What is hallucination, what are its types, why is it seen?

Hallucinating means seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or feeling things that do not exist in a reality outside the mind. Many human hallucinations are in reality Seeing things that don’t exist. But hallucinations include much more than this definition. For example, touching or even smelling things that are not real can be included in the scope of hallucinations. There can be many reasons for hallucinations. It can be caused by mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, as well as nervous system diseases such as Parkinson’s. If you or your loved ones are experiencing hallucinations, you should consult a doctor. Treatments that control and relieve hallucinations may vary depending on the cause of the hallucinations.

What are the Types of Hallucinations?

Hearing voices: Your doctor may also call it an auditory hallucination.

These voices may be talking to each other, or they may be telling you to do certain things.

Seeing things: This type of hallucination is also called visual hallucination. For example, you may see insects crawling on your hands or climbing into the face of someone you know. Visual hallucinations can sometimes appear as a flash of light. Occipital seizures, which are a rare type of seizure, can cause you to see bright spots or shapes.

Smell: This type of hallucination, also called olfactory hallucination, may be in the form of a foul odor coming from your surroundings. You can also perceive this odor as coming from your own body.

Tasting: You may feel that something you eat or drink has a strange taste.

Something Feeling: These kinds of hallucinations, which are related to the sense of touch, are also called tactile hallucinations. You may feel ticklish when no one is around. Or you may feel insects crawling on or under your skin.

Some of them can smell or taste that are not real.

Parkinson’s Disease: Nearly half of the individuals with this disease can see things that are not real.

Alzheimer’s Disease or Other Dementia: These disorders can cause hallucinations by causing brain damage. As the disease progresses, the probability of hallucinations increases.

Migraine: Nearly one-third of individuals with this disease complain of a kind of visual hallucination called aura. This type of hallucination can be seen as a multicolored, crescent-shaped light.

Brain Tumor: Depending on which part of the brain the tumor is in, it can cause different kinds of hallucinations. If the tumor is in the visual part of the brain, the patient may see things that are not really there. These delusions can take the form of points or shapes of light. If the tumor is in some other parts of the patient, it may cause hallucinations related to smell or taste.

Charles Bonnet Syndrome: This syndrome causes eye problems such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and cataracts.

However, he may later realize that what he sees is not actually real.

Epilepsy: Seizures seen with this disorder will increase the risk of hallucinations. The type of hallucination will vary depending on which part of the brain the seizure affects. they can see. Again, hallucinatory symptoms can be observed in case of abrupt cessation of these drugs or alcohol use. Drug-induced hallucinations are usually visual, but they can also affect other senses. Such hallucinations can take the form of flashes and abstract shapes, or they can take the form of a person or an animal. More often, visual disturbances can be seen in people’s perception of the environment.

Hallucinations in Children Caused by High Fever: Some children with high fever may experience hallucinations for this reason.

Until your child is under the control of a doctor, stay calm and try to calm your child.

Insomnia: Not getting enough sleep can cause hallucinations. You are more prone to hallucinations if you have been sleep deprived for several days in a row or if you have not slept enough for a long time.

Some Other Reasons: Extreme tiredness, Losing someone very close to oneself, etc.

How are Hallucinations Treated?

Your doctor will first try to find out what is causing your hallucinations. He or she will question your medical history and physically examine you. He or she will ask you questions about your symptoms. Some tests may be required to identify your problem. For example, an EEG or electroencephalogram tries to detect abnormal electrical activities in your brain. These tests can show if your hallucinations are due to seizures.

In some cases, magnetic resonance imaging, also called MRI, may be required.

This test can detect a brain tumor or a small area of ​​stroke that can cause hallucinations.

Your doctor will try to treat the factors that cause the hallucinations. Main preferred hallucination treatment methods:

Medicine treatment for schizophrenia or dementia such as Alzheimer’s
Treatment with anti-seizure drugs for diseases such as epilepsy
Ocular disorders, Treatment of problems such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts
Surgery or radiation therapy for tumors
Use of drugs called triptans, beta-blockers, anticonvulsants for hallucinations caused by migraine

Your doctor may also recommend a drug such as pimavanserin. This drug is used in the effective treatment of hallucinations and delusions due to psychoses that affect some Parkinson’s patients.

Sessions with therapists can also be used in the treatment of hallucinations. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy has shown positive results in the treatment of symptoms in some patients.

If you spot someone who is hallucinating, try not to leave her alone.

Try to spend time with them and support them spiritually by accompanying them when they go to the doctor.

The treatments for hallucinations depend on the cause of the hallucinations. If hallucinations are caused by not getting enough sleep or drinking too much alcohol, these behaviors can be changed.

If the hallucinations are caused by a mental illness such as schizophrenia, the drugs recommended by the doctors will greatly help the hallucination disorder. Seeing a doctor and sticking to the doctor’s treatment plan will greatly contribute to achieving positive results in the long run.

What are the Explanations Given to Hallucinations?

Traditionally, the explanations for the causes of hallucinations are very diverse. We have detailed three of them below for you.

Freudian Approach: This approach sees hallucinations as projections of unconscious desires and desires. The things that the person sees as real may be things that they feel but cannot express due to the nature of the subconscious.

Cognitive Psychologists: This group refers to cognitive processes and certain metacognitions (the person’s learning to learn) when explaining hallucinations. they emphasize.

They assume that hallucinations are the result of brain damage or chemical imbalances. They identify different parts of the brain and identify the pharmaceutical processes that cause hallucinations. However, they failed to explain why an individual had a certain hallucination.