The 15 Types Of Hallucinations (and Their Possible Causes)
One of the phenomena most associated with “madness” is hallucinations. that is, perceptions that do not correspond to reality and in which there is no stimulus present to trigger them (unlike illusions).
Hallucinations can appear as a symptom of a mental disorder, for example schizophrenia, or due to the consumption of psychoactive substances such as mushrooms or LSD. The most popular hallucinations are visual and auditory. ; However, there are others that we explain in this article.
Basically, hallucinations They are perceptual experiences that do not exist for the rest of the world ; They only seem real to the person who experiences them. This phenomenon is much more common than most people think, it can occur in any perceptual modality and usually has characteristics similar to normal perception.
The exact nature of the different types of hallucinations is not entirely clear. However, it is known that people often experience hallucinations because some chemicals found in drugs influence synapses (the spaces through which neurons communicate with each other) and cause the activation of some brain regions, for example, the parietal lobe in the case of touch hallucinations.
Other times what triggers hallucinations is dysfunctional neurons that activate certain parts of the brain and have an effect on normal function. This last phenomenon occurs, for example, due to an excess of dopamine in the case of schizophrenia.
Now, experts assure that Lack of sleep can also cause this phenomenon to occur. since it has been proven that after 24 hours without sleep a person is more susceptible to experiencing hallucinations. Likewise, spending a lot of time in situations of sensory deprivation can generate visions of elements that are not really there.
As you see, hallucinations can occur for different reasons, not only due to serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia. Some of the most common causative factors are:
Types of hallucinations
The types of hallucinations can be classified in two ways. : according to the sensory modality and according to the mode of appearance.
According to the sensory modality
Depending on the sensory modality, hallucinations can be:
1. Visual hallucinations
One of the best known. They occur when the person sees things that are not really there; for example, when seeing an individual who does not exist. In cases such as schizophrenia, the sick person may even have a relationship with the imaginary entity. Visual hallucinations can also be light flashes or autoscopy, that is, seeing oneself from the outside.
2. Auditory
They are also the best known. There is a belief that these hallucinations are voices emitted by a third person and that they have a meaning, for example, hurting someone, but They can also be single words or sounds. It is more commonly experienced by people with schizophrenia.
3. Taste
These hallucinations are less frequent than the previous ones. They usually appear in some disorders, for example, depression. The person perceives flavors of elements that are not really there.
4. Olfactory
They are also rare, and include odorous hallucinations. They usually occur due to drug use and, generally, have unpleasant odors. Sometimes they also appear in the moments in which one expresses along with certain types of migraine, as well as gustatory and auditory ones.
These hallucinations include the sensations in the body of the individual who suffers them, which feel real. Some people have reported feeling like they had metal organs, They claimed to feel that they had no organs or that they did not perceive parts of the body.
6. Touch
They are also known as haptic hallucinations. and include those that have to do with the sense of touch. It is possible to differentiate between thermal (sensations of cold or heat) or hydric (for example, they perceive that they have water in their lungs)
7. Paresthesias
They belong to the previous group but are common in some disorders such as Wernicke-Korsakov. The person experiences a tingling sensation as if he had ants crawling on his skin. They are also common with the consumption of other drugs such as cocaine.
8. Kinesics
Kinesthetic or kinesthetic hallucinations are those related to the movement of one’s own body. They are common in patients with Parkinson’s and those individuals who consume psychoactive substances.
According to the mode of appearance
Depending on the mode of appearance, hallucinations can be:
9. Functional hallucinations
They present themselves when one stimulus triggers another in the same sensory modality. For example, when someone hears the noise of real traffic and perceives the sound of the news as a hallucination.
10. Reflect
It is similar to the previous one because the person has a hallucination in the presence of another stimulus. However, this stimulus does not belong to the same sensory modality.
11. Negatives
The person perceives that something that actually exists is not present. That is, something does not appear or you see something that is not actually there at that time or place, but rather something that is there disappears.
It is the complete opposite of autoscopy. If in autoscopy the person sees himself from the outside as if it were a mirror, in negative autoscopy the person, when you go to look in the mirror, you don’t see.
13. Extracampinas
Are those hallucinations that are out of our field of vision. For example, when perceiving someone who is in front as if they were behind, or when hearing a voice from another city.
14. Pseudohallucinations
Pseudohallucinations are those in which the person You are aware that the hallucinations you are experiencing are not true. For example, when an individual hears the voice of a deceased relative but knows that it cannot be true because he has died years ago.
15. Hypnagogic
This is a type of hallucination that also occurs in people without any type of neurological alteration in the transition between wakefulness and sleep. They can be auditory, visual or tactile.
