What Are Hallucinations?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of HallucinationsSymptoms of HallucinationsCauses of HallucinationsTreatment for HallucinationsCoping with Hallucinations

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Types of Hallucinations

Symptoms of Hallucinations

Causes of Hallucinations

Treatment for Hallucinations

Coping with Hallucinations

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In layperson’s terms, hallucinations involve hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling, or even tasting things that are not real. Auditory hallucinations, which include hearing voices or other sounds that have no physical source, are the most common type.

Hallucinations occur frequently in people with psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; however, you don’t necessarily need to have a mental illness to experience hallucinations. No matter what is causing hallucinations, they should be taken seriously.

There are five main types of hallucinations, including:

There are also other types of hallucinations, including:

Some people experience hallucinations at night or in the morning. These types of hallucinations include:

Hallucinations vs. Delusions

Hallucinations can have a range of symptoms, depending on the type, including:

Examples of HallucinationsYou see someone in your bedroom, and you hear them speaking to you (visual and auditory hallucination)You see flashing lights outside of your window, but no one else sees them (visual hallucination)

Examples of Hallucinations

You see someone in your bedroom, and you hear them speaking to you (visual and auditory hallucination)You see flashing lights outside of your window, but no one else sees them (visual hallucination)

Delusions versus Hallucinations: What Are the Differences?

Finding the Underlying Cause of Hallucinations

After asking about your symptoms, medical history, and lifestyle habits, your healthcare provider will likely do a physical exam and order a few tests to try and rule out medical or neurological causes of your hallucinations. Diagnostic tests may include:

Unfortunately, studies show that people underreport hallucinations.When talking to a doctor, it’s important to be honest about the duration and frequency as well as the specific symptoms associated with your hallucinations.

Potential Causes of Hallucinations

With bipolar I disorder, hallucinations are possible, both with mania and depression. In bipolar II, hallucinations may occur only during the depressive phase. Bipolar disorder that presents with hallucinations or delusions can also lead to a diagnosis ofbipolar disorder with psychotic features.

Not only do hallucinations occur with mental health conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but they can also occur with the following physical and psychological conditions as well:

The treatment of hallucinations will depend on the type of hallucination, the underlying cause, and your overall health. In general, however, your doctor will likely recommend a multidisciplinary approach that includes medication, therapy, and social support.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy for hallucinations involves engaging the patient to be curious around the details of the symptoms, providing psycho-education, exploring “plausible reasons” for the hallucinations and normalizing the experience.

Self-Help

The following self-help strategies can help patients cope with auditory hallucinations:

Medication

Nuplazid(pimavanserin)is the first drug approved to treathallucinations associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Other Treatments

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a relatively non-invasive procedure that involves placing a small magnetic device directly on the skull, has some preliminary evidence that it may be able to reduce the frequency and severity of auditory hallucinations in some people with schizophrenia.

An important aspect of helping a loved one who is experiencing hallucinations is reassuring them that treatment is available. Here are a few more practical steps for helping your loved one cope with hallucinations.

Pay Attention to the Environment

The environment can play an important role in misperceptions and worsening of hallucinations; for example, a poorly lit room with shadows or a loud, chaotic setting may increase the likelihood of hallucinations.

Stay Calm

Although it can be frightening and uncomfortable when a loved one experiences a hallucination, it’s important to do your best to respond in a calm, supportive manner. For example, you might say, “I know this is scary for you,” or “Don’t worry; I’m here.”

Use Distraction

Depending on the severity of the hallucination, gently touching or patting your loved one may help distract and reduce the hallucination. Other possible distractions include conversation, music, or moving to another room.

Be Honest

While you don’t want to upset your loved one or engage in an argument, you do want to be honest and assure them that you’re not dismissing their concerns. If they ask: “Did you hear that?” Consider saying: “I know you heard something, but I didn’t hear it.”

Maintain Routines

Keeping regular and reliable day-to-day routines can make it less likely that your loved one will stray from reality and experience hallucinations. Sleeping well each night, maintaining consistent eating patterns, and regular activity will help. Consider keeping a record of when hallucinations occur and under what circumstances.

