What Are Hallucinations?

If you’re like most people, you probably believe hallucinations are caused by seeing things that aren’t actually there, however, there is a lot more to it than that. It could imply that you have touched or smelled something that does not exist. The word “hallucination” comes from Latin, meaning “mind wandering.” Hallucinations are defined as “sensory experiences that are not induced by activation of the corresponding sensory organs” and “perception of a nonexistent object or event.”
In layperson’s terms, hallucinations are when you hear, see, feel, smell, or even taste something that isn’t there. The most common sort of hallucination is auditory hallucination, which involves hearing voices or other noises that have no physical cause. Hallucinations are common in people with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; nevertheless, hallucinations are not limited to those with mental illnesses.

Hallucination vs Delusion

Though both are closely connected, a hallucination is not the same as a delusion. A hallucination is a false perception, while a delusion is a wrong belief. Optical illusions and other mental trickery may have fooled many people. A hallucination, on the other hand, is more than a misperception. People who have hallucinations see or hear things that aren’t actually there and don’t match what others are seeing or hearing. They may also believe that their hallucinations are real, or that they have a specific meaning and incorrect beliefs associated with them. These delusions are linked to false beliefs.

Types of Hallucinations

Auditory Hallucinations (Hearing Things)

It’s possible that the sounds are coming from within or without your mind. You may hear the voices conversing or believe they are directing you to do something. Among the possible causes are:

• Schizophrenia
• Bipolar disorder
• Psychosis
• Personality problem on the edge
• Hearing loss
• PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is a sort of anxiety disorder
• Sleep disturbances

Olfactory Hallucinations (Smelling Things)

You may believe the stench is emanating from something in the environment or from your own body. Here are some examples of possible causes:

• Injuries to the head
• Cold
• Seizures in the temporal lobe
• Sinuses inflamed
• Brain tumors

Tactile or Somatic Hallucinations

You may feel as if you’re being tickled even if no one else is there, or as if insects are crawling on or under your skin. You might feel a burst of hot air that isn’t real on your face. The following are some of the causes:

• Schizophrenia
• Schizoaffective disorder (SAD)
• Drugs that cause you to have hallucinations
• Tremendous delirium
• Alcohol
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Dementia with Lewy bodies
• Parkinson’s disease 

Gustatory Hallucinations (Tasting things)

You could notice that whatever you eat or drink has an unusual flavor. The following are examples of possible causes:

• Temporal lobe
• Lesions in the brain
• Infections of the sinuses
• Epilepsy

Visual Hallucinations (Seeing Things)

You may see things that others don’t, such as insects crawling on your palm or on the face of someone you know, and you may also notice objects that aren’t their normal shape or things moving in unusual ways. They can resemble light flashes at times. You may notice brilliantly colored patches or shapes if you have an “occipital” seizure, which is an uncommon sort of seizure. Other factors at play are:

• Brain tissue damage
• Seizures \Migraines
• Tumors and lesions in the brain
• Problems with sleep
• Drugs that cause you to have hallucinations
• Problems with metabolism
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
• Schizophrenia
• Irritation of the visual cortex, the region of the brain that aids in vision

What Causes Hallucinations?

The most common causes of hallucinations are:

Schizophrenia

Visual hallucinations affect more than 70% of persons with this disorder, and 60%-90 percent hear voices. However, some people may detect and taste things that aren’t present.

Parkinson’s Disease

This is a neurological disorder. Up to half of those who suffer from this illness believe they are seeing things that aren’t there.

Migraines

A third of patients who suffer from this sort of headache also experience an “aura,” which is a type of visual hallucination. It can resemble a rainbow light crescent.

Brain Tumor

It can produce various forms of hallucinations, depending on where it is. You might see things that aren’t real if it’s in a vision-related region. You might also notice glowing patches or forms. Smell and taste hallucinations can be caused by tumors in certain areas of the brain.

Charles Bonnet Syndrome

People with vision impairments such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, or cataracts are affected by this disorder. You may not understand it’s a hallucination at first, but you ultimately recognize what you’re seeing isn’t real.

Epilepsy

The seizures that come with this illness can increase your chances of having hallucinations. The type you receive is determined by which portion of your brain is affected by the seizure.

Alzheimer’s Disease

A type of dementia as well as other types of dementia, namely Lewy body dementia. They trigger brain alterations that can lead to hallucinations. When your sickness is advanced, it’s more likely to happen.

Inadequate Sleep

Hallucinations might also occur if you don’t get enough sleep. If you haven’t slept in days or don’t get adequate sleep for long periods of time, you may be more susceptible to hallucinations. Hallucinations can also occur just before falling asleep (hypnagogic hallucinations) or just before waking up (hypnopompic hallucinations).

Substance Use

Another prevalent cause of hallucinations is substance abuse. After drinking too much alcohol or using drugs like cocaine, some people see or hear things that aren’t there. LSD and PCP, among other hallucinogenic drugs, can make you hallucinate.

Medications

Hallucinations are a side effect of several drugs used to treat mental and physical illnesses.

Symptoms of Hallucinations

When a person with dementia experiences hallucinations or when depression generates psychosis, hallucinations frequently suggest an underlying problem with how the brain processes information. Aside from seeing, hearing, tasting, and feeling things that aren’t there, other hallucination symptoms include:

• As a person gets older, their brain function changes
• Strange convictions
• Anxiety or depression
• Issues with vision or hearing
• Aggressive or paranoid behavior
• Belief in the existence of conspiracies
• Headaches

The type of hallucination, the underlying cause, and your overall health will all influence how you treat them. Your doctor will most likely propose a multidisciplinary strategy that involves medication, therapy, and social support in general.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy for hallucinations entails piquing the patient’s interest in the specifics of their symptoms, giving psycho-education, examining “possible reasons” for the hallucinations, and normalizing the experience.

Medications

Antipsychotic drugs are frequently beneficial in the treatment of hallucinations, either by eliminating or reducing their frequency, or by having a soothing effect that makes them less distressing. Nuplazid (pimavanserin) is the first medicine to be approved for the treatment of hallucinations associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis.

Self-Help Remedy

Patients suffering from auditory hallucinations can benefit from the following self-help strategies:

• Exercise
• Several times humming or singing a song
• Ignoring the voices
• Listening to music
• Reading
• Conversing with others

Now that you Know…

Many people are unaware that hallucinations are more common than they think. Although they can be alarming, they do not always indicate that a person is suffering from a major brain problem or mental illness. The time it takes to recover from hallucinations is determined by the cause. These habits can be changed if you aren’t getting enough sleep or consuming too much alcohol. If your hallucinations are caused by a mental disorder such as schizophrenia, the appropriate drugs can greatly improve your condition. You’re more likely to have a positive long-term outcome if you see a doctor right away and stick to a treatment plan.

People who suffer from hallucinations, as well as those who love them, should keep track of their symptoms to see when they occur and whether anything seems to trigger them. This documentation can assist a doctor in treating their problems more effectively.