A patient reports that the voices he hears distract and sometimes frighten him. Which actions would be appropriate for the nurse to recommend? Select all that apply

a. Listen to music.
b. Take a short nap.
c. Read books aloud.
d. Spend time alone.
e. Say, "Go away, voices.".
f. Converse with others.


A, C, E, F
Activities which require concentration, provide distraction, involve competing auditory stimuli (e.g. music), or involve interaction with others tend to help persons who are hallucinating. Telling the "voices" to "go away" allows the patient to exert control over the experience and decreases his sense of powerlessness relative to the hallucinations. Solitary activities would reduce competing reality-based stimuli and reduce opportunities to participate in external, reality-based activities and as a result tend to worsen hallucinations. Napping would not be expected to help hallucinations, and it would probably be difficult for an actively hallucinating person to nap.

Nursing

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