Hallucinations can be frightening for anyone involved, even if you are only witnessing them.Mild hallucinations can be successfully treated at home, but severe or chronic hallucinations will always require professional help.
Step 1: Understand how hallucinations work.
There are many underlying conditions that can cause hallucinations and affect your five senses.It is necessary for the perception to occur during a state of consciousness.Some hallucinations can be pleasant and others can cause distress.A common visual hallucination is seeing lights, people, or objects that aren't really there.The sensation of objects crawling on the skin is a common hallucination.
Step 2: Check for a sore throat.
Children and the elderly have been known to be affected by high fevers.Even if you don't fall into either demographic, it's worth checking to make sure you're not getting sick.Hallucinations are more common when the temperature is higher than 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).Regardless of whether or not it is accompanied by hallucinations, a high temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) warrants immediate medical attention.If you have a high temperature, you can treat it at home by taking a medication.Drink lots of fluids and watch your temperature.
Step 3: Better sleep.
Severe sleep deprivation can cause mild and moderate hallucinations.Other conditions and sleep deprivation can cause severe hallucinations.An adult should get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night.If you are currently suffering from sleep deprivation, you may need to increase this amount by several hours.Sleeping during the day can cause insomnia and make you hallucinate.A normal sleep pattern should be established if your sleeping patterns are thrown off.
Step 4: It's better to manage stress more effectively.
Severe hallucinations caused by other factors can be worsened by anxiety, and it can also be a cause of mild to moderate hallucinations.Reducing mental and physical stress can help reduce the severity of your hallucinations.Keep yourself hydrated and well-rested to reduce stress.Regular light to moderate exercise can improve your overall health and relieve your body of stress related symptoms.
Step 5: Know when to call for help.
You should seek emergency medical care if you can't tell reality from hallucination.If you experience mild hallucinations on a frequent basis, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor, since they are probably caused by an underlying medical condition.If taking general home measures to improve your health have no effect, this is especially true.Emergency medical care should be sought if you experience hallucinations that are accompanied by other severe symptoms.Symptoms include discolored lips or fingernails, chest pain, clammy skin, confusion, loss of consciousness, vomiting, abnormal pulse, breathing difficulties, injury, seizure, and irrational behavior.
Step 6: Know what the signs mean.
People who experience hallucinating can't talk about it.You will need to know how to identify the less obvious signs of hallucination.A person may seem unaware of his or her surroundings and may talk to himself or herself excessively.In an attempt to drown out the voices, that individual may seek isolation or listen to music.Someone who fixes something they can't see could be experiencing a visual hallucination.Holding one's nose can indicate smell-based hallucinations, while scratching or brushing away seemingly invisible disturbances can be a sign of sensory hallucinations.It's a sign of taste-based hallucinations to spit food out.
Step 7: Stay calm.
It's important to remain calm if you have to help someone else who is suffering from hallucinations.The patient might already be in a state of panic because of hallucinations.Adding more stress and panic will only make things worse.You should discuss with someone you know what happens when he or she is not hallucinating.Ask the patient what they need you to do in order to offer support.
Step 8: Explain what reality is.
Explain to the patient that they can't see, hear, feel, taste, or touch the sensation he or she is describing.Explain this in a way that doesn't upset the patient.You may try to explain that the sensations the patient is experiencing are not real if the hallucinations are mild to moderate.If they are questioned or doubted, patients who have never experienced hallucinating before may lash out.
Step 9: The patient should be distracted.
It is possible to distract the patient by changing topics of conversation or moving to a different location.You may not be able to reason with patients who are experiencing severe hallucinations.
Step 10: Encourage the patient to seek help.
If you know a person who suffers from frequent hallucinations, you should encourage them to seek help.If the patient is not experiencing a hallucination, talk to him or her.Discuss the severity of the situation and give any knowledge you have on potential causes and solutions.Approach the situation from a position of support and love, and never from an accusatory standpoint.
Step 11: Take care of the situation.
Hallucinations can become a safety threat if they escalate in severity.Emergency medical help should be called when safety is an issue.If hallucinations are accompanied by other severe physical symptoms, or if they are so severe that the patient can no longer separate fiction from reality, you should seek emergency medical care.
Step 12: Treat the underlying cause.
Some psychiatric disorders can cause hallucinations, but some medical conditions can also cause them.The only way to fix the hallucinations is to treat the underlying condition.Schizophrenia, schizoid or schizotypal personality disorders, psychotic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bipolar disorder are some of the psychological conditions known to cause hallucinations.There are conditions that can impact the central nervous system.Parkinson's disease is one of the diseases that can include brain tumors.Bladder infections and chest infections can cause hallucinations.Some individuals can be affected by Migraines.Drug or alcohol abuse can cause hallucinations when consumed in high quantities or during periods of withdrawal.
Step 13: Take anti-psychotic medication.
Most circumstances can be controlled by anti-psychotic drugs.When other treatments are unavailable or not enough, these drugs can be prescribed to help treat hallucinations.Depending on the severity of the hallucinations, Clozapine can be given in between 6 to 50 grams per day.The dosage needs to be increased slowly.White blood cell tests must be taken when this medication is being used.Another atypical neuroleptic that can treat hallucinations is quentiapine.It is less effective than clozapine, but it is safe to use for most underlying conditions.Risperidone, aripiprazole, olanzapine, and ziprasidone are some of the common antipsychotics.Patients with Parkinson's disease may not be safe for taking these medications.
Step 14: Dosage of prescription drugs should be adjusted.
Some medications can cause people to hallucinate.Patients with Parkinson's disease are especially prone to this occurrence.You should never stop a drug without talking to your doctor.It is possible to suddenly stop a medication.Amantadine and other anticholinergic medications are usually stopped first in Parkinson's patients.Dopamine agonists could be lowered to a smaller dosage or stopped completely if this doesn't help.Doctors may still prescribe drugs if they don't control a patient's hallucinations.Lowering the dosage of these medications can cause other Parkinson's symptoms to return or worse.
Step 15: If necessary, enter rehabilitation.
If you're addicted to drugs or alcohol, a rehabilitation program can help you recover.Drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines, marijuana, heroin, ketamine, and ecstasy can cause hallucinations.If you quit the substance too suddenly, it can cause hallucinations to develop.Antipsychotic medications can be used to control hallucinations caused by withdrawal.
Step 16: You should attend regular therapy.
Some patients who suffer from frequent hallucinations can be helped by cognitive behavioral therapy.The therapy looks at the patient's perception and beliefs.A professional psychologist might be able to create strategies that allow the patient to cope with and reduce symptoms by identifying possible psychologicaltriggers.
Step 17: There is a support group.
Both support groups and self-help groups can help reduce the severity of hallucinations.Support groups help patients to plant themselves firmly in reality, so that they can separate false delusions from real life.Self-help groups encourage people to accept responsibility for their hallucinations in a way that encourages them to control and cope with them.