Like most people, we went down the conventional route first, including lots of medication, which never helped and even hurt my daughter. Therapy has always been the major part of her journey and continues to be today. Everyone responds differently to the antipsychotic medications, though, and the whole topic is very complex. Mad in America offers a lot of videos that might help you get more informed — Joanna Montcrieff, Robert Whittaker, Sandra Steingard, to start with. You also might want to see if there are any hearing voices networks in your area. We know now that there are various ways for your son to navigate through these challenges. In my daughter’s case, when she felt that she had had enough of hospitalizations and medications, she made the decision to leave it all behind and became more engaged in her own recovery. The humanizing influence of the hearing voices movement has made a great difference in her life. She attended a hearing voices peer support group for years, which was extremely helpful. She has learned to make meaning of the voices and knows that, for her, they are related to powerful emotions from earlier in her life. Some people’s voices go away in time; it’s all so individual. Take a bit of comfort from the fact that the mental health field is slowly becoming enlightened about hearing voices, and there is a lot of help and holistic support out there if you look in the right places.
I wish you, your son and your family the very best!
Thank you, and I understand and respect your point of view. It’s a tricky thing to pull off and I’m not sure I did. However, I must say that based on our personal experiences with Ron and Karen, “predatory” is never a word I would use to describe them or their approach.
Thanks so much for sharing this. You’ve made a tremendous amount of sense of your journey, which is hard to do. Each time I read your comments, I pick up more of what you’ve learned. I appreciate you engaging so deeply with this piece. Thank you for your good wishes, and I wish you the best in the future also!
Thanks so much, Rosalee! Annie was moved by your comments, too! This piece was written several years ago and was part of a much longer work, so I’m glad it made sense even out of context. Yes, Annie is courageous and I marvel at her strength. She’s 22 now, still hears voices, does not take antipsychotic medication and has learned to manage them pretty well. She’s working in the mental health field and starting to use her own experiences and what she’s learned through the hearing voices movement to educate others. I feel fortunate that we’re living during a time when this topic has come out of the shadows. I wish you the best also!!
Wow! I’m still re-reading your comments and digesting it all. I plan to check out your book to read further. My heart goes out to you for the past and I’m glad to hear how well you’re doing now. Very inspiring, indeed! Best of luck to you and thank you for contributing your thoughts and feelings here!
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this piece! I’m glad you found it worthwhile. Hearing voices is certainly a complicated topic and I appreciate your openness.
Hi,
Like most people, we went down the conventional route first, including lots of medication, which never helped and even hurt my daughter. Therapy has always been the major part of her journey and continues to be today. Everyone responds differently to the antipsychotic medications, though, and the whole topic is very complex. Mad in America offers a lot of videos that might help you get more informed — Joanna Montcrieff, Robert Whittaker, Sandra Steingard, to start with. You also might want to see if there are any hearing voices networks in your area. We know now that there are various ways for your son to navigate through these challenges. In my daughter’s case, when she felt that she had had enough of hospitalizations and medications, she made the decision to leave it all behind and became more engaged in her own recovery. The humanizing influence of the hearing voices movement has made a great difference in her life. She attended a hearing voices peer support group for years, which was extremely helpful. She has learned to make meaning of the voices and knows that, for her, they are related to powerful emotions from earlier in her life. Some people’s voices go away in time; it’s all so individual. Take a bit of comfort from the fact that the mental health field is slowly becoming enlightened about hearing voices, and there is a lot of help and holistic support out there if you look in the right places.
I wish you, your son and your family the very best!
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Thank you, and I understand and respect your point of view. It’s a tricky thing to pull off and I’m not sure I did. However, I must say that based on our personal experiences with Ron and Karen, “predatory” is never a word I would use to describe them or their approach.
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Thanks so much for sharing this. You’ve made a tremendous amount of sense of your journey, which is hard to do. Each time I read your comments, I pick up more of what you’ve learned. I appreciate you engaging so deeply with this piece. Thank you for your good wishes, and I wish you the best in the future also!
Report comment
Thanks so much, Rosalee! Annie was moved by your comments, too! This piece was written several years ago and was part of a much longer work, so I’m glad it made sense even out of context. Yes, Annie is courageous and I marvel at her strength. She’s 22 now, still hears voices, does not take antipsychotic medication and has learned to manage them pretty well. She’s working in the mental health field and starting to use her own experiences and what she’s learned through the hearing voices movement to educate others. I feel fortunate that we’re living during a time when this topic has come out of the shadows. I wish you the best also!!
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Thank you so much for your comments!
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Wow! I’m still re-reading your comments and digesting it all. I plan to check out your book to read further. My heart goes out to you for the past and I’m glad to hear how well you’re doing now. Very inspiring, indeed! Best of luck to you and thank you for contributing your thoughts and feelings here!
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Oops, this is my first time responding to comments and they all seem to be going under your comment!
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Thank you for sharing your insight on this.
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Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this piece! I’m glad you found it worthwhile. Hearing voices is certainly a complicated topic and I appreciate your openness.
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Thanks for contributing to this very interesting discussion about “feeling the feelings.”
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