[Buffy01]

Could complicated grief cause hallucination? Is it normal to see the person who has passed away? Every where a person goes or and their dreams? When my best friend pass away I start pretending I could still hang out with him after the nightmares started happening.

[TerryL]

hi buffy01, the hallucinations could be you processing your grief. the sadness mixed with your memories. i am very sorry for your loss.

[amicus_curiae]

Here is one of my secrets: my dead father — I realize that he’s dead — is constantly on hand for me. I see him, we have conversations, I dream of him — it’s as if he never died. I know that my dad is a feature of my delusion but he’s where I want him to be.

I grieved my father’s death when I first saw his corpse and as his casket was lowered into that damned concrete liner that my state requires. Maybe I only grieved his remains. He had one of those standing-room-only funeral masses. Not enough indoor space to display all the flowers so most went to the nearby gravesite. The crowd at the gravesite was overwhelming: I have never been hugged so much, never had so many secrets whispered in my ear. “He was a Saint. He is surely in the presence of God.”

My dad is dead; he is not real. He has not aged — he would be, hmm, in mid-nineties, now. I can never explain the scope of my peculiar delusion but I can say that my dad is a, if not the, central pillar of all that I need to carry on.

I don’t believe in spirits or gods or any kind of life after death. The father that I see, the father who advises me, he’s an amalgamation of my memories. He is hidden inside of my bicameral brain, nestled under folds, close to the confounding densities of synapses constantly firing, lost amongst the neurotransmitters.

No one carries as many memories of my dad than me. He — and others — will die with me.

As you grieve your friend’s death you’re remembering him. He remains alive in your memories; how could it be otherwise? It’s natural to see him and speak to him, I think. Maybe not for forty-years but for awhile.

[CANDC]

Originally Posted by Buffy01

Could complicated grief cause hallucination? Is it normal to see the person who has passed away? Every where a person goes or and their dreams? When my best friend pass away I start pretending I could still hang out with him after the nightmares started happening.

I am sorry for your loss. It sounds rough coping with the loss of a friend. I am not sure what happens when we see pictures of the person we lost. It is hard to say. But I have dreams of my dad. It is sort of like he has nothing else to do or he is having trouble accepting that he is dead. It is not very comforting to me but maybe it is comforting to him to "visit"

Have you told your therapist or grief support people about this? Maybe they can help.

[Buffy01]

Originally Posted by TerryL

hi buffy01, the hallucinations could be you processing your grief. the sadness mixed with your memories. i am very sorry for your loss.

Okay I never thought about that! Thank you.

[Buffy01]

Originally Posted by amicus_curiae

Here is one of my secrets: my dead father — I realize that he’s dead — is constantly on hand for me. I see him, we have conversations, I dream of him — it’s as if he never died. I know that my dad is a feature of my delusion but he’s where I want him to be.

I grieved my father’s death when I first saw his corpse and as his casket was lowered into that damned concrete liner that my state requires. Maybe I only grieved his remains. He had one of those standing-room-only funeral masses. Not enough indoor space to display all the flowers so most went to the nearby gravesite. The crowd at the gravesite was overwhelming: I have never been hugged so much, never had so many secrets whispered in my ear. “He was a Saint. He is surely in the presence of God.”

My dad is dead; he is not real. He has not aged — he would be, hmm, in mid-nineties, now. I can never explain the scope of my peculiar delusion but I can say that my dad is a, if not the, central pillar of all that I need to carry on.

I don’t believe in spirits or gods or any kind of life after death. The father that I see, the father who advises me, he’s an amalgamation of my memories. He is hidden inside of my bicameral brain, nestled under folds, close to the confounding densities of synapses constantly firing, lost amongst the neurotransmitters.

No one carries as many memories of my dad than me. He — and others — will die with me.

As you grieve your friend’s death you’re remembering him. He remains alive in your memories; how could it be otherwise? It’s natural to see him and speak to him, I think. Maybe not for forty-years but for awhile.

Thanks! Thanks for giving me some things to think about!

[Buffy01]

Originally Posted by CANDC

I am sorry for your loss. It sounds rough coping with the loss of a friend. I am not sure what happens when we see pictures of the person we lost. It is hard to say. But I have dreams of my dad. It is sort of like he has nothing else to do or he is having trouble accepting that he is dead. It is not very comforting to me but maybe it is comforting to him to "visit"

Have you told your therapist or grief support people about this? Maybe they can help.

Thank you! I felt something was wrong for months and I didn't know what or why especially the last time I saw him. It was really bad the week of and the weekend that it happen. When I read the note telling me about the funeral I had a really feeling something wrong especially when I couldn't find for two whole days when we came back to school. Then a week after the funeral the dreams start happening and I finally broke down. I was terrified of going to school and going back to church.

I never got any help for my grieved and my parent didn't know who to go to get me help. I look for help from counselor the state hospitals said that I wasn't grieving enough. I reach out to another grief counselor and never heard back from them. I start a grief journal and found grief quotes.

I found grief support groups helpful. You could try calling hospitals, hospice, and churches around you to see what is available.

I have seen my loved ones in vivid dreams.

[Buffy01]

I just started grieving all over again. The pain has hit me really hard. Worst than it did when it all begin.

[hprodf]

Buffy, very sorry to hear about your loss, but I don't think what you're experiencing is particularly abnormal, especially if the loss was unexpected or you weren't prepared for it.

Unfortunately it's also normal to go through ups and downs when you've lost someone close and sometimes it's important to let the grieving process naturally take its course to allow you to move on healthily. Always remember though, if you feel this way about the person you've lost, they must have lived a valuable life to be loved so much. Cherish that you had the pleasure of this person being part of your life.

[ohmydaisy]

I saw my brother's face in customers at work, people driving next to me, etc. That happened several months after he was killed. These days, (almost 2 years), I see little kids that look like my brother when he was their age. It's surreal.

I have nightmares of my brother staring at me from the street he was killed. A car lighting his body before he got hit by that car. I'm jolted awake. It's a little terrifying.

It might be the combination of you missing your best friend and processing your grief, as TerryL stated. And I agree with key_tones. Having a support or people to talk about it with, helps through the process.

I'm so sorry for your loss.