Hearing Voices | ADHD Information

Hey everyone, I have a question about hearing voices and having morbid thoughts..

My DS (7 yrs) is all of a sudden telling me that his brain is telling him stuff (I'm interpreting it as voices) stuff like.. he has to babysit his little brother and baby sister, that we're all going to get hurt, that he has to do bad things (before he does them he tells me that his brain told him to do something)

Not only that, but he's started talking about weird things.. ie: falling through ice and dying, getting run over by cars and getting crushed to death, stabbing people.. I've made an appointment with our psychiatrist, but it's just about a month away and I'm a little.. unsure how to deal with this new thing.

We haven't had any medication changes in months, there have been no changes to his routines or life, I can't think of anything that would have brought it on. I can't help but think there must be something else going on besides the ADHD/ODD but I don't know.

Is this something that's normal? And, should I continue to ignore the things his brain is telling him? Or should validate it in some way?

Thanks so much, I'm just confused and a little afraid.I would be concerned as well. It's so hard to tell if kids are just trying to get
more attention, trying to avoid getting in trouble, or if what they tell you is
really happening. Regardless, it seems that he's asking for help by telling
you these things. My daughter has had bad thoughts when trying to go to
sleep, like being afraid our house will start on fire at night. She is an
anxious kid.

Call his doctor ASAP. It could be a side effect from his meds, anxiety, panic attacks, etc. - something is definetely going on with the poor little guy.

No this is not normal.

Keep an eye on this and get him to the doctor NOW.

We had a problem with my son taking strattera. The side effect for him was depression/suicidal thoughts at age 8. He started to tell me he wanted to kill himself. We stopped the meds immediatley, called his doctor - who agreed, and have never heard another comment like that again. That was 4 years ago.

Call the doc!!

Not sure? My son sometimes goes through phases of morbidity, but he is very dramatic in general and tends to go to extremes. He has also said before that his brain told him to do things, or is telling him...etc. I think it is linked to anxiety, but I might be wrong. He hasn't had an episode in awhile, but I don't think it's linked to medications, because he had them before ever taking meds. Oh, my DS is 6 1/2, so the ages are close. I don't think it's normal, but I also haven't really worried too much about it. My sister struggles with anxiety, and she used to always talk about dying when she was really little. She would have panic attacks about dying if she was alone in a room for more than 5 minutes.
I do make sure to verbally disabuse DS of these notions. I say things like, "We don't talk like that in our household." Or, "Hurting others is NEVER and option. You know that." I'm not sure how much of it sinks in, but he doesn't actually act on these things, just says them. I think it has to do with a VERY active imagination.
BUT, I am not saying that it is the same issue with your DS. I can only know my own child's behaviors. I think it is a great idea to see a psych. It always helps to have a professional opinion. But, if he isn't hurting others, I wouldn't worry myself sick over it, just keep a close eye on his moods and actions.
BTW, my sister has grown into a fairly stable adult, with only minor anxiety issues, so it is possible to deal with this kind of thing. Hope this helped.

My son is 8 and just recently started on med's but I do think my son suffers anxiety to some degree. When he was around age 4, we had about 3 instances where he would be in his bed going off to sleep but then would come out of his room upset and telling us he was having "bad thoughts" though he could not tell us what those thoughts were.  Then there was  a time he was unwell (some virus) and we were getting into the car to go out and my son out of the blue say's he had a "bad thought" but again, could'nt or wouldn't elaborate but once we buckled him into the car and closed the door he just started screaming and when he calmed down he kept talking about these "bad thoughts". We took him the next day to a childrens hospital where they did all the tests they could at that time and nothing was picked up. These "bad thoughts" have probably occured a few times since and still ds cannot tell us what they are so I presume just that anxiety feeling. He has said he's heard a loud noise in his head twice but I put this down to him going off to sleep and maybe dog next door barks or Tv or some loud noise he's heard (which probably sounds louder when your drifting off to sleep). My son was under no medication whatsoever when the above all occured.  Definately see a Physc and if you have to wait a month, can you see anyone else in the meantime. I hope you find some answers soon and it all passes.

Candycane

Sometimes kids talk about their brain telling them stuff when they begin to understand that the thought process happens in the brain.  I've seen/heard this many times over the years I've spent working with kids.  It can also be a way of trying to escape responsibility, as in "it's not my fault that I broke the lamp, my brain told me to do it." 

However, if he's talking about his brain telling him to commit violent or dangerous acts you must take it very seriously.  I would call the psych back and explain what's going on in detail- they usually reserve time in their schedules for emergency appointments.  If he won't/can't see him any sooner, fearing that he will do something violent to himself or others is a perfectly justifiable reason to take him to the ER.     
Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'm not under the impression that he'd hurt others or himself, but it was just a very unnerving experience to have to go to his school and calm him down because he was thoroughly convinced he had to babysit his 4 year old brother and 9 month old sister, and he 'didn't know how to change a diaper or make a bottle'... not to mention the questioning from his teacher and the principal about where he would get an idea like that in the first place.

He doesn't usually tell me about his 'brain talking' if he's already done something wrong. Usually it's before hand.. ie: " Mommy, my brain told me to break this plate because it would make a cool noise, but I told it no because I would get in trouble."

My usual reaction to things like the latter is "Good Job, because we know breaking the plate would earn you a time out. Good decision making."

It also happens evenly at any time of the day, no more in the evening or morning. I've tried to rule out the possibilities of the source, but can't come up with a reasonable explanation. The doc said it didn't sound like an emergency, and that I could wait. In the meantime, I was to ignore it unless it was something that obvioulsy couldn't be ignored.