Angela Woods|Nev Jones|Ben Alderson?Day|Felicity Callard|Charles Fernyhough
Experiences of hearing voices: analysis of a novel phenomenological survey
Durham University|Stanford University|Research Network (United States)|Durham University|Durham University|Durham University
auditory hallucinationsor voicesare common feature many psychiatric disorders also experienced individuals psychiatric history understanding variation subjective experiences hallucination central psychiatry yet systematic empirical research phenomenology auditory hallucinations remains scarce aimed record detailed diverse collection experiences words people hear voices themselveswe made 13 item questionnaire available online 3 months elicit phenomenologically rich data designed combination openended closedended questions drew serviceuser perspectives approaches phenomenological psychiatry psychology medical humanities invited people aged 1684 years experience voicehearing take part via advertisement circulated clinical networks hearing voices groups mental health forums combined qualitative quantitative methods used inductive thematic analysis code data 2 tests test additional associations selected codesbetween sept 9 nov 29 2013 153 participants completed study participants described hearing multiple voices 124 81 153 individuals characterful qualities 106 69 individuals less half participants reported hearing literally auditory voices70 46 individuals reported either thoughtlike mixed experiences 101 66 participants reported bodily sensations heard voices sensations significantly associated experiences abusive violent voices p0024 although fear anxiety depression stress often associated voices 48 31 participants reported positive emotions 49 32 reported neutral emotions statistical analysis showed mixed voices likely changed time p0030 internally located p0010 conversational nature p0010this study knowledge largest mixedmethods investigation auditory hallucination phenomenology far survey completed diverse sample people hear voices various diagnoses clinical histories findings overlap past largesample investigations auditory hallucination suggest potentially important new findings association acoustic perception thought somatic multisensorial features auditory hallucinations link auditory hallucinations characterological entitieswellcome trust