If you or a loved one are struggling with hallucinations, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are struggling with hallucinations, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

10 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Chaudhury S.Hallucinations: Clinical aspects and management.Ind Psychiatry J. 2010;19(1):5-12. doi:10.4103/0972-6748.77625American Association of Sleep Medicine.Sleep hallucinations.Rodríguez-Testal JF, Senín-Calderón C, Moreno R.Hallucinations and delusions as low-quality attributions: Influencing factors and proposal for their analysis.Front Psychol. 2021;12:533795. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.533795MedlinePlus.Hallucinations.Badcock JC, Dehon H, Larøi F.Hallucinations in healthy older adults: An overview of the literature and perspectives for future research.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1134. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01134National Institute of Mental Health.Bipolar disorder.Ali S.Hallucinations: Common features and causes.Current Psychiatry.November 2011;10(11):22-29.Sosland M, Pinninti N.5 ways to quiet auditory hallucinations.Current Psychiatry. 2005;4(4):110.U.S. Food & Drug Administration.FDA approves first drug to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease.Cole JC, Green Bernacki C, Helmer A, Pinninti N, O’reardon JP.Efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of schizophrenia: A review of the literature to date.Innov Clin Neurosci. 2015;12(7-8):12-19.

10 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Chaudhury S.Hallucinations: Clinical aspects and management.Ind Psychiatry J. 2010;19(1):5-12. doi:10.4103/0972-6748.77625American Association of Sleep Medicine.Sleep hallucinations.Rodríguez-Testal JF, Senín-Calderón C, Moreno R.Hallucinations and delusions as low-quality attributions: Influencing factors and proposal for their analysis.Front Psychol. 2021;12:533795. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.533795MedlinePlus.Hallucinations.Badcock JC, Dehon H, Larøi F.Hallucinations in healthy older adults: An overview of the literature and perspectives for future research.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1134. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01134National Institute of Mental Health.Bipolar disorder.Ali S.Hallucinations: Common features and causes.Current Psychiatry.November 2011;10(11):22-29.Sosland M, Pinninti N.5 ways to quiet auditory hallucinations.Current Psychiatry. 2005;4(4):110.U.S. Food & Drug Administration.FDA approves first drug to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease.Cole JC, Green Bernacki C, Helmer A, Pinninti N, O’reardon JP.Efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of schizophrenia: A review of the literature to date.Innov Clin Neurosci. 2015;12(7-8):12-19.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Chaudhury S.Hallucinations: Clinical aspects and management.Ind Psychiatry J. 2010;19(1):5-12. doi:10.4103/0972-6748.77625American Association of Sleep Medicine.Sleep hallucinations.Rodríguez-Testal JF, Senín-Calderón C, Moreno R.Hallucinations and delusions as low-quality attributions: Influencing factors and proposal for their analysis.Front Psychol. 2021;12:533795. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.533795MedlinePlus.Hallucinations.Badcock JC, Dehon H, Larøi F.Hallucinations in healthy older adults: An overview of the literature and perspectives for future research.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1134. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01134National Institute of Mental Health.Bipolar disorder.Ali S.Hallucinations: Common features and causes.Current Psychiatry.November 2011;10(11):22-29.Sosland M, Pinninti N.5 ways to quiet auditory hallucinations.Current Psychiatry. 2005;4(4):110.U.S. Food & Drug Administration.FDA approves first drug to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease.Cole JC, Green Bernacki C, Helmer A, Pinninti N, O’reardon JP.Efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of schizophrenia: A review of the literature to date.Innov Clin Neurosci. 2015;12(7-8):12-19.

Chaudhury S.Hallucinations: Clinical aspects and management.Ind Psychiatry J. 2010;19(1):5-12. doi:10.4103/0972-6748.77625

American Association of Sleep Medicine.Sleep hallucinations.

Rodríguez-Testal JF, Senín-Calderón C, Moreno R.Hallucinations and delusions as low-quality attributions: Influencing factors and proposal for their analysis.Front Psychol. 2021;12:533795. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.533795

MedlinePlus.Hallucinations.

Badcock JC, Dehon H, Larøi F.Hallucinations in healthy older adults: An overview of the literature and perspectives for future research.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1134. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01134

National Institute of Mental Health.Bipolar disorder.

Ali S.Hallucinations: Common features and causes.Current Psychiatry.November 2011;10(11):22-29.

Sosland M, Pinninti N.5 ways to quiet auditory hallucinations.Current Psychiatry. 2005;4(4):110.

U.S. Food & Drug Administration.FDA approves first drug to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Cole JC, Green Bernacki C, Helmer A, Pinninti N, O’reardon JP.Efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of schizophrenia: A review of the literature to date.Innov Clin Neurosci. 2015;12(7-8):12-19.

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