Hallucinations and Seeing Things

Head | Psychiatry | Hallucinations and Seeing Things (Symptom)


Description

Hallucinations are sensations or perceptions that occur in a wakeful state and seem real, but are created by the brain. Hallucinations may be seen, heard, smelled, felt or tasted. They can be pleasant or threatening and may be related to sensations, imagery, or events of the past, or they may be unrelated to experiences. Common hallucinations include hearing voices, seeing objects, lights or people who are not there; and the sensation of crawling skin.

A mild form of hallucination is known as a disturbance, and can occur in any of the senses above. These may be things like seeing movement in peripheral vision, or hearing faint noises and/or voices.

Causes

Auditory hallucinations are very common in paranoid schizophrenia. They may be benevolent (telling the patient good things about themselves) or malicious, cursing the patient etc. Auditory hallucinations of the malicious type are frequently heard like people talking about the patient behind their back. Like auditory hallucinations, the source of their visual counterpart can also be behind the patients back. Their visual counterpart is the feeling of being looked-stared at, usually with malicious intent. Frequently, auditory hallucinations and their visual counterpart are experienced by the patient together.

Hallucinations are associated with some psychiatric disorders or medical conditions. Psychiatric conditions associated with hallucinations include schizophrenia, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders, psychotic depression, and bipolar disorder. Medical conditions affecting the central nervous system, such as brain tumours, delirium, dementia, epilepsy and other seizure disorders can be causes of hallucinations.

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