As gently as possible, I would very respectfully disagree that this is the point of the article. The original letter, supported by dozens of child psychiatrists and mental health workers, seems to make two key points:
1. Young children often hear &/or see imaginary people. The vast majority of these children will outgrow this & stop hearing the voices completely on their own, without any psychiatric intervention.
2. A small number of children will continue to hear voices. Instead of panicking or deciding medicate their child, parents are exhorted to be supportive of their son or daughter and to seek a supportive therapist who can help to uncover what the trigger(s) was/were that brought on the voices in the first place. That is, are the voices "calming" voices that the patient feels s/he needs in order to deal with something stressful in his/her life; or, are the voices encouraging negative behaviors as a means of drawing attention to underlying issues.
The supporters do say that people can live with the voices for some time, provided that the voices are positive and do not take over the person's thinking, but rather serve to offer advice that the person can choose to follow or not to follow. The goal of accepting the voices, however, seems to be to prevent added stress that can result from worrying about
the voices. They encourage parents/young adults to try to understand the source of the stress causing the voices and to work with a professional therapist to find solutions to the underlying stressors. The result, they claim, is that the voices would not be needed any more & would either substantially fade or go away completely.
This is just my take on the article, though. As long as opinions are respectful of everyone on the Forum (as Christi's is), please feel free to disagree. The original
open Letter is posted at:
http://www.intervoiceonline.org/assets/2009/10/18/Oprah_Winfrey_open_letter.pdfpeace,
frances
PS -- Christi, I really do want the best for you. If this article helps you not to worry so much about
the voices, then I'm very glad. I think that's part of its intention. I just want to continue to encourage you not to fear sharing what you've been experiencing with your psychiatrist/counselor. You said that the voices you were hearing were very critical of you. I don't think that's the kind of voices that people should have to live with for a long time. We are all here for you for as long as you need & understand that things take time to resolve. I am fighting my own battle & understand how tiring such long battles can be. But please don't give up or give in to the voices. You are a good person with a beautiful soul. You deserve better. Please keep hearing what so many here keep sharing with you & listen to us over what the voices are saying. You deserve peace. You deserve healing. You deserve compassion & understanding & love & hope. You are a good person. You deserve having people take care of you & you're worth taking care of yourself.
((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))