Auditory hallucinations

A post from NAMI yesterday reminded me about auditory hallucinations. At Mental Health First Aid training last year, I got to experience it a little and it is definitely frightening and confusing.

If you are quarantined with 2 other people, give this experiment a try!

Person A will be the person experiencing auditory hallucinations. They should sit across from Person B and begin to have a normal conversation, perhaps about sports or the movies or their favorite restaurant. Try to maintain the conversation, no matter what else is happening.

Person C should take a piece of regular paper, roll into a long tube and use it to speak into Person A's ear. While Person A and Person B are having their conversation, read these sentences to Person A (feel free to adjust pronouns as desired):

• Don't believe their lies.

• Why are you even listening to that person?

• They are trying to hurt you.

• You can't trust that person.

• They don't even like you.

Switch it up so everyone has a chance to be in every role. How did it feel? What was it like experiencing an auditory hallucination? What was it like talking to someone who was experiencing an auditory hallucination?