I Still Hear Your Name

[DISCLAIMER]

Have you ever been in love with or simply loved someone so much that after the person leaves (i.e., a breakup, death, etc.) it’s almost as though (or actually, in some cases) you can still hear the individual’s name? If so, then you aren’t alone.

Aside from the clients with whom I work, as a number of them report this experience, I was reminded of this matter when listening to an electronic dance music (EDM) DJ set by Vera Aire. Namely, she spun the track “Your Name” (2025) by Tom Freeze and STRAND:L. Lyrics state:

I lost myself again. Oh, as the days go by, through all the ways I’ve tried, I don’t know how to swim out in your ocean tide. Oh, I would drown. But I, I still hear your name whenever I feel so lost. I hope you don’t break me. Hope this love, it don’t change me. I still hear your name in everything I see, in everything I feel, oh, how you’re haunting me! I still hear your name!

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines a hallucination as “a false sensory perception that has a compelling sense of reality despite the absence of an external stimulus. It may affect any of the senses, but auditory hallucinations and visual hallucinations are most common.”

Further, the APA defines an auditory hallucination as “the perception of sound in the absence of an auditory stimulus. Hallucinations may, for example, be of accusatory or laudatory voices or of strange noises and other nonverbal sounds.”

Additionally, one source states that “when the hallucinations are voices, they are distinguished as auditory verbal hallucinations” and the “prevalence of auditory hallucinations in the general population ranges from 5% to 28%.”

Absent a mental disorder, various factors may contribute to auditory verbal hallucinations, such as malnutrition, sleep deprivation, acute stress, and so forth. It’s the latter that will serve as a psychoeducational example for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) in this blogpost.

REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate that when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, not the occurrence itself, that causes an unpleasant Consequence. This is known as distress or disturbance.

In particular, there are four predominate irrational beliefs which people often use to upset themselves: global evaluations, low frustration tolerance, awfulizing, and demandingness. When contemplating these unproductive beliefs, think of the acronym GLAD.

Additionally, from a psychological standpoint, people distress or disturb themselves using a Belief-Consequence (B-C) connection. Of course, this isn’t to suggest that in the context of the naturalistic or physical world there is no Action-Consequence (A-C) connection.

From an A-C perspective, if you experience significant sleep deprivation (Action), then your mind may play tricks on you in the form of auditory verbal hallucinations (Consequence). That process originates at an unconscious level. What then of a B-C view when you’re conscious?

The person with whom you’re in love leaves you (Action) and you consciously Believe, “Life is meaningless now [G], and I can’t tolerate going on without him [L]. It’s awful that he’s not here [A], because he absolutely should be [D],” as you then hear his name when sad (Consequence).

Addressing how people upset themselves with unhelpful attitudes, the ABC model incorporates Disputation of unproductive philosophies of life in order to explore Effective new beliefs. Whereas rigid beliefs cause self-disturbance, flexible beliefs result in an un-disturbed condition.

In the lyrics of “Your Name”, the vocalist communicates a GLAD-induced form of auditory verbal hallucination when expressing “I don’t know how to swim out in your ocean tide” and “I still hear your name whenever I feel so lost.” Apparently, he’s lost in a sea of self-disturbance.

So, how does one make it to the shore of well-being? A reasonable place to begin is to stop using self-upsetting personal narratives of the GLAD variety. From an A-C view, if your auditory hallucinations are brought on by a lack of sleep, then why not get more sleep?

Similarly, regarding a B-C perspective, if your auditory verbal hallucinations manifest due to unhelpful GLAD beliefs, then why not stop self-disturbing in such a way? If you’d like to know more about how this is accomplished, then I’m here to assist.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As the world’s foremost EDM-influenced REBT psychotherapist—promoting content related to EDM, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit, Designed by Freepik, fair use

References:

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2018, April 19). Auditory hallucination. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/auditory-hallucination

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Apple Music. (n.d.). STRAND:L. Apple Inc. Retrieved from https://music.apple.com/jo/artist/strand-l/1737199624

Apple Music. (n.d.). Tom Freeze. Apple Inc. Retrieved from https://music.apple.com/jo/artist/tom-freeze/1673134950

Freepik. (n.d.). Close-up woman holding heart [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/close-up-woman-holding-heart_8145595.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=22&uuid=f01ccfd3-801f-40ff-8303-3aca7644c76a&query=lovesick

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