Hearing Voices in Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) includes the experience of hearing voices, medically referred to as auditory hallucinations. This is also a common symptom in several other mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. The experience of hearing voices in DID is quite different from the experience of hearing voices in other disorders, however, and the causes and treatments are not the same.
Hearing Voices in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Psychosis
There are several mental illnesses that have auditory hallucinations as a symptom. These include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder with psychotic features. In these disorders, the auditory hallucinations are related to psychosis, which involves a loss of contact with reality.
The exact cause of psychosis in these disorders is still debated. There is some connection to an imbalance of dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain. Antipsychotic medications, which alter the action of dopamine in the brain, are the most commonly prescribed and effective form of treatment for auditory hallucinations in these disorders.
Hearing Voices in Dissociative Identity Disorder: Not a Symptom of Psychosis
Unlike in other disorders, hearing voices in DID is not connected to psychosis. In DID, the voices one hears come from within the person. In other disorders, like schizophrenia, the voices come from outside of the person. This is one of the key differences in telling DID apart from psychotic disorders.
In DID, the voices are not a result of a break with reality. The voices are, in essence, real. They are the voices of the alters, or parts, existing within the core person. The voices aren't caused by a chemical imbalance, so medications cannot get rid of them. Many with DID spend their entire lives hearing these voices.
What It's Like to Hear Voices in Dissociative Identity Disorder
There is an an assumption that when a person hears voices, the voices are negative, telling the person to do something bad. This assumption is wrong, as most people, even those without DID, do not experience those types of voices (Schizoaffective Disorder and What It’s Like to Hear Voices).
Many people with DID report hearing voices starting early in their childhoods, while others first started hearing voices in adolescence or adulthood. Sometimes the voices are talking directly to the core person, while other times the voices are just talking among themselves. The voices can be very different: young or old, male or female, high-pitched or low-pitched. Sometimes, the voices all sound the same. Each person's experience of hearing voices in DID is different.
My Experience with Hearing Voices: I'm Not Crazy
I first started hearing voices when I was a teenager. At first I just assumed I was hearing my own inner thoughts. But then I realized the voices were not at all like my own, and quite distinct. I didn't tell anyone about my experiences. I was afraid of being labelled crazy or being locked away in an institution, so I kept the voices a secret for over a decade. It wasn't until my therapist assured me that I wasn't crazy, that I felt comfortable being honest about the voices I had been hearing for so long.
I still hear voices nearly every day. Most of the voices I hear are that of my younger parts. Sometimes, my parts talk to me directly. Other times, it's just random conversations going on inside. I try to keep the lines of communication open. I let my parts have their voices, because they deserve to be heard.
Many people hear voices just like me, and you would never know it. It's just a part of living with DID.
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APA Reference
Matulewicz, C.
(2016, June 22). Hearing Voices in Dissociative Identity Disorder, HealthyPlace. Retrieved
on 2024, December 4 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/dissociativeliving/2016/06/hearing-voices-in-dissociative-identity-disorder
Author: Crystalie Matulewicz
I said a prayer for you. I too am a multiple who has had it pretty rough and had a lot of trouble with convincing doctors but, the Lord has shown me that I don't need the validation of others to know that my experiences are true. I know that I and my alters are real and they'd all agree with me. Don't give up. Jesus loves you, friend.
Hi I didn’t know if I should comment or not but I’ve had similar experiences from those of the people that have spoken. I’m 14 turning 15 and I’ve been hearing voices for a while the earliest I remember is when I was in 5th grade where I went though a lot of betrayal and a suicidal state. My friend had told me he thought I had DID but I just said no I don’t think so because even though some of the symptoms did align I don’t want to agree until I get properly diagnosed. I’ve always hidden these voices from my therapist because they would tell me it wasn’t a good idea and I believed them in fear of being sent away so I’ve kept quiet but things seem to have gotten worse. These voices sometimes speak to me or each other and they are all distinct from one another if I focus on them but if I don’t then they all sound muffled or the same . I’ve been scared to say anything because of some of the things they say I’ve been able to write conversations down with them where I would write then they would write but I think that’s just me writing a conversation with myself to not feel alone. I’ve had gaps in my memory of childhood and just specific things that happen to me where I remember them but don’t remember all of it, I blame my bad memory for that yet it still scares me that I can’t remember and when I try to I get severe headaches. The voices aren’t there all the time but there was a time where one of these voices was around and the next thing I knew my wrists were bleeding and I don’t remember how it happened. Another occasion of this was when I was having a panic attack and someone kept reassuring me everything would be okay, helping me through it. The voices have names and there is a lot but I can’t tell if they tell me their names or if I just make them up without noticing. Recently I don’t remember what happened exactly but one second I was in my room relaxing and the next it was a completely different day where I was registering into a new school. I’m scared that I don’t know what’s happening in the sense of another thing happening without my knowledge that could hurt me or those that I care about, my family hasn’t took me to get diagnosed with any mental illness my therapist said I might have and I’m too scared to say anything because they never listen to me anyways. My family wasn’t really abusive physically but mentally and emotionally they were I don’t remember everything but I remember something’s I’ve gotten over. I just can’t come to the terms of me having DID because it just seems like I don’t have enough trauma to have DID not to sound rude or offensive but it just sounds unreal to me like I just can’t accept it but I really don’t know what else it might be so I need a bit of help here.
I have a similar experience, actually. Is physical abuse necessary for developing DID?
Hello! My name is Silas and I believe I may have DID or OSDD, but I'm not in the position where it's safe to get a diagnosis right now.
I'd been abused at the age of around 7 to 9, and I'm not sure, but there may be some other trauma that has been repressed.
I am now in my teens and frequently 'space out', talk to myself in whispers, and hear voices in my head.
I've taken a couple DID/OSDD quizzes, and I've gotten 'high risk' results, but I cannot get professionally diagnosed yet.
I've convinced myself that I don't have trauma and it's just me overreacting, and that the voices are just a method of 'playing pretend'.
Could anyone possibly give me insight as to knowing if I'm faking or not?