nasty when my anxiety/body dysmorphia is bad and when I was younger I don’t think I realised quite what an “inner voice” was (if that makes sense)

Besides the anxiety I am perfectly “normal”, had great friends at school that I am still close with now and have never hurt myself or anyone else. Good luck getting to the bottom of it, I’m sure it will all be okay x

Hi very interested in this. My 13 yo has been admitted to a psychiatric unit 3 weeks ago. We moved from the uk to Canada this summer and she was getting quite weird, depressed and withdrawn and about a month ago was getting really stressed and started to have proper panic attacks and hearing harsh voices and even seeing things. The psychiatrist thought she was a bit young for a first psychosis episode and ordered quite a lot of tests and some results came back suggesting Wilson disease, a genetic condition causing copper overload affecting the brain and the liver, we are waiting for confirmation. It’s all really stressful as Wilson is invariably fatal by liver failure if untreated. She is on antipsychotic medication and is improving slowly. If Wilson disease is confirmed then she will get specific treatment and should improve. Her liver is only slightly enlarged but still functioning seemingly normally. Wilson disease is rare, 1/30000, and diagnosed between 5 and 35 yo. I find it extraordinary that they picked it up. Probably not relevant to op but maybe mention it to gp just in case, the blood test to do is ceruloplasmin. If low then they have to do more tests to confirm. Good luck

Hi Canadawet - how is your DD doing?