Can anxiety cause auditory hallucinations?

[Wishful7415]

Had an awful panic attack this morning and when I was trying to calm down I swear I could hear people talking and mumbling voices when noone was there. Now I'm in a greater state of panic. Can anxiety cause this or is my mind playing tricks on me? I've been under a lot of stress lately.

How long have you been on it, OP?

Thanks @Babyg1995 hope she is doing well now

Anxiety can make you see and hear things. It's when you start having delusions amongst other symptoms that you should be concerned.
For those who have hallucinations upon falling to sleep or waking, they're called hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations and they're a completely normal thing to experience.

I would suggest seeing your GP and being honest about what you're experiencing, they're not going to section you I promise. They will give you a treatment plan and also look at ways you can help yourself, things like yoga, mindfulness meditation or even just making sure you get a really good nights sleep can make the world of difference.

@Bluewavescrashing 2 weeks. I started another antidepressant a couple of weeks ago but it didn't agree with me so back on a different one. I guess I need to wait much longer for it to kick in. I just want to be panic and anxiety free and for no more auditory experiences to happen.

Thank you yes this was many years ago but I do remember it you will get better op

@QueenofSwearing thank you so much for your reply and advice. Ive heard mindfulness can be really good for relaxation so I'm going to try and do some every day.

I hope the antidepressant helps you OP, they can take a few weeks go kick in. Keep in touch with your GP about any persistant auditory oddities.

@Inkpaperstars will do. Thank you

Keep going, in a couple of weeks it will suddenly lift and you'll feel better. Be kind to yourself

@Bluewavescrashing thank you

I have this sometimes but I put it down to exploding head syndrome. It usually happens when I'm stressed but not at the same time as anxiety attacks.

Hearing voices is much more common than people think. But if they start to become too distressing or are telling you to harm yourself then it’s good to get support. But it sounds like you’re on it anyway and your meds will hopefully start helping soon.

I have several times only ever mid panic attack, always voices sometimes lots of people talking very loudly with no understandable words. Other times single repeating sentences over and over. I was told not to worry unless it began to happen outside of the panic attacks. CBT got my panic disorder under control and it's now not happened for years. I hope you manage to sort things

I hear bells and alarms. It's an anxiety issue, my brain is hyper vigilant and thinks it's the phone/doorbell/alarm. If I had a baby, I'm sure my brain would be screaming at me that the baby's crying!

When it happens, I know I've been too busy/stressed and try and do what I need to do to relax.

It's actually really freeing when you know it's not real- you don't have to respond!

@Outtheforest. Thank you. Do you have any useful techniques that you practice that you learnt from CBT? I get a tight chest and tension in my arms and feel shaky during a panic attack. Did you experience something similar or were your symptoms different?

@picklemewalnuts that must be unsettling but thank you very much for sharing. I'm trying to learn ways to relax but finding it so difficult just now when I'm in a super anxious state all the time.

I haven't needed to do much practice for a while now, it was a long road but I'd say from panic disorder I'm fully recovered. Anxiety not so much. Grounding techniques helped I would wear jewelry which could be twisted/was heavy and cold to hold etc. And try to focus on its feel. Alot of the cbt was focused on the causes of the attacks than stopping them directly if that makes sense.
I would get a tight chest and hyperventilate, my arms and hands would shake often to the point I couldn't move them at all. If it was particularly bad I would hyperventilation to the point of passing out.

@Outtheforest sounds horrible. I've found myself hyperventilating before too but it seems to have shifted to chest tightness and shaking and now auditory hallucinations. You must be so relieved you have recovered from the panic disorder. I must look into CBT. Thanks so much again.

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Would love to hear more. I hope this helps others too.

Just thought of something that helped me with managing anxiety (not the panic attacks themselves): EFT Tapping. There are plenty of YouTube videos. I have used the ones by Brad Yates.

I went on a course - at work of all things - that helped changed the way I think.

Think WIN - What's Important Now.

Can I change being overdrawn at the bank at 3am? No. So try to park that worry until I can do something.

Can I do anything about that work project right now? No. And nobody is expecting me to.

So What's Important Now? Me. My health. I'm important now.

@Wishful7415 no problem I'm wishing you all the best. A lot of my recovery was understanding why the attacks happened and working on preventing getting to a point where they did. I found CBT so helpful I know it doesn't work for everyone but it meant I could avoid taking medication which was important to me, I was under 18 when the attacks started so doctors where also hesitant to prescribe. It took over two years of weekly CBT to get them fully under control. Definitely worth looking into and if you can afford it I would suggest looking at private therapy. The first year I did with the NHS there was a lot of 6 week slots with different people, some I gelled with others I didn't. It got me to the point of being able to function normally again and handle the attacks but I was still having them weekly, depressed and suicidal I often felt as soon as progress was made I was shifted to someone new. The second year I saw a private therapist I found someone I felt really comfortable with who used techniques that worked for me and to this day I feel I owe her my life.

Thanks @iklboo I sent you a personal email. Hope you can help advise

@Outtheforest thank you I'm def going to look into CBT. I understand there is a long waiting list though so will investigate if there is anyone private in my area.

@forsucksfake thank you I just watched some of this on YouTube and will give it a try during my next anxiety attack. Thanks for the suggestion.