Eleanor Longden’s story is moving and very eye-opening. Having been a victim of the stigma arising from hearing voices in her head, both from doctors and other people, Longden’s understanding of situations is just what the psychology community needs to take a step forward. Further, her knowledge is not based on her experience but by an in-depth study, evidenced by degrees, on the clinical explanation for hearing voices. She also attests to the support of friends and doctors, which was a catalyst to her complete recovery.
Hearing voices in one’s head is considered abnormal and mad. The definition is based on society’s idea of what is normal. Consciously or unconsciously, human beings define normal as what is experienced by most people, and consequently, by the average person. By that standard, society excluded unique and different people, often a minority, and labels them as abnormal. Longden was unaware of the effect that mentality would have on her when she came out to her friend and therapist. In what she described as a dire mistake, she was branded mad by everyone around her, stigmatized for that condition, and suffered emotional and sexual abuse of it (Longden, 2013). Such stigmatization is a great hindrance of progress and growth.
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The clinical view of fixing hearing voices fails from the founding assumption that it is abnormal. It views it like cancer, one that needs to be removed so that the patient can be healthy. One doctor told Longden that she was better off with cancer because it was easier to cure than schizophrenia (Longden, 2013). Despite pulling down Longden’s spirits and hope of ever being okay, the doctor’s comment represents the backward view of the clinical interpretation of hearing voices. Longden emphasizes that the patient is a critical factor in recovering. For them to get better, they must first realize that it is possible to recover and that they require to understand themselves deeper and better to do so.
Longden recalls a doctor she worked with briefly while she still heard voices. The doctor assured her and her family that recovery was not only possible but inevitable (Longden, 2013). He compared Longden’s condition with the seasons; that even though winter may take longer than expected, summer would eventually come. In the same way, Longden’s recovery may have taken a while, but it was bound to arrive. Through this reassurance and hope, Longden and her family changed their attitude towards her condition and started working toward getting her better. Longden’s diagnosis of her experience in hearing voices was that the voices represented emotional areas of herself that she had not processed.
The voices stemmed from traumatizing experiences from her childhood which instead of addressing, she had shelved them and tried to ignore their existence. She realized that assertively addressing the vulnerability of the hostile voices created a rapport between her and the voices. Longden’s concept focuses on what happened to a patient to induce the voices rather than what is wrong with them (Longden, 2013). While the clinical perspective would have had her try to uproot them, Longden’s approached the voices as they were; a part of her. Then, she embraced them and understood them until they went away.
From her experiences, it is clear that the psychiatry community is still growing in its understanding of the emotions and psyche of human beings. Longden and the International Hearing Voices Movement represent the next step in understanding and treating the condition. The video will be particularly helpful to me in relating with individuals with similar issues and giving a safe space for conversation.
Reference
Longden, E. [TED]. (2013, August 8). The voices in my head [Video].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syjEN3peCJw&feature=youtu.be
