Hallucinatory-delusional syndromes are an imaginary perception of objects of the surrounding world. Imaginary images replace reality. The patient perceives them as something that actually exists, takes part in imaginary events.
General information
Hallucinosis is a state when imaginary images float, but consciousness remains unclouded. This means that a person does not experience disintegration, he clearly perceives external stimuli. Clear consciousness is the key characteristic of this phenomenon. If imaginary images capture a person in a clouded consciousness, this can no longer be called a hallucinatory syndrome.
It is not uncommon for this condition to have crazy ideas. Their presence is not explained only by the fact that a person justifies hallucinations of sound, visual and other types. Often they appear on their own and are not accompanied by delirium.
Hallucinatory syndrome can occur in chronic or acute form. The second variety has bright, rich visual images. The patient in thiscase is involved in imaginary events very actively. The chronic form is characterized by the fact that the visions are somewhat gray, the patient is not inclined to attach great importance to them.
Varieties
Taking into account with which particular organs of perception visions are associated, several of their varieties are distinguished. As a rule, tactile hallucinations, visual, verbal, sound are described. Proper identification of them is extremely important in order to make an accurate diagnosis and apply the most effective treatment.
Visual
Visual hallucinatory syndrome develops quite rarely. It is almost not accompanied by delusional ideas, other manifestations of pathology. Hallucinatory Bonnet syndrome occurs in people who have completely or almost completely lost their sight. The patient is critical of visions. He observes quite vivid images that can take on non-standard sizes - objects can be too large or small. As a rule, he sees relatives who are not around in reality.
If a person is in darkened rooms for a long time, there is a high risk that the disease with hallucinations will turn out to be Lhermitte's syndrome. In this case, visions become blurry, a person sees groups of people, animals. The patient is critical of what is in front of his eyes, he is surprised by this.
Viral encephalitis provokes the development of Van Bogart's hallucinosis. As a rule, there are a lot of visions, they are bright. Sometimes this is the first sign of delirium.
Verbal
Verbal hallucinations are otherwise called auditory. They can be extremely many types, including a single voice, a dialogue between someone, the noise of the crowd, rustles, knocks. Sometimes voices condemn, threaten, give orders or behave neutrally, and incomprehensible sounds are alarming. As a rule, it is these hallucinations that lead to the development of a delusional syndrome. Delusions are directly related to what a person hears in their head.
Verbal type is often accompanied by anxiety, fear. It begins with a single word, phrase, and only then becomes a detailed dialogue. When the syndrome manifests itself most clearly, the person is frightened and confused. At this moment, he is able to commit a crime, run away from home, hospital, attack anyone. If the manifestations of the disease have disappeared, the patient has calmed down, this does not mean that he has recovered. As a rule, the lull in such cases is only temporary, then the patient becomes worse.
Sometimes voices change tone, become persuasive. But over time, the patient becomes more critical of the sounds he hears, they have less effect on his behavior.
General
This syndrome includes tactile hallucinations combined with visceral hallucinations. In this case, the patient sees moving objects of the surrounding reality that cause him discomfort. Sometimes imaginary objects can be on his body, and sometimes inside, in the internal organs. As a rule, the patient begins to see worms, insects. Someone is tormented by visions of frogs imaginaryfabulous creatures, such as dragons.
This kind of vision is quite persistent. Often the patient is treated by many doctors, complaining of all sorts of symptoms, undergoes several courses of therapy, and then goes to a psychiatrist. In medical practice, cases have been recorded when a patient complained about a frog sitting in the stomach. The symptoms disappeared only when the psychiatrist provoked the patient to vomit and put a frog in the vomit.
Something similar develops in those who are sick with senestopathy. In this case, there is no separate complex of uncomfortable sensations. The patient complains of pain, heaviness in the body, but does not associate them with a specific object - an insect, stones, any creatures, as happens in people suffering from hallucinosis.
Very rare gustatory and olfactory hallucinations. As a rule, they are not symptoms of any mental disorders.
Reason for development
Hallucinations in the elderly are most often represented by a separate syndrome. But sometimes they are part of a mental or organic disease. The most common reasons why a patient sees visions are epilepsy, brain damage, schizophrenia, psychosis, encephalitis.
Sometimes a child develops hallucinations at a temperature. Babies start crying and screaming in fear. Parents should take the temperature, call a doctor. The doctor, according to indications, prescribes drugs, among which there may be an antipyretic. For hallucinations, mild sedatives and sleeping pills are prescribed, such asTenoten, Persen, valerian tincture.
If a person suffers from epilepsy, visions are likely to come to him before the attack. As a rule, these are stage plots in which many people are involved. It can be whole scenes of catastrophes. Their main feature is the presence of a large number of blue and scarlet shades.
If organic brain lesions are noted, much will be determined by the location of the damage and its type. Depending on whether a tumor, cyst, trauma is diagnosed, visions may appear different.
It is common for people with schizophrenia to experience many hallucinations. Usually this stream begins with verbal manifestations - voices in the head. Subsequently, visual images, crazy ideas can join them. Symptoms in this case are negative.
Psychosis is a long-term severe illness. It is classified by etiology and causes. Psychoses are endogenous, somatogenic, intoxication, organic, withdrawal.
Encephalitis also provokes all sorts of visions, ranging from light flashes, ending with whole scenarios, figurative paintings, everyday scenes. Verbal hallucinations in this case occur quite rarely. Sometimes the patient hears extraneous music, noise.
Treatment
Manifestations of this kind are removed with pills from hallucinations. To quickly rid the patient of the syndrome, psychiatrists prescribe tranquilizers,neuroleptics, antidepressants. It is necessary first of all to treat the underlying disease, which led to the appearance of visions.
Development mechanism
In the brain of each person, the ability to “finish” the visible, using fragmentary information, is provided. So, if he sees a spot in the dark that moves, he finishes the picture and realizes that it is a cat. But a side effect of this ability is also manifested in the tendency to see what is not there. According to official studies, almost everyone has seen something illusory at least once in their life.
Experiments were conducted in which both patients with psychosis and completely he althy people took part. They were shown a series of black-and-white images of unidentified objects and asked which of them could show a person.
After that, color drawings were presented, on the basis of which black-and-white images were built. The results showed that people prone to psychosis used additional data (color images) more and quickly found a person in black and white drawings. The thing is that a hallucinatory syndrome occurs in people with a tendency to transfer to reality the impressions that they had previously received. This is a potentially dangerous shift in the brain's processing of data.
Interesting facts
PTSD can cause hallucinations. It can appear after any strong experiences, negative experiences that have not been worked out in a timely manner. Often manifestedfrustration in sudden "flashbacks", memories that are associated with trauma. They are so bright that it seems to a person as if it is happening at the moment.
Overwork and solitude can also cause hallucinations. The brain begins to confuse what is happening inside and outside. You do not need to have a mental disorder for this - it is enough that the person is very tired. This is fertile ground for visions. If there is chronic sleep deprivation, and there are no people nearby, which makes it difficult to focus reality, the brain begins to be deceived.
According to surveys of patients with schizophrenia, the attitude towards hallucinations differs depending on the cultural background. So, American patients associated them with negative experiences, and Indian patients assessed their visions positively, they came into contact with them.
Some historical events, according to recent research, may have been due to the consumption of hallucinogenic foods, such as the Salem witch hunts. In the area where the arrests took place, rye bread was distributed, the components of which created an effect similar to LSD.
