[Theresa1991]

How do you experience hallucinations?

I was sometimes wondering if what i experienced had a hallucinatory touch. I don't hear voices or anything, but sometimes colours become really intense, my vision blurs and shadows seem to form things that i cannot grasp. Its more an out of the edge of my eye thing, sometimes i think something has moved when it has not. Could be circulation problems or migraines as well. Never lasts long.

[Ocean Swimmer]

Nope. No seeing things.

I hear things (usually voices talking/whispering sometimes laughing and screaming) and see things (shadows, animals, insects).

[HALLIEBETH87]

I see spiders and colors. And sometimes hear things.

[Moose72]

I see people and animals, and hear people and music. Sometimes I smell things that I don't think could be coming from nearby.

[LifeInProgress]

Yes. Not as frequently now that I am on meds, but it still happens. I first sought treatment because of frequent and bizarre visual hallucinations.

[Shazerac]

I see things sometimes as distorted or more brightly colored. I see shadows and movement out of the corner of my eye. Auditory stuff is music, and if I'm really stressed out screaming. I also sometimes smell burning wire like an electrical fire and go sniffing around my house in case I'm actually smelling a fire. Haven't found one up yet.

[Theresa1991]

So in your opinion thos brighter lights and moving shadows (that sometimes form persons, mainly faces, but never stay for long) could be something like hallucinations?

[still_crazy]

Could be, but I mean symptoms only matter in how they affect treatment. With hallucinations, these days doctors usually use the newer antipsychotics. One of my former shrinks said that some forms of bipolar w/psychosis can be managed with depakote and no antipsychotic, but I'm not so sure she was correct about all that.

Are you on an antipsychotic/tranquilizer? They're not the best drugs ever, but if you need one, the newer ones are more tolerable than the old ones, and the tardive dyskinesia risk is supposed to be considerably lower.

Are you stressed out? Had any traumatic experiences? "Bipolar" people are still just that--people. there's a lot going on behind anybody's label, and its not all mania, depression, mixed episode, etc.

Do you have a therapist or counselor?

[Theresa1991]

I am not taking any meds at the moment as I am still in diagnosis process. I am pretty much stressed out right now, lots of work, my "boyfriend" just left to Mexico because his visa expired and I am really sad and pretty lonely where I live. I do have a pdoc and therapist who are trying to diagnose me and bipolar is rather probable they said, I will see them midst of January again.

[Shazerac]

They could be mild hallucinations. A neurologist told me that seeing ghost images or shadow images is not that uncommon. I have maigrianes and this stuff happens to me before the headache phase.