The Schizoaffective Voices I Hear Are Not Spirits

Quite a few people in commenting about this blog have mentioned that they think my schizoaffective voices are spirits or come from the spirit world. Although I am a very spiritual person, I don’t believe my schizoaffective voices are in any way spiritual. Here’s why.

My Schizoaffective Voices Are Not Spirits

Here's how I know my schizoaffective voices are not spirits: the voices are not real.

I find the belief that schizophrenic or schizoaffective voices are spirits is downright dangerous.

Imagine if I had been told this when I first got diagnosed as schizophrenic--a few years before I was re-diagnosed as schizoaffective. I either would have been very scared or--still very ill--I might have refused treatment because I wouldn’t have wanted to lose my “connection with the spirit world.”

When I first started hearing voices, I thought that they were fairies. Then I thought that somehow they were the voices of people I knew or those of famous people, communicating with me. Well, I was psychotic when I thought these things. When the atypical antipsychotic I was prescribed to treat schizophrenia kicked in, I was still hearing voices from time to time. But fortunately, I knew they weren’t real.

Realizing the voices were not spirits because they were not real was a key step towards getting better. It took away their power and, by doing so, empowered me.

Twenty-one years later, I still struggle with hearing voices. And it’s still crucial to my wellness plan that I know the voices are not real.

Stigma and Misconceptions About Schizoaffective Disorder

Why do the symptoms of mental illness get glamorized this way? People don’t say that diabetes or cancer symptoms are spiritual. I believe stigma is the reason there are still so many misconceptions about mental illness that haven’t caught up with the science. Stigma both arises from and begets ignorance.

I’ve had people tell me that denying the spiritual element to my schizoaffective disorder is just putting money into the pocket of Big Pharma. If taking the medication I need for my physical illness in my brain is funding Big Pharma, then so be it. Also, I do things besides take medication that science has proven help with mental illness. I exercise and I make my best effort to eat healthily.

As I said at the beginning, I am a very spiritual person and my faith does help me with my schizoaffective disorder and my anxiety. But my voices are not spiritual. The voices are not spirits. Believing that they come from anywhere outside my brain would be dangerous to me -- end of story.

Leave your comments about hearing voices and spirituality below.