What Its Like To Hallucinate

Ever watched a scary movie? Imagine that you’re trapped in that scary movie for your entire life. That’s how terrifying hallucinations can be. Before the advancement in medical science, people used to attribute their hallucinations to ghosts and supernatural beings. This explains how hallucination is an ancient health condition in human beings. There are a number of different types of hallucinations, and each one of them is associated with an abnormality of our senses. Since human beings have five senses, there can be 5 different types of hallucinations, such as seeing things that don’t exist, smelling something that isn’t there, feeling a taste of something you didn’t eat, having a sensation of touch without touching anything, or hearing things that are not there. Each of these conditions is scary enough to be sometimes considered as ghostly. Obviously, anyone can freak out if they sense someone touching them when there is nobody, or if they see someone that others can’t see.

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Since our senses are interlinked and function with the command of our brain, a number of different brain and nervous system diseases can become a cause of hallucinations. Some common conditions that can cause hallucinations are Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia, brain tumor, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, brain tumor, and migraines. Majority of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia can hallucinate. It could also be a temporary side effect of a strong medicine, or maybe an accident or sudden shock.

It’s intriguing how hallucinations can mess up with a person’s brain and senses, but it’s no joke. The sooner the patients realize that they’re hallucinating, the better. It’s important that we care for the people who suffer from such conditions and help them through it.

The symptoms and feeling of each hallucinating individual can be different. However, to understand the extent of the danger, here are some symptoms shared by patients that tell us how it’s like to hallucinate :

• Never-ending Song
  It could be fun if you can listen to one of your favorite songs, but when it keeps on playing all the time, that’s when it starts getting creepy. There is no source of where the music is coming from and no way to press the stop button.
• A never-ending company
  A patient can feel like there is always someone present within the periphery of their vision even when they’re alone. There is always a sense of someone being with you, and they would disappear once you try to see and communicate with them. Patients usually freak out at first, but later get used to it.
• A cruel mirror
  Patients have reported that they see themselves bleeding and dying when they look into the mirror. Such a hallucination can be extremely scary and disturbing.
• Criticism
  Criticism could be a nightmare for many people, while a number of patients experience auditory and visual hallucinations in which they’re criticized by the voices in their head or the visuals they see. Criticism can be extremely damaging to a person’s physical and mental health, making them lifeless and taking away their interest and will to live.
• Seeing cruel and deathly things
  There can be objects, texts, and visuals of cruel things that provoke death and suicide. It could be a voice criticizing them and provoking them to attempt suicide, or it could a visual of a person telling them to take their lives. This condition can lead to serious suicidal tendency and mental abnormality.
• Floating without the ground
  Many patients reported that they feel and see as if there is no ground under their feet and they are floating. No matter how adventurous it sounds like, it’s extremely terrifying to the people who experience it. there is a constant fear of falling due to the absence of the floor. Imagine not knowing there are steps you need to take when going down the stairs.

Conclusion
Hallucinations may be something people are used to living with. However, it can be extremely dangerous in some instances. While many people get used to seeing things, some may lose their mental stability, while others are forced to do something abnormal. If a patient hallucinates someone coming towards them with a weapon making an attempt to kill them, they’re bound to snap back. It’s important that such patients are understood and cared for. There should be utmost confidence in them and their family members and friends.

Disclaimer
Please note that individual results will vary from person to person. All and any information and statements contained in this article are not intended to replace your doctor’s advice or treatment. We do not provide medical advice, prescription, or diagnose illness. Therefore, our views and nutritional statements are not intended to replace your doctor’s medical advice. If you have a health concern or condition, see your doctor before starting anything on your own.