Can people be traumatized and get PTSD from their hallucinations?
I'm not aware of an existing case but I posed a similar question to my abnormal psych prof I college: if you have the worst lsd trip in your life can you come back with a real anxiety disorder?He said it's all about the person and their connection to reality plus their genetic predisposition. Some people will “break” after trying lsd because they are genetically vulnerable to it. Of the people that can safely dose, only a very small subset are at risk for developing a long term disorder from the drugs but short term would not surprise him.I would imagine the same could be true for someone with psychosis but I don't know if the two disorders would be distinguishable as I'm not trained in diagnosis.
Schizophrenia: Can People Differentiate Between Reality & Hallucinations?
Lack of insight is refered to as anosognosia. Loss of insight happens mainly with First episode psychosis, the onset of schizophrenia, acute psychosis, psychotic disorders with higher severity of illness. complex delusional systems like cotard's syndrome, poorer healh equates to less insight Hallucinations with ideation will look, sound, seem real but doubt will still be there over existance. This does not change the fact fear/fright is a reaction when the hallucinations appear. For a delusion to exist the mind requires the loss of insight before allowing alternative to reality. Command hallucinations are another situation and i personally have never experienced i have been informed they can have an overwhelming effect. Sorry i cannot comment on situation that i do not understand - will not state on dealing with something i have no grounds to, I found few CBT links for command hallucinations if you want http://ww.testandcalc.com/voices/resources/Article-Making_Sense_of_the_Voices.pdf http://www.nlsh.no/getfile.php/NLSH_bilde%20og%20filarkiv/Pulsen/Kunnskapsbygging/Tekstfiler/CBT%20%20for%20command%20hallucinations.pdf http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/11/155
Is it possible for someone suffering from obvious PTSD symptoms to be having auditory and visonary hallucinations?
Define hallucination. Technically, according the discipline of psychiatry, having hallucinations is considered under the spectrum of psychosis and not part of PTSD, which I believe is still grouped under an anxiety disorder heading.But, PTSD also includes having flashbacks of the traumatic event(s) and going into what is known as “dissociation,” which is feeling numbed and out of touch with present moment reality. You are reliving the past or trying to block out and numb yourself from reliving the past.Flashbacks and dissociation can be very intense and seem like hallucinations/psychosis. I know a veteran who goes into complete dissociative flashback spells where he thinks/feels he’s totally back on the battlefield again. And then in present day moment reality, he’s grabbing his gun, thinking it a real threat.That’s the kind of “hallucinatory” event that might happen to you if you have PTSD. Your “altered experience” of reality will be related to your experience of your traumatic event(s).I urge you to seek help for your symptoms as soon as possible. As my friend’s example relates, having intense PTSD flashbacks where you can’t distinguish between past and present reality can be very dangerous. You are under an intense feeling of threat when you have these flashbacks related to your trauma and may lash out wholly unintentionally at someone else or yourself in attempt to deal with the pain. Please please seek aide. I recommend setting up an appointment with a professional right away.Best wishes.
What could cause frequent insect-related hallucinations, other than drugs?
based on your description, i would say it's sleep deprivation or an anxiety disorder such as OCD, phobia, paranoia, or maybe you just have an active imagination. there is also something called Delusional Parasitosis, but that is usually a sensation. from medlineplus causes of hallucinations: # Severe illness, including liver failure, kidney failure, and brain cancer # Some psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, psychotic depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder
PTSD...Is it possible to overcome?
yes. thats the first thing you should read. YES. I had (have) PTSD, and have had it for about 22 years. at the beginning i thought id never beat it, but slowly i did. im 37, and i started seeing a therapist and my doctor when i was 17. i had incidents as a child (5 - about 16, not from my family), and then had a 9 month period that made it worse when i was about 20. i had anxiety attacks, depression, panic disorder, etc....but i took some medication to ease it and that made me able to work on the core of it for myself. as i said, im 37 now, and its almost completely gone. i have nightmares occasionally, but theyre not too bad. all in all, im pretty happy. i got through it, you can too. good luck, i know its one of the most difficult things anyone can ever go through.
Could PTSD possibly cause false memories or delusions?
Well, considering the trauma that causes PSTD, your mind will sometimes make an alternate memory that is easier for you to cope with. Some people that have PSTD won't remember what the actual trauma was like, but will remember all the events that lead up to it. In this case they relive it over and over trying to figure out what they could have done different, or how they could have changed the outcome. Some remember because the memory is stuck in the brain and the memory never had time to process it, this due to the fact that the brain is in shock (trauma). Everyone does this every once in a while. Have you ever heard the term "you saw what you wanted to see"? From time to time your eyes and your brain will see things differently then what really happened. It is not that you made it up or that you are lying, but because this is actually what you saw. With PTSD sometimes your mind knows that it is too traumatic for you, that it will replace the memory with a much more simple memory or erase it all together. Some people are actually haunted by what they don't remember and will relive the events over and over until they solve it.
Schitzophrania and helping control hallucinations?
I have many mental/emotional disorders. I am currently 16 but was daugnosed with and hospitalized for Schitzophrania, depression, bipolar, PTSD, anxiety, and panic disorders at age 12. I was hospitalized for 2 months and had to go through day treatment for a month and group outpatient therapy for a month and I'm still doing individual therapy. I take Prozac and Reperidol right now, though have taken many many other medications in the past that have not worked. I have made great progress in the 4 years since I was hospitalized, but still suffer from mild symptoms. I am trying to get rid of my hallucinations by stop believing in them. I need help though. I know my hallucinations arn't real but I can't seem to convince myself that. So my question is, how can I make myself believe that it's all in my head and not real? Btw, my mom has OCD and bipolar and my biological dad has everything I have and my sister suffered from a mixture (she's 22 and doing a lot better)
Do schizophrenics remember their hallucinations?
My experience working as a counselor to people who have schizophrenia:Sinply stated yes most people do remember their hallucinations. Obviously people are all unique and may have other factors involved which affect this. The only exceptions I have seen are related to dementia or other memory deficits.Generally, someone with schizophrenia has experienced the same hallucinations over and over again. If the hallucinations aren’t exactly the same they share a similar theme - for example “everyone is trying to harm me” & “she is trying to poison my food.” These are similar hallucinations which both share a theme. This person’s hallucinations relate to people being out to get them, trying to hurt them in some way.For this reason, I think people with schizophrenia mostly do remember their hallucinations because they don't just come and go. They live with these thoughts every day of their life.