Contents
Hallucinations in psychiatry are called false perceptions that can occur in the mind of a person, regardless of the impact of external stimuli on him. Such sensations and images are perceived by a person as real and it is simply impossible to convince him that what he sees is the delusion of an inflamed consciousness. Hallucinations occur involuntarily, that is, a person does not control their manifestation.
Simply put, hallucinations are nothing more than a subjective perception of reality by a sick consciousness, which does not correspond to reality and cannot be fully conscious. The patient simply perceives what is not really there, and he can perceive an alternative reality with all five senses.
hallucinations in schizophrenia
To understand the mechanism of the occurrence of hallucinations in a disease such as schizophrenia, it takes a lot of time and, of course, knowledge. Here, self-education and reading near-scientific literature is indispensable; for diagnosing and helping a person with such problems, special education and rich experience are needed.
Nevertheless, you need to know the basic things that will help you not to get confused if there is a person next to you who is tormented by hallucinations. So, what are the alternative reality options and are they dangerous for others?
First of all, hallucinations are often paroxysmal in nature. Sometimes they go away on their own, but this rarely happens. Much more often, seizures are relieved by various psychotropic drugs. True, in order to stop an attack in accordance with all the rules, a person must know about his diagnosis, be registered with a psychiatrist and receive prescription drugs at a pharmacy.
Sometimes hallucinations can turn into a chronic form, a person will constantly feel something that is not really there, without “emerging” from his fantasies even for short periods of time. This condition is dangerous both for the patient himself and for his environment, because hallucinations can be accompanied by panic attacks, bouts of apathy or aggression.
Subconscious games
All imaginary sensations in schizophrenia, which can be called hallucinations, can be divided into five main types — according to the place of occurrence associated with the five senses. They may be:
- auditory, when the patient hears non-existent voices, noises and sounds;
- visual, when images and even entire fragments of reality appear in a person’s head, as if in reality;
- olfactory, when the patient complains of obsessive odors pursuing him everywhere; tactile, when it seems to the patient, for example, that insects are crawling on him;
- taste buds, when reality is incorrectly perceived by taste buds, a person feels a taste that does not really exist and cannot be in certain foods or drinks.
Of course, any one type of hallucination in its “pure form” is very rare. In fact, they may well be combined and complement the patient’s picture of the world, arising simultaneously.
How to recognize a person with an attack of hallucinations?
In fact, deviant, unusual behavior does not always mean that you have a classic example of schizophrenic hallucinations. A person who is not immersed in his own delusions can realize the absurdity of what he sees, hears or feels. In this case, panic almost always occurs, a person tries to get rid of obsessive images as quickly as possible, hide, run away, find help in others.
In this case, the surest way would be to call the doctors, and before they arrive, try to calm the patient, distract him with conversations on the most general and harmless topics, try not to leave him alone, but not dissuade him from what he really feels. As we have already said, hallucinations, like delusional states, cannot be corrected outside a specialized hospital and medical supervision.
In the next article, we will talk in more detail about the types of hallucinations and their features.