home
RSS
November 30th, 2010
02:37 PM ET

Is my 10-year-old hearing voices serious?

Every weekday, a CNNHealth expert doctor answers a viewer question. On Tuesdays, it's Dr. Charles Raison, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University, and an expert in the mind-body connection for health.

My son is 10 and while he was home sick with a sinus/cold, he came out of the bathroom and looked very scared and sad. Later he told me he feels like a voice is telling him to take a knife and stab himself. He told me he would never do it because he is strong enough to overcome it. The only medication I gave him today was Sudafed PE and Advil - two each. He is a sweet, intelligent, funny child. Can this be serious?

Dear Bobby,

As often happens, I find myself having to tell you that I have no definitive answer to your question; first because no one can read the future with certainty and second because I don't know enough about your son's situation to make an educated guess. Given these constraints, let me talk to you in general about things that would make me feel more or less worried about the episode you describe.

It is not uncommon for children to report an isolated episode of hearing a voice or having a strange idea. I say this based on a discussion of the issue with several leaders in the field of child psychiatry. The content of the voice your son heard is a little more worrisome because it is violent. It worries me because I don't want him to do anything to hurt himself, and it worries me because encouraging self-harm is one of the most common things that genuine psychotic "voices" tell people.

If the episode is isolated and nothing else happens, I don't think you have much to worry about. The fact that you had given him medicine that can affect mental functioning (Sudafed in this case) is also encouraging, because that might be an explanation for his experience.

Here are things that would make me worry more. If there is a history of psychosis in your family, I would be more concerned about your son's experience. Most people with psychosis are diagnosed as either schizophrenic or bipolar, so if either of these runs extensively in your son's close blood relatives, I'd be more concerned. If your son has repeated episodes of reporting a voice or having other strange experiences, my level of concern would go way up. If your son is beginning to demonstrate other odd behaviors or is withdrawing from people, I'd also worry.

So, if any of these risk factors is relevant to your son's situation, I'd take him to a child psychiatrist for an evaluation. If, on the other hand, his experience is isolated and all is well otherwise, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it - especially given the Sudafed exposure. I'd just reassure your son and tell him to let you know if anything like that ever happens again. If he has a second episode, I'd take him for professional help, just to be on the safe side.

Ask our expert docs a question


soundoff (714 Responses)
  1. Nearby RV Repairs

    http://enews2.sfera.net/newsletter/redirect.php?id=luigi.bottazzi@libero.it_0000004670_73&link=https://ocrvmotorcoaches.com

    June 29, 2021 at 02:32 | Report abuse | Reply
  2. RV Repair Huntington Beach

    https://www.neuoetting.de/externer_link.php?url_uebergabe=www.ocrvmotorsports.us

    June 29, 2021 at 02:43 | Report abuse | Reply
  3. RV Repairs Near Me

    Hello! I could have sworn Iíve been to this web site before but after browsing through many of the articles I realized itís new to me. Regardless, Iím definitely pleased I found it and Iíll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!

    http://www.italianculture.net/redir.php?url=https://www.ocrvmotorsports.com

    June 29, 2021 at 02:57 | Report abuse | Reply
  4. RV Repair Fountain Valley

    http://www.reefcentral.com/ads/adclick.php?bannerid=416&zoneid=0&source=&dest=https://ocrv.me/

    June 29, 2021 at 03:44 | Report abuse | Reply
  5. RV Repair Places Near Me

    Very nice write-up. I certainly love this site. Continue the good work!

    http://portal.mbsfestival.com.au/eshowbag/redirect.php?type=website&url=https://www.www.ocrvcenter.mobi/

    June 29, 2021 at 06:22 | Report abuse | Reply
  6. Municipal Vehicle Repair

    Aw, this was an exceptionally nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to produce a really good articleÖ but what can I sayÖ I procrastinate a lot and don't seem to get nearly anything done.

    http://www.koloboklinks.com/site?url=www.watsonbuys.com

    June 29, 2021 at 06:37 | Report abuse | Reply
  7. Mercedes Sprinter Van Service Near Me

    https://www.irrigationnz.co.nz/ClickThru?mk=5120.0&Redir=http://ocrvmotorsports.org

    June 29, 2021 at 06:41 | Report abuse | Reply
  8. RV Repair Santa Ana

    https://www.pocketpc.ch/redirect-to/?redirect=http://www.ocrvmotorsports.com

    June 29, 2021 at 09:07 | Report abuse | Reply
  9. Dodge Sprinter Vacuum Pump Repair

    Greetings, I believe your website could be having internet browser compatibility issues. When I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it's got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to give you a quick heads up! Besides that, fantastic website!

    https://domaindirectory.com/servicepage/?domain=www.ocrv.vip/

    June 29, 2021 at 10:27 | Report abuse | Reply
  10. Sprinter Repair Shops Near Me

    http://www.burg-greifenstein.de/cms/page/mod/url/url.php?eid=14&urlpf=https://ocrvcenter.co/

    June 29, 2021 at 10:49 | Report abuse | Reply
  11. RV Repair Orange County

    Very good post. I'm experiencing many of these issues as well..

    http://lain.heavy.jp/lain/?wptouch_switch=desktop&redirect=http://www.ocrvshop.com

    June 29, 2021 at 11:58 | Report abuse | Reply
  12. Sprinter Cdi Injector Repair

    http://www.go168.com.tw/go168/front/bin/adsclick.phtml?Nbr=pop0020&URL=https://www.ocrvcenter.com

    June 29, 2021 at 14:48 | Report abuse | Reply
  13. Van Repair Near Me

    http://www.chinashoes.com/Trade_News/SendThisPageToFrind.aspx?TLE=u62DB:u6837u7248u5E08&URL=https://sprintervanrepair.com

    June 29, 2021 at 16:44 | Report abuse | Reply
  14. Chevrolet Luxury Van Repair

    https://stars-s.ru/default.asp?tmpl=news&d_no=616&back_url=http://www.sprintervanrepairnearme.com/

    June 29, 2021 at 18:28 | Report abuse | Reply
  15. Camper Repair Shops Near Me

    Itís difficult to find educated people in this particular subject, however, you sound like you know what youíre talking about! Thanks

    https://www.kralen.com/counter.php?link=https://ocrvmotorcoaches.com

    June 29, 2021 at 20:20 | Report abuse | Reply
  16. RV Repair Near Me Now

    https://www.bbs.tut-obmen.ru/redirect/?g=https://www.ocrv.xyz

    June 29, 2021 at 20:42 | Report abuse | Reply
  17. Sprinter Van Repair Shops

    That is a good tip especially to those fresh to the blogosphere. Short but very precise informationÖ Appreciate your sharing this one. A must read article!

    http://www.bookmerken.de/?url=https://customcampervans.com

    June 29, 2021 at 21:13 | Report abuse | Reply
  18. Sprinter Repair Shops Near Me

    http://www.webexhibits.org/cs.html?url=http://ocrvempire.com

    June 30, 2021 at 00:41 | Report abuse | Reply
  19. RV Repair Around Me

    http://i.ipadown.com/click.php?id=169&url=http://ocrvmotorsports.info/

    June 30, 2021 at 01:10 | Report abuse | Reply
  20. RV Repair

    http://www.66uu.cn/link.php?url=https://ocrv.org/

    June 30, 2021 at 03:40 | Report abuse | Reply
  21. RV Repair Fountain Valley

    You have made some really good points there. I looked on the internet for more info about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this web site.

    https://www.unrealengine.vn/redirect/?url=https://ocrvcenter.biz

    June 30, 2021 at 03:55 | Report abuse | Reply
  22. RV Repair Near Me

    I'm pretty pleased to uncover this great site. I want to to thank you for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely really liked every little bit of it and i also have you bookmarked to look at new information on your web site.

    https://basepath.com/ClassicCameras/article.php?url=http://www.ocrvcenter.com/

    June 30, 2021 at 04:21 | Report abuse | Reply
  23. Sprinter Repair Orange County

    Very good article! We will be linking to this particularly great content on our website. Keep up the good writing.

    http://www.kujalleq.gl/API/Forwarding/ForwardTo/?url=https://www.ocrvmotorcoachsales.com

    June 30, 2021 at 04:43 | Report abuse | Reply
  24. Sprinter Repair Shop Near Me

    This is a topic that's close to my heart... Best wishes! Where are your contact details though?

    http://www.anorexicsex.net/cgi-bin/atc/out.cgi?s=60&c=$c&u=http://ocrv.us

    June 30, 2021 at 07:31 | Report abuse | Reply
  25. Prestige Collision Sprinter Repair Mission Viejo

    After going over a handful of the articles on your site, I really like your way of writing a blog. I saved it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Please visit my web site as well and let me know what you think.

    https://www.readwhere.com/user/logout?ru=https://www.sprinterrepairnearme.com

    June 30, 2021 at 07:35 | Report abuse | Reply
  26. Repair Shop Near Me

    Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thanks, However I am experiencing issues with your RSS. I donít understand the reason why I cannot join it. Is there anybody else having the same RSS issues? Anybody who knows the solution will you kindly respond? Thanks!!

    https://goodbusinesscomm.com/siteverify.php?site=www.sprintervanrepair.com

    June 30, 2021 at 08:57 | Report abuse | Reply
  27. Nearest RV Repair

    I want to to thank you for this very good read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have got you book-marked to look at new things you postÖ

    http://gizoogle.net/tranzizzle.php?search=https://www.ocrv.biz/

    June 30, 2021 at 10:27 | Report abuse | Reply
  28. Dodge Sprinter Service Near Me

    The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesn't fail me as much as this one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I really thought you would have something useful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something you could possibly fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.

    https://vi.paltalk.com/client/webapp/client/External.wmt?url=https://www.fleetrepairshops.com/

    June 30, 2021 at 11:30 | Report abuse | Reply
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Leave a Reply to rv repair shops near me


 

CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not pre-screened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.

Advertisement
About this blog

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.