Hallucinations: Symptoms, Causes, Prevention and Treatment

by Vishal Kaushik Digital Marketer

What are Hallucinations?

Hallucinations are the perceptions that seem real but aren't real. The symptoms of this disease may be due the mental health, certain drugs or excessive use of alcohol.

Types of Hallucinations

Hallucinations can affect the eyesight, hearing, taste, and smelling ability or physical sensations of a person. It may be of following types —

Visual Hallucinations
Olfactory Hallucinations
Gustatory Hallucinations
Auditory Hallucinations
Tactile Hallucinations

Symptoms of Hallucinations

Symptoms of hallucinations may vary depending on its type; including —

Feeling sensations in the body
Hearing sounds including music, footsteps, or banging of doors
Tasting something (often a metallic taste)
Hearing voices —positive or negative voices, such as a voice commanding you to harm yourself or others
Seeing objects, beings, or patterns or lights
Smelling an odor

Causes of Hallucinations

Causes of hallucinations includes —

Mental illness

Substance abuse

Lack of sleep

Migraine

Auditory nerve disease

Sleep deprivation

Dissociative identity disorder (DID)

Epilepsy

Neurologic disorders

Glaucoma

Hallucinogen use

Stroke

Metabolic conditions

Middle or inner ear diseases

Narcolepsy

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Ophthalmic diseases

Schizoaffective disorder

Medications to treat depression, Parkinson’s disease, psychosis and epilepsy

Prevention of Hallucinations

Hallucinations can be defended in the following ways —

Do workout or physical activity regularly
Avoid stress
Eat healthy and nutritious food
The hallucinations caused by substance abuse can be easily avoided by reducing alcohol and noxious drugs
Get lots of sleep
Do recreational activities
Always maintain good mental and emotional health
Find different ways to deal with depression
Remember that the main cause of psychological problems is the environment around you
Be aware about the side effects of certain medications that you’re currently taking

Treatment of Hallucinations

Medications: Your doctor may prescribe some drugs or medications to treat hallucination depending on the condition of the patient.

Psychiatric Counseling: If the primary cause of this disease is mental illness, then a psychiatric counseling may help.