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WHAT ARE HALLUCINATIONS?
WHAT ARE HALLUCINATIONS?
Hallucinations are a psychotic symptom, which can be experienced by people with psychotic disorders and other mental health conditions. People may also experience hallucinations as a result of taking drugs or drinking alcohol, and it is also common for people with delirium to experience hallucinations.
Hallucinations occur when someone experiences things which are not real, meaning that these experiences are only true for one person and nobody else is experiencing (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or feeling) this same thing.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF HALLUCINATIONS
DIFFERENT TYPES OF HALLUCINATIONS
There are different types of hallucinations, such as:
Auditory hallucinations – hearing things which are not real and do not exist outside of the person’s mind (meaning that no one else in the room can hear what the person is hearing), such as hearing voices, music, or noises like banging and knocking
Visual hallucinations – seeing things that do not exist, like people, lights, animals, objects or shadows
Tactile hallucinations – feeling something or someone touching your skin/body when there is nothing really touching you, for example feeling like someone has touched your hand or feeling like there are bugs crawling on your skin
Olfactory hallucinations – smelling things that are not present, like smelling flowers when you aren’t near to any flowers or suddenly smelling a foul odour that no one else can smell
Gustatory hallucinations – tasting things that you have not eaten, drank or had in your mouth. For example, having a sudden taste of metal in your mouth
Hallucinations can be frightening for some people, but it is also possible for people to have pleasant hallucinations. Some people hear voices that they think are comforting and reassuring, or see things that they like, such as an animal they like.
People can find some hallucinations to be scary. For example, people may hear a voice that sounds scary or tells them bad or frightening things, such as telling a person that something bad is going to happen to them.
Related CONDITIONS
Related CONDITIONS
Sometimes, people hear voices which tell them to do something, which are known as ‘command hallucinations’. This does not always mean that the person will do what the voice tells them to do. Some people experience hallucinations for short periods of time, and some people experience them for much longer, sometimes for their whole life.
Hallucinations can occur as a symptom of a range of conditions, such as:
Schizophrenia – a mental health condition which involves psychotic symptoms (like delusions and hallucinations)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – a mental health condition which begins after experiencing trauma
If you feel like you are struggling with anything you have read or any other aspect of mental health, then there are services out there that can help. If you need to talk to someone you can sign up here for our peer coaching service.
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