Hallucinations can be defined as auditory, visual and other sensory perceptions that might appear real to the person having it but aren’t real. Hallucination can affect all the five senses of a person and are usually caused by mental illness, a side effect of certain medication, and other related causes. Here are a few things that you must know about hallucinations:
Hallucinations can affect your sense of taste, smell, vision, and much more. The types of hallucination include:
1. Visual Hallucination
This involves seeing things that don’t exist in reality. You might see anything such as colours, shapes or flashes of light. However, in most of the cases, people who hallucinate see a human –like figure. For instance, the patient might think that a person is standing just in front of him or her when there is actually no one. Sometimes, the patient might also have false perception religious figures or their relatives and loved ones. If any of your loved ones are having such hallucinations, immediately consult a psychiatrist. If you are looking for psychiatrists in Kolkata, get in touch with us at http://moneralo.com/contact-us/
2. Auditory Hallucination
This is the most common type of hallucination. The patient might hear voices telling them to do something. Other types include hearing footsteps, a clicking sound or tapping noises.
3. Olfactory Hallucination
This involves the sense of smell. The sufferer might smell unpleasant odour or feel that they smell bad when they do not. This also includes scents that a person enjoys.
4. Tactile Hallucination
This type of hallucination involves a sense of touch. A person might feel touch or movement (such as bugs crawling) on their body.
5. Gustatory Hallucination
This is an unpleasant sense of taste. For instance, the patient might experience a constant metallic taste. This is common among people with epilepsy.
Mental illnesses such as dementia, schizophrenia etc. can cause such hallucinations. Apart from that, people who have a history of substance abuse can also hallucinate. Often, lack of sleep and certain medications can also make a person prone to hallucination. In any case, it is essential to get professional help for proper diagnosis of the condition. A psychiatrist can help you understand the nature of your problem and suggest ways (medication, psychological counselling etc.) to provide you long-term relief.