Coping and Recovery - Living with Voices
If you’re hearing, seeing, or sensing things others don’t, it doesn’t mean that your life is over. You can find ways of dealing with them and live the life you choose.
Life isn’t always easy. When times are tough, it’s really helpful to have a toolbox full of ideas and strategies to help you cope. You’re not starting from scratch, though. We all have ways of dealing with the things that stress us out: the idea is to build on what already works for you, and see what else you can add.
If you try some of the strategies in above, but nothing seems to work – try not to get too downhearted. It takes time to develop new ways of dealing with difficult experiences. Talk it through with someone you trust (or email us at Voice Collective). You don’t need to go through this alone.
Our peer support groups might be another way to help with your voices. Check out the video on the right to watch our short animation about our peer support groups. You can find out more information about our peer support groups below:
Telling other people…
It’s normal to feel worried about talking to people about how you’re feeling, especially if it’s the first time you’ve tried to do this. Still, finding someone you trust to speak to is a really good way of getting the help and support you need.
If you’re thinking about talking to someone, but aren’t sure where to start – keep reading. We’ve put together a few ideas that might help
Step One: Deciding who to speak to - picking someone you really trust and who is likely to listen to you with empathy and non-judgmental acceptance.
Step Two: Deciding how you want to tell them - you might find it helpful to write or draw something, or show them some information on our website
Step Three: Having the chat - A good place to start is by telling them you’re not feeling good and that you need to talk. You can tell them if you’re feeling a bit nervous about it too – if you’ve chosen the right person, they’ll try and help you find ways of saying what you need to say.