I have a

Chatterbox: Down to Earth

I have a

I have a confession. No, not who I really am, no. I'm posting at night and under fake ID so parents won't find out the whole story. 

I'm also probably going to regret posting this in a few days but it's good that I am, I think.

So here goes…

Sometimes I can hear conversations in the back of my head... It often sounds like a mumbled sentence but sometimes a word pops out. They're always repeating the same things.  

'But... She..... It... But... You... What about...'

That's what it's always like. It rather creeps me out. And for a girl (yes I'm a girl in case I haven't said before) who loves ghost stories in the dark, that can be saying a lot. 

The first time it happened it was in a dream. I was scared (think I fell out of bed too) but I passed off as a nightmare and forgot about it. It popped up a few more times but has mostly stayed dormant til now. Now I don't even have to be asleep for it!

I've been telling myself they're just the voices of friendly ghosts I'm hearing (eh) to calm down some, but I kind of want someone to please give me a better reason for this. I hate this feeling like I'm crazy and I've only told anyone besides you guys a half the story!

Sorry for the long post about my mind's confession. I just needed to get that off my chest... 

Admins: just hope you find this post ok to put up. If not, apologies in advance. 

submitted by Xxxxxx, age xx, xy
(July 3, 2014 - 9:42 pm)

Don't worry. Everyone here at the CB will keep this in complete confidence. Ruby and I came out of the wardrobe a while ago (a silly term we made up for telling people you have a mental illness) and people were totally okay with it, so we'll be cool with you. (I sound like Zaphod Beeblebrox right now, don't I?)

It sounds to me like a psychotic episode. I wouldn't worry too much--plenty of people have psychotic episodes and then have completely normal and productive lives afterwards. I would recommend that you talk to your parents or a counselor--and this is coming from a voice in someone's head. At this point, the voices sound pretty quiet and subdued, so getting rid of them won't be much of a problem, I think you'll recover very well, but just in case of an illness, it's important to tell an adult. If you can't tell your parents, then you can tell a counselor or a teacher you trust. Don't worry about what people will think. No matter what, your parents will still love you. No one is going to call you a "freak" or think poorly of you. It's not your fault, whatever happens to you. The CB folks are really supportive and if you want to talk about a subject too sensitive for the CB, you can drop most of us older CBers a line elsewhere.

On the off chance you are diagnosed with some kind of mental illness: First things first, don't panic. (I'm doomed to sound like Zaphod, so I might as well go along with it now.) I know it can seem very terrifying, especially because of the way social media portrays it nowadays. Remember, your family and friends will always love you for who you are, not for what happens to you. We're always here to support you. There are a number of medications out there to ensure that you can recover and live a healthy rest of your life. Make sure to ask questions when you're at the doctor's office to ensure you know the truth about any potential illness or medication. Trust in adults and let them take care of you and you'll be just fine.

Basically, don't do what we did.

And if the voices start saying, "Let us take over the world with lemmings!" then yeah, you got a problem. 

submitted by Red, age 14, Elsewhere
(July 4, 2014 - 1:18 am)

Thanks Red 

Yes, I have told my mom who told my dad, but not about the first occurrence or the 'ghost voices' thing I've been telling myself. But they dropped the subject after I told them all I could. I started calming down about it and it hasn't happened since.

And you know, that's exactly why I came to the CB. Everyone here is so nice about everything! (And helpful too)

I'm guessing I should remind my parents about it in that case? Yes I suppose so. Umm... How should I tell them again?

And yes, I'll definitely be worried if I suddenly have an urge to take over the world, lemmings or not! If that  happens, you'll be hearing from me ;)

Way to end on a happy note.!

Thanks again

xxxxxx -name retracted from this message-

submitted by Xxxxxx, age xx, xy
(July 4, 2014 - 3:02 pm)

The conversations, do they feel like they aren't supposed to be there? I experienced something like that, and the...things that were doing the talking were, for one, distinctly alien. They did not belong. And for another thing, they started off quiet, like yours. They got loud pretty quickly, though. (What you're experiencing is exactly what I experienced, really.) 

You aren't crazy. Plenty of people experience this sort of thing. However, it's important that you tell an adult. They can put you on medications or help you in other ways. I repeat, you are not crazy. There's no reason to be ashamed of this. Do not panic. 

If they get really loud and make it so you can't focus, listen to music. That helps a lot for me.

You really should tell your parents or something. Medication works wonders. (And if anyone treats you differently for that, they are not worth your time.) 

submitted by Maggie, age 13, nowhere pleasant
(July 4, 2014 - 1:17 pm)

@Maggie

Yeah, that's exactly how it is.  They really feel out of place in my head.

They do start off quiet and get a bit louder little by little until it  get rather loud and starts freaking me out more. I forgot to mention that until you said.

I know I'm not crazy, it just makes me feel that way.

The last time it happened, after my mom came in my room and I told her, I listened to music until I calmed down. It really helps with that.

Thanks Maggie,

xxxxxx -name retracted from this message- 

submitted by Xxxxxx, age xx, xy
(July 4, 2014 - 6:29 pm)

Hey honey... 

Okay...

You're not crazy.  This isn't crazy.  I have this theory that everyone has to have something someone else would refer to as a "mental illness" because everyone's mind works differently.  For example, I think I have OCD or OCPD.  I'm leaning more towards OCPD because it's work-related but OCPD isn't supposed to manifest until you're 18 and... I digress.

 

Honestly, I have dealt with stuff like this before myself and always just written it off to overactive imagination.  It doesn't sound like at this point it would interfere with your daily life since it doesn't seem like the conversations are overpowering, but if it ever gets so bad that you just can't think, definitely tell a trusted adult.  They'll get you the help you need so that you can think clearly.

 

Are you hearing these conversations in the thinking voice in your head style or are you hearing it like you hear a noise created externally?  Don't answer this question if you're not comfortable with it. 

 

I hope you work this out.  Ask me if you need more help.

 

 

submitted by Melody, age 15, Disney
(July 6, 2014 - 8:28 pm)

Hey Melody...

Thanks for that.

By the way, just to answer your question, it's always like I'm hearing something from inside my head. Sometimes it sounds loud enough to almost be a person talking into my ear.

Off to ponder and sort beads, xxxxxx-name retracted from this message- 

submitted by Xxxxxx, age Xx, Xy
(July 7, 2014 - 2:28 pm)