“We want this space to be available to people and we want people to know that it’s out there, particularly during COVID when people are feeling really isolated. This is a good opportunity to come together and maybe talk a bit about what you’re dealing with,” said Rory Higgs, a facilitator with the group and the new administrator for the B.C. Hearing Voices Network.
The network has been around for more than 10 years and was initially inspired by the international hearing voices movement that started in the late 1980s, which encouraged small groups to establish all over the world where voice-hearers could meet up and learn strategies to cope with the voices or visions that were in their heads.
Higgs, who occasionally hears voices, first came to the group as a participant about five years ago. After years of suffering in silence, Higgs said meeting other people experiencing similar sensations helped them manage their own experience.
“I was initially really reluctant to go, I was quite disabled by my experiences. I was isolated and not really connected with any kind of community,” they said. “I had this really stigmatizing idea that whatever it was going to be wasn’t going to be for me.”
For years, the group was hosted at the North Shore-branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association and then in a church common area in North Vancouver.
The program is currently sponsored by the CMHA and Vancouver Coastal Health. Similar B.C. Hearing Voices Network groups exist in Chilliwack, Langley, New Westminster, and Vancouver.
Higgs said that for many participants over the years, the groups have provided a helpful space to talk about hearing voices or experiencing visions, meet others experiencing similar situations, and learn coping skills and strategies to help manage their recoveries.
“A lot of people have a very specific idea in mind that hearing voices is this really rare and horrible thing, and often they have very stigmatizing ideas about the type of person who hears voices. It’s considered not very acceptable to talk about – people might think if you hear voices you’re dangerous, you’re crazy, you’re just not like me,” said Higgs. “I think a lot of people feel really, really alone.”
Participants in the group often have a formal diagnosis, such as a living with a form of psychosis, and are receiving psychiatric services of some kind, noted Higgs. Though it is not a requirement of the group that participates have a formal diagnosis or are receiving mental health supports, they said.
Presented by Lions Gate Hospital’s HOpe Centre, a virtual open house on living with voices and visions is set for May 6 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Participants will be able to learn more about the B.C. Hearing Voices Network and the North Shore group, hear personal stories and experiences from those living with voices, visions and unique experiences, and learn how to participate in local support groups.
Visit the group’s Zoom link on May 6 to join in.
