Table of contents:
- What are hallucinations?
- Various kinds of hallucinations
- 1. Auditory hallucinations
- 2. Visual hallucinations
- 3. Olfactory hallucinations
- 4. Gustatory hallucinations
- 5. Tactile hallucinations
- 6. Temporary hallucinations
- What causes hallucinations?
- 1. Mental illness
- 2. Substance abuse
- 3. Lack of sleep
- 4. Medicines
- Several ways to deal with hallucinations
- 1. Medicines
- 2. Psychological counseling
- How to help someone closest to deal with hallucinations?
- 1. Provide a sense of security and comfort
- 2. Divert attention
- 3. Respond with honesty
You may have often heard about the phenomenon of hallucinations. Hallucinations are distractions that make a person witness or experience things that are not real and only exist in their own mind. However, do you know why and how hallucinations can occur? Check out the explanation below!
What are hallucinations?
Hallucinations are sensations that seem real, but are actually made up by your mind. Hallucinations can affect all five of your senses. Yes, this condition not only makes you see things that are not real, but also hear, touch, or even taste things that are not really there.
However, hallucinations are not the same as dreams that occur while you are sleeping. The reason is, hallucinations occur when you are awake or conscious, and can appear at any time, either morning, afternoon, evening, or night.
Generally, hallucinations are a symptom of a certain mental health condition, for example psychosis. In fact, this condition is also often associated with various other mental disorders.
However, it does not rule out that this condition is also a symptom of neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.
Various kinds of hallucinations
As described above, hallucinations can cause effects on sight, smell, taste, hearing, and the sensation of touch. So, the types of hallucinations are:
1. Auditory hallucinations
Auditory hallucinations are the most common type of hallucinations. With this condition, you may hear sounds that come from inside or outside your mind. These voices could be like talking to each other or telling you to do something.
2. Visual hallucinations
Types of visual hallucinations are sensations such as seeing objects, patterns, people, or light that are not real. For example, you might see someone in a room or a light that no one else can see.
3. Olfactory hallucinations
This type of hallucination includes your sense of smell (smell). For example, you may feel that your body smells bad even though you don't actually smell anything. The smell you smell may have a pleasant or unpleasant smell.
4. Gustatory hallucinations
This type of hallucination engages your taste buds. Unlike olfactory hallucinations, the taste you taste in gustatory hallucinations is often unpleasant. Gustatory hallucinations are common in people with epilepsy.
5. Tactile hallucinations
Tactile hallucinations relate to feelings of touch or movement of the body. For example, you can feel insects crawling up your back or your hands touching your body. You may also feel your internal organs move.
6. Temporary hallucinations
A person can experience this type of hallucination if their relationship with another person has just ended or a loved one has recently passed away. You may hear voices or see people closest to you for a short time. The temporary hallucinations will go away as the pain of loss subsides.
What causes hallucinations?
Hallucinations can be caused by many things, including:
1. Mental illness
The most common cause of hallucinations is mental illness which can include schizophrenia, dementia, delirium, etc.
2. Substance abuse
This is also the factor that causes the most hallucinations. Too much alcohol or drug intake makes a person see or hear things that are not real.
3. Lack of sleep
Hallucinations are conditions that can arise when you really don't get enough sleep. A person is more likely to experience hallucinations if he has been awake for several days or has not had enough sleep for a long period of time.
4. Medicines
Some medications can cause hallucinations, such as drugs used for Parkinson's disease, depression, psychosis or epilepsy.
Other causes of hallucinations include:
- Chronic diseases such as AIDS, brain cancer, kidney failure, and liver failure.
- High fever, especially in young children and the elderly.
- Migraine.
- Ostracized by (or intentionally isolating oneself from) their social environment.
- Seizures.
- Deafness, blindness or visual impairment.
- Occipital spasms, this condition makes the patient see patches or flashing lights.
Several ways to deal with hallucinations
Hallucinations are conditions that can be controlled, although they cannot be guaranteed a hundred percent cure. The percentage of cure depends on the cause of the hallucinations. Therefore, the doctor will recommend the most effective treatment. The treatment plan may include:
1. Medicines
Treatment is prescribed according to the cause of the hallucinations. If you are hallucinating as a result of quitting alcohol, you will need drugs that work to calm the nervous system.
However, if the hallucinations are caused by Parkinson's disease and are being treated with dementia, the patient may need to use another type of medication that is more relevant to the cause.
2. Psychological counseling
Counseling also plays an important role in overcoming hallucinations, especially if the hallucinations are caused by a mental health condition. The counselor can help the patient understand more deeply about the condition and provide strategies for coping with it. This is especially important for patients suffering from paranoia.
How to help someone closest to deal with hallucinations?
If the person closest to you is having hallucinations, don't rush to take action. Better, learn the conditions and situations first. For one thing, do the hallucinations experienced by this person cause him to do dangerous things, both to himself and to others?
If hallucinations are a condition that frightens her, try to help calm her down first. Also, don't try to force the explanation that she is hallucinating.
Better, do a number of strategies that can help the people closest to deal with hallucinations, such as the following:1. Provide a sense of security and comfort
When experiencing hallucinations, the people closest to you may feel frightened. So, try to give him a sense of security and comfort. Make sure that you will take care of her so that she doesn't have to worry.
In addition, you can also provide a sense of security and comfort through touch. For example, patting his back slowly and attentively. This is thought to help reduce hallucinations.
2. Divert attention
According to the Alzheimer's Association, one way to help someone closest to deal with hallucinations is to distract them. Encourage her to walk or move if she shows hallucinations while in certain places.
In addition, you can also distract those closest to you by talking to them about interesting things for both of you. For example, talk about hobbies, or movies and music that you both like.
3. Respond with honesty
Even if you understand that the person closest to you is hallucinating, this doesn't mean you have to lie to him or her to feel trusted or feel calmer. When he asks if you saw or heard the same thing with him, answer him honestly.
The reason is, if you answer as if you also heard it but not at all, this will only aggravate the hallucinations he is experiencing. You can say it in the "I know you heard something, but I didn't hear it."
This shows that you understand the condition, but it doesn't mean that what she saw, heard, or felt was real.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
