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Voices and ASD

Wally!

Is hearing voices part of ASD or is it mental health?

My GP tells me it's mental health which originally I thought it might be but nearly four years on and several medications later I still get auditory hallucinations and not one medication has made a difference so I'm starting to wonder if this is an ASD thing instead.

As a child I had imaginary friends, similar to what I get now except I can't see the people I hear. Admittedly they can be very negative towards me but at times they are nice and the only friends I've got.

I worry relentlessly about my parents and their health. I'm up all night worrying. I worry about my own physical health. I get a lot of abdominal pain and nausea, likely the result of anxiety but I feel like it's probably cancer and what I hear tells me it's the more serious stuff.

If this is something you've experienced or have knowledge of then please help.

I don't mind dealing with the GP but they keep mental healthing me and as there's never been any progress I get the feeling it's more ASD.

  • When doctors hear the symptom he hears voices they immediately tend to jump to schizophrenia as a diagnosis. But there are a whole host of mental health issues some of them not that serious that can result in hearing voices. And some of them will not respond to the medication that will be typically diagnosed for schizophrenia. It might be worth seeking a second opinion. A Professional doctor will not be at all offended by you seeking a second opinion and when a mental health diagnosis is not responding to medication that’s just a generally sensible thing to do.

  • My 16 year old has heard voices for years (& also sees visions too sometimes, but the voices are almost constant). After many years of a variety of 'experts' reviewing them, and various horrible anti-psychotic meds tried and failed, they have all agreed that this isn't psychosis or schizophrenia, or bi-polar. It is down to severe anxiety and complex trauma from years of trying to 'fit in'. Many ASD people get mis-diagnosed as psychotic, so try to avoid this trap - you are probably pretty accurate in your deep seated feeling that this is as a result of your ASD. My child's voices are also generally negative about themself, but not always, and sound very similar to your own experience. We have been told the best way of handling them is to not use all your energy trying to ignore them (imagine trying to hold a ball under water for ages - takes a lot of energy and eventually it explodes above the surface rather than bobs along gently on top), acknowledge them but don't give them any credence i.e. don't do what they say or think they're right, just hear them. Wishing you well.

  • Check out Bipolar UK, they are the trusted charity and source of peer support. It’s not necessary to be dx bipolar to join their forum, I was once a member and have reservations in some respects but the shared experience and information is fantastic 

  • in reply to Wally!
    Wally! said:
    They originally said that this psychosis was caused by me being chronically stressed.

    I suspect the stress acts as a trigger for the underlying issues - the same is true for most neurodivergents (people with autism, ADHD, bipolar, schizophrenics etc).

    It is quite possible that you are both autistic and schizophrenia at the same time - the comorbidity does exist so it won't be a case of saying you can only be one or the other, but you traits of hearing voices is likely to be from the schizophrenic part of your brain as Caelus says.

    If you have the opportunity I would ask your doctor to have you assessed to see if you could be both as it will improve the way they chose to treat the symptoms (ie better informed) and as Caelus says, it should improve your access to PIP.

    <edited out my misunderstanding of the difference between bipolar and schizophrenia)>

  • in reply to Caelus

    Hi thanks for replying.

    I didn't know that about schizophrenia but it's interesting to know the history. I'll get back on to my GP Monday, there's also my mental health team who are semi involved at the moment. They originally said that this psychosis was caused by me being chronically stressed.

    I just hope they pay attention with my ASD as well. So far they don't really comment on it.

  • Wally! said:
    Is hearing voices part of ASD or is it mental health?

    its part of schizophrenia.... which funny enough at one point autism used to not exist and instead be  part of the schizophrenic spectrum.... but now they are a entirely different thing and if you hear voices its schizophrenia. theres no hearing voices in the asd side. if your hearing voices the gp needs to know so they can properly reassess and treat the condition. also schizophrenia is far more serious and on the  plus side of it your more likely to qualify for pip