[deliquesce]

can someone please explain to me what the difference between a "real" and "pseudo" hallucinsation is?

i spoke to my pdoc about some of the stuff i had been hearing/seeing, and he said not to worry because they were only pseudo-hallucinations. i have tried looking this up on the net but couldn't find anything concrete on the matter.

the closest i could come was somewhere it said that 'pseudo' hallucinations are once off (mine have lasted a few months, over a few years), or that the voices come from "inside" the head, whereas people with schizophrenia have their voices "outside" the head. this doesn't help me either, because i have had voices and noises both inside and outside of my head. and seen stuff too, and that obviously happened outside in the 'real world'.

anyone come across this before?

[tarabug922]

Hi Deliquesce,

This site explains it really well. All the info on psuedo hallucinations is near the bottom.

I also read that psuedo hallucinations are always vague where as real hallucinations especially auditory can be distinctly heard and made out as to what is being said or heard.

Also, Hallucinated voices, f.i., are thought (by the hallucinator) to be heard by others as well. If the person is aware that the voices are in his own head and cannot be heard by others they are pseudohallucinