Beyond the voices: Challenging stigma around hearing voices
Learn from our Hearing Voices team about the stigma surrounding voices and how understanding and support can break barriers for those affected.

Between 5% to 28% of the UK population experience voices, hallucinations or sensory disturbances. While hearing voices is the most common, some people also see, feel, taste or smell things others don’t. Our Hearing Voices service supports these individuals, helping them understand their experiences and feel less alone.
The voices people hear vary. Some are gentle, others are loud and disparaging. They can range from unintelligible whispers to multiple voices, male or female, known or unknown. Some hear voices infrequently, while others hear them often. This makes daily life challenging, even simple conversations.
These experiences are often part of complex mental health conditions, but the stigma surrounding them can be more isolating and damaging than the symptoms themselves.
One of our Hearing Voices Outreach Workers, Karen, shared: “We were walking and talking when suddenly he shouted ‘shut up’ before saying sorry and explaining that he wasn’t shouting at me, but at his voices.”
Our Hearing Voices team in Fife and Tayside have heard firsthand how deeply this stigma affects those we support.
Understanding the stigma around hearing voices
Most people don’t know much about what people who hear voices live with. What they do know tends to come from news reports when someone has caused harm to another person. Often, there are sensationalist headlines and horror about what the victims have experienced and that the perpetrator had a diagnosis of schizophrenia or psychosis.
Films and TV shows further reinforce this idea, often portraying people who hear voices as dangerous or unstable. “The illness is always portrayed as someone being dangerous and likely to harm people. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The only thoughts of harm encountered are about harming ourselves,” shared one person we support through Hearing Voices.
This perpetuates the myth that people who have those conditions are a danger to others.
The toll of stigma
For many, the stigma surrounding hearing voices can be as overwhelming as the experience. A person supported by our services shared, “I didn’t want to tell anyone about the sounds I kept hearing. They would say I was ‘mad’ and unable to do my job anymore! Then where would my family be?” Many others who use the Hearing Voices service echo this fear.
In our culture, it has been thought that letting voice hearers talk about their voices would mean colluding with the person’s delusions. This misunderstanding leaves many people feeling isolated, scared to share their experiences. Karen, an Outreach Worker for Hearing Voices said: “One person I support hasn’t told their family due to fear about how this disclosure would be received.”
In our work, we have found that when people feel they can talk openly, free from judgement, it can be a transformative experience. As one person explained, “Using the Hearing Voices service let me speak about my full experience because I didn’t feel silenced by judgement and stigma when I spoke.”
Stigma affects how people are seen by others. It profoundly impacts how they see themselves. One person explained, “Living with voices means that when I have a thought or feeling, I have to bounce it off someone else to try to rationalise it and work out if it is real.”
Even when people try to explain their experiences, they are often dismissed or misunderstood. “When I have felt able to share about my experience hearing voices, I have had comments like ‘but you seem normal’.” This response only reinforces the sense that they cannot be open about their reality.
“I can rarely leave the house. I only go out for essential shopping and to pick up prescriptions. Even then, I experience an extreme amount of panic and anxiety. I wait until the chemist is empty before I can go in and I have been going there for 20 years.
“I prefer to stay home as my voices can be more manageable in the house and not around people. I feel safe that way.”
shared by a person supported by Hearing Voices service
Stigma in employment and relationships
Another area where stigma takes a toll is employment. Many of those we support are afraid to disclose their experiences to employers or colleagues. “People often have a preconceived image of someone who hears voices.” said Terry, working for Hearing Voices in Tayside. “Many people I support do not fit that stereotype and work full-time with families, houses, cars and all of life’s other expectations. They also hear voices. None of the people I support have informed their employers of their experience due to the stigma they may face.”
This fear of disclosure extends beyond the workplace. One individual shared, “As soon as I tell people I hear voices and have psychosis, they don’t speak to me anymore. Some of my family and friends I considered good people or my neighbours are those people. Voices can be so isolating, I hardly leave the house because of them.”
Moving forward: changing perceptions
Our approach to supporting people with psychosis and voices is shaped by our legacy. Change Mental Health has been running Hearing Voices for over 30 years and started as a charity over 50 years ago caring for people with schizophrenia. Many of our team members have lived experience with these conditions and it allows us to connect deeply with those we support.
One of our team members, Lee, shared her journey with psychosis: “My job as a person helps me stay well. I support and have supported people I have been an inpatient with, which is always amusing as they often say ‘Lee, do you remember you thought you were a fairy?’”
For Lee, this role is not just about providing support; it’s about showing others that recovery is possible: “It is such a privilege to support people who do hear voices or have psychosis. I was at the Hearing Voices group last week when a woman who attended said, ‘If Lee can get better, so can I.’”
Yet, despite our expertise and lived experience, engaging with people who are referred to our service can often take some time. They need to feel ready to open up. Many are hesitant to open up, not because they’re too ill, but because of past experiences where they felt dismissed or ignored.
Lynne, Outreach Worker for Hearing Voices in Fife shares:
“We meet people who report having faced such stigma and ignorant comments that are hard to describe. People they thought were friends suddenly reduced contact and drifted away. Small talk rumours mill around their village. Professionals who they are hoping can listen and help, leaving them feeling dismissed and ignored.
“People don’t recognise that comments that are made then just reinforce the negative nature of many people’s voices, that they are unimportant, stupid, worthless and nobody cares.”
This can lead people to feel that no help is available, that nobody understands and that they are alone. The safest place, then, can seem to be at their home, isolated and cut off. Feeling able to reach out again and ask for support can become almost impossible. Often, any first meeting with a professional is not a two-way conversation. Voices can remind a person that they aren’t going to get help and that nobody cares.
We work hard to build trust and reassure people that they are not alone and are listened to and valued. We acknowledge and address the level of stigma we see and hear about.
Lynne summarised:
“There is still a huge stigma around the understanding of psychosis, schizophrenia and hearing voices. We are passionate about opening up these conversations, ensuring the correct information is out there and ensuring nobody feels alone with their illness.
“We create safe spaces and engage our peer groups in being part of creating the change, helping them feel heard.”
support
Our Advice and Support Service is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm (closed for lunch between 12.30pm and 1.30pm), where advisers can signpost you to local support that most fits your needs, including our Change Mental Health services. We offer initial advice on money worries and help to deal with emergencies.
Contact 0808 8010 515, email us at advice@changemh.org or fill out the enquiry form on the Advice and Support Service page.
Other support
Some of the resources our team refers to provide support and information to voice hearers and those close to them and to other professionals.