Hallucination

Desert oasisA hallucination is a false perception that may seem compellingly real to the person who is hallucinating. Visual and auditory hallucinations are the most common variety of hallucinations.

Understanding Hallucinations

Hallucinations can affect any of the senses. For example, a person might see someone or something that is not actually present or hear voices that do not actually exist. While hallucinations can have a wide variety of content, they frequently involve negative or frightening stimuli.

There are five types of hallucinations, categorized by which of the five senses they affect:

  • An auditory hallucination is the experience of hearing something in the absence of an actual stimulus. This is the most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis. Auditory hallucinations are typically experienced as voices that are distinct from an individual’s thoughts. Command auditory hallucinations are voices that tell an individual to perform some action.
  • A visual hallucination occurs when an individual sees something that is not really there. Common visual hallucinations include shadows, flashes of light, or insects.
  • Tactile hallucinations are those that affect a person’s sense of touch. Feeling something crawling on the skin, when nothing is actually there, is an example of a tactile hallucination.
  • An olfactory hallucination affects an individual’s sense of smell. An individual having an olfactory hallucination may experience the smell as coming from their environment or from their own body.
  • Gustatory hallucinations affect the sense of taste. A person who has gustatory hallucinations may experience an odd taste from the things they eat or drink, or they may notice a taste in the absence of an actual stimulus.

What Causes Hallucinations?

In some cases, hallucinations can be transient experiences that are a part of grief or trauma. A grieving widower, for example, might think he hears his wife’s voice for a few weeks after her death. These hallucinations typically go away on their own and are not normally indicative of mental illness or otherwise a cause for concern. Substance abuse can also cause hallucinations both as a result of the high and when a person is going through withdrawal from the substance. Hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, ketamine, and mushrooms are particularly likely to provoke hallucinations.

Very high fevers, brain tumors, and other health conditions may cause hallucinations. However, chronic hallucinations are typically associated with mental illness. Schizophrenia is especially likely to induce hallucinations, but other conditions involving psychotic episodes can also cause hallucinations. Psychosis may have a genetic component and can also be induced by substance abuse and brain damage. There is some evidence that early childhood trauma and abuse can contribute to the later development of psychotic conditions.

Is There Treatment for Hallucinations?

The course of treatment depends upon the cause of the hallucination. Treatment usually begins with a physical examination to determine if medical conditions such as high fevers are contributing to the hallucinations. When hallucinations are caused by substance abuse withdrawal, a combination of medical and psychiatric care is often necessary. Hallucinations caused by mental health conditions are typically treated with antipsychotic medications. However, some people who experience hallucinations participate in therapy to explore the origins and implications of their hallucinations and/or learn coping strategies to manage their hallucinations without medication. In some cases, people who are experiencing hallucinations may be resistant to treatment, particularly if they do not recognize their hallucinations as false or if their hallucinations indicate to them that a medical practitioner or therapist is attempting to harm them.

Many people find support through sharing their experiences with a support group, such as the Hearing Voices Network, an organization started in the UK in 1988.

References:

  1. About HVN. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hearing-voices.org/about-us
  2. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing
  3. Dryden-Edwards, R. (n.d.). Psychotic disorders. MedicineNet. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/psychotic_disorders/article.htm
  4. Kring, A. M., Johnson, S. L., Davison, G. C., & Neale, J. M. (2010). Abnormal psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
  5. Lava, N. (2016, June 25). What are hallucinations? Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/brain/what-are-hallucinations#1

Last Updated: 11-30-2016

  • 9 comments
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  • Harley

    September 18th, 2019 at 1:18 PM

    I think I might be hearing and seeing people outside my house. It all revolves around thinking that my boyfriend of 10 years is cheating on me…he says he hasn’t done anything and ain’t lying and I am crazy…I am starting to believe that. But idk for sure what to do??? Can u help I know there ain’t a for sure way to tell I am assuming??

  • Judy

    November 20th, 2019 at 6:31 AM

    My friends niece is 11 yrs old. She is seeing scary things in the day and night little creatures, watching her following her. She also feels negative energy. She thinks about them all the time. What should she do ?

  • j

    February 17th, 2020 at 5:10 PM

    They are part of your personality, you don’t have to be frighted by them or feel as though you need to change.
    We go through life always wanting to be in a certain place, be a certain way. But you must realize that this is impossible, you cannot achieve perfection and even if you do you’ll always be dreaming of something else you want to be. So happiness has to start now, with what we have.

  • Luke

    May 11th, 2020 at 12:39 PM

    I was seeing things and hearing voices after I stopped drinking alcohol , I had seek medical attention, and later got fyn

  • KobbyTruth

    October 30th, 2021 at 11:11 AM

    I am facing hallucinations past years now and it’s still controlling my life i don’t know what to do please any help

  • Susan

    November 17th, 2021 at 10:10 PM

    I had a major 9 hour back surgery 12 years ago. I was allergic to something that was causing severe hallucinations. I had 5 different “ story lines” going on for 5 nights and 4 days, no sleep
    The Drs decided they had to take me off of all my regular medication and pain medication to find out what was making me hallucinate, it was absolutely terrifying. They decided it was morphine. Then my blood pressure crashed in the middle of the night setting off alarms, they sent my husband out of the room and he said the room was full of Dr.s and Nurses. I had to have an emergency scan because they were worried about brain damage. I was 2 minutes plus without enough oxygen. 12 years later .I can remember every hallucination so vividly……I take clonazepam and Wellbutrin and see my therapist usually weekly. I don’t think I will ever get over the trauma. I had to have 3 blood transfusions trying to stabilize my blood pressure. My spine fusion did not go well and along with physical limitations and the emotional distress and anxiety from these long terrifying hallucinations, I don’t think I will ever be even partially normal. Hallucinations never came back and .I don’t worry about having more, it’s the vivid, involved, frightening 5 plot lines that are I am afraid permanently stuck in my mind. I have short term memory loss. I have had excellent medical care and my surgery was by a well known orthopedic surgeon, I just am left with trauma from things that were not real. Is there anything else that could help me?

  • L

    October 19th, 2022 at 11:11 AM

    I constantly am followed by a small yellow butterfly only i can interact with

  • Rose

    April 13th, 2023 at 9:33 AM

    My son is experiencing hallucinations. That makes him leave My house sometimes to get away from his bullies from his high school days. And I don’t see any bullies in my home. I need someone to educate him to understand his hullicination.
    And let him believe what he sees and hears are fake, and agree to take medicine.

  • Charlotte

    April 13th, 2023 at 12:58 PM

    Dear Rose, that sounds really difficult. I understand how talking to someone might be helpful for you or for him. To find a therapist with experience with hallucinations, please enter your city or ZIP code into the search field on this page: https://www.goodtherapy.org/find-therapist.html. Once you enter your information, you’ll be directed to a list of therapists and counselors who meet your criteria. You may click to view our members’ full profiles and contact the therapists themselves for more information. Please reach out directly if you need help finding a therapist. We are in the office Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mountain Time, and our phone number is 888-563-2112 ext 3. Kind regards, The GoodTherapy Team

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