I have a friend who tells me to listen to my "inner voice." How does one's "inner voice" manifest itself?

I always thought that the term inner voices referred to auditory hallucinations.

Perhaps these are my own definitions, but I have always thought an "inner voice" was more a religious and spiritual belief that some people have. Maybe, for example, God talks to them. However, when I think of auditory hallucinations, I think that the person hears real sounding voices from within, and that obviously is pathologic.

I don't know, though, after checking out a few Web sites. They talk about hearing God with auditory hallucinations, too. Maybe inner voices are just a feeling from within, while hallucinations are actually hearing the voices? This site discusses hallucinations, and it says:

"Auditory hallucinations can range from primitive noises such as bangs, whistles, claps, screams, ticks, and others to speech and music.Commonly people who have auditory hallucinations hear voices which utter short comprehensible phrases. Sometimes the person may recognize the voice as one of a family member or deceased friend and sometimes it may be the voice of a stranger or even God."

I consider the term to mean intuition and/or instinct. I discount those several inner voices telling me to do strange things in public.

I've heard the term used to describe an array of things, from religious spiritual, to intuition, to conscience. I've not heard it used to describe hallucinations.

Inner voice should not be confused with inside voice, or what others would call library voices.

I generally refer to my inner voices by name; Good Cat, Bad Cat, Lucy Goosey and Mae West.

A lot of people nowadays appear to be hearing inner voices in public, then you realise they are talking on their hands-free mobile (cell) phone.

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then you realise they are talking on their hands-free mobile (cell) phone.

Isn't that the truth? Sometimes I think, "Oh there goes another one talking to himself," and then I realize he's on the phone!

This thread reminds me of one we had here early on where I had asked whether there was a word that meant "talking to oneself," as people with mental illnesses sometimes do. We couldn't come up with anything better than "soliloquy." While the dictionary says it can mean "speaking to oneself," I think most people use it in the dramatic sense. I even asked some psychiatrist friends, but they couldn't come up with a different word either.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh,

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Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
I consider the term to mean intuition and/or instinct. D

I'm finally getting around to saying something about this!

Asa's answer is most like what I perceive an inner voice to be (I guess we make a good pair, huh? )

I've also decided that my inner voice may make itself known through my dreams, or through whatever is in my head when I wake up in the night. In this sense, I guess I consider my subconscious to be "talking" to me.

I don't consider an "inner voice" to be equivalent to the "voices" that schizophrenics "hear." That's a whole different subject!