Sometimes, you might experience things that seem real but aren’t. Like smelling urine when there’s none around, or feeling bugs on your skin when there aren’t any. These experiences are called hallucinations.
Hallucinations can involve seeing, hearing, feeling, or smelling things that aren’t really there. Sometimes, they happen because of something temporary or minor. But other times, they can signal a more serious health issue.
Even though we can often find out what causes a hallucination, scientists still don’t fully understand how the brain creates it. A study in 2019 with mice showed that hallucinogenic drugs slow down activity in the brain’s visual cortex, where it processes what we see. This discovery was important because it helps us understand mental health conditions like schizophrenia better. These conditions are connected to the same brain receptors that the study looked at. Understanding how these receptors work could lead to better treatments in the future.
If you’re having hallucinations regularly, it’s important to talk to a doctor to figure out why.
1. Glimpses of Light or Figures
Visual hallucinations can be pretty common, especially in people with certain health conditions like dementia or schizophrenia. But they can also happen during migraines, epileptic seizures, or if someone has trouble sleeping.
There are a few reasons why someone might see things that aren’t there. It could be because of how their brain is structured, issues with the chemicals in their brain, or because of things they’ve experienced in the past.
It’s really important to figure out why someone is having these hallucinations because the treatment they need depends on it. Giving the wrong treatment can make things worse instead of better. So, it’s best to talk to a doctor if you or someone you know is experiencing visual hallucinations.
2. Listening to Voices
When someone hears sounds, like voices, that aren’t real, it’s called auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). These voices can be good, bad, or something in between. Sometimes, they give orders, but other times, they just talk, like a radio playing in the head.
Around seventy percent of people with schizophrenia experience AVH. But it’s not just them. People with bipolar disorder, some types of dementia, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse can also hear voices. AVH is more common than many people think, and it’s not always linked to mental or other health issues. Sometimes, when people are grieving, they hear the voices of loved ones who have passed away.
Scientists aren’t sure why AVH happens, but they think it might be because of problems in certain parts of the brain that deal with language, memory, and feelings.
3. Hovering or Soaring
When someone feels like they’re flying or floating, or like they’re not in their body, it’s called a proprioceptive hallucination, or a hallucination of posture.
These sensations can happen because of things like not getting enough sensory input or getting too much of it. They can also be caused by drugs, especially hallucinogens, or by strong forces like what astronauts and pilots feel. Sometimes, they just happen for no clear reason, like when someone is really tired, sick, or stressed. People with Parkinson’s disease often have these hallucinations too.
4. Tingling Skin
Ever had that creepy sensation like bugs are crawling on your skin, even when there are none around? That feeling is called a tactile hallucination, where you feel something that’s not really there. Another type is when you feel movement inside your body like your organs shifting around.
A few things can cause these hallucinations. Some medications that affect the central nervous system or neurotransmitters can lead to them. People who misuse drugs or alcohol, especially cocaine or amphetamines, are also likely to experience them.
Medical conditions can also be a cause. More than half of people with schizophrenia have reported experiencing tactile or visual hallucinations. Neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Lewy body dementia are also linked to tactile hallucinations.
For those struggling with severe hallucinations, cognitive behavioral therapy can help them deal with the emotions that come with it.
5. Sensing a Scent
When someone has olfactory hallucinations, they smell things that aren’t real. These smells are often bad, like poop, smoke, throw-up, or pee. This usually happens when something damages the nerves in the smelling system. It could be from an injury, a virus, drugs, toxins, or even a brain tumor. Epilepsy can also cause it.
