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.

Yes I've had this a lot over the years, when my anxiety is bad I can hear my kids calling me even though there in school also heat my phone ringing when it isn't, my counsellor said it's quite common as were on red alert when anxiety is bad, I've learnt to live with it and try not to fight it

Hearing voices doesn't always have to relate to mental health. Some very healthy people with no mental health conditions hear voices.

Please don't worry about it OP, obviously if it gets worse you may want to consider going back to your GP. But the chances are you will get better with time and you'll find they're probably gone in a few months.

@notanothershitday thanks for sharing. I do feel I'm always on high alert with my anxiety. It's just the mumbling that is distressing me the most. Did you find counselling helpful?

Thank you @QueenofSwearing for your kind words.

Thanks for sharing @doodles17 do you find you experience these things mostly when you are stressed or anxious?

@Notredamn

no problem I just think phrases like 'she was the last person you'd think would be susceptible to stress' aren't actually very helpful and insinuate the opposite of what we both actually think and agree on. Sorry to go on

I apologise, and certainly didn't mean to upset anyone. Let me just explain why I said that:

In my opinion, some of us can appear more susceptible to stress than others of us. This is because of a mixture of factors such as our job, profession, personality, age, social status, life experience, family support etc etc.

The person I was discussing always came across as strong and really resilient, so it shows that even when we perceive someone as unlikely to suffer from stress, they really can, and can e.g hear voices due to it.

Still looking for further experiences of this if anyone would like to share.

In The Book of Silence, Sara Maitland writes of hearing full orchestras while she was living silently in the middle of nowhere. I think it’s more ‘normal’ than we think.
I was so intensely anxious this week I ended up being given Diazapam to allow me to sleep.
Anxiety is shit. A poster on another thread recommended the Plum Village app for relaxing meditations; I tried it last night and it was lovely.

@MrsKypp - I know what you mean but most of the time it's a total front. People think I'm the calmest, most capable, reliable & resilient woman they know. 'Nothing fazes iklboo. Iklboo will know what to do. Iklboo can do it'.

Inside my head I was in the middle of the motorway with six lanes of traffic screaming past me with no way out to safety, and nobody who could help me. Until I broke.

Thank you @haverhill for your post. Anxiety sure is awful. I will check out the Plum Village app. Thanks for the suggestion. Hope your anxiety settles soon

So sorry to hear that, iklboo

Take care x

I can relate to this @iklboo. Sending you a hug x

Back atcha @Wishful7415 @MrsKypp ❤️

Can I ask how it went with the GP last week?

Thank you @Gingerkittykat It went well. Doctor thinks stress, depression and anxiety is causing my hallucinations. I'm on an antidepressant so I'm hoping they will fade once my anxiety and stress levels settle. I've got another appointment this week.

I wonder if stress alone can also cause these experiences?

It probably can. I can't think clearly if I get stressed.. It's all interlinked, stress, panic, anxiety, they sort of feed each other. Hope you start to feel better, when you feel calmer you can control the anxiety xx

Thank you @Fleamaker123 I really do hope so!

Hi OP, I have this a little - mumbling, phantom crying - but my main thing is seeing things darting on the periphery of my vision when my anxiety or stress levels are heightened. Obviously, there is nothing there.

My husband has moderate hearing loss and I’ve seen him experience something similar when tired. His brain is used to having to fill in the gaps in day to day life and seems to go into overdrive when he’s tired. It is usually someone calling him or a knock on the front door he thinks he hears.

Thank you for sharing @user1470132907. Anxiety is horrible especially when it plays tricks on you. Do you take medication to help? My anxiety is still through the roof!

Just wondering if anyone has any more experiences to share on this topic?

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