[wheelerof4te]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I remmember hearing voices a few times, but they would not last more than a day.

They were telling me to reach out to one person (that would be awkward at the time) or to harm someone close. I've felt fear but knew those voices weren't real.

The voice sounded like me talking to myself.

[cwsx]

Normally mine last 2 - 3 days, with maybe a couple days of ramp up. These ones sound very real, exactly like the voice of a friend or relative etc. The thing that makes them especially feel real, the voices always have some 'spatial' element to them, like I'm overhearing a conversation from the other room. They also get quieter (or disappear entirely) if I walk away from the source.

The other form of voices I get, which are much more frequent + longer lasting, sound like my internal monologue. They can be different voices, but always sound like I'm 'thinking' them (rather than overhearing). These tend to last 2~ weeks after an episode, and come back when my anxiety or insomnia gets worse. Luckily these are pretty ignorable, if not a helpful sign that I'm nearing an episode. I'd compare them to anxious/intrusive thoughts (though a bit more intense).

I haven't had an episode in almost a year and have learnt to easily manage the intrusive thoughts (/possible start of an episode). This hasn't even impacted my lifestyle all that much, if anything it's taught me to manage my work/life balance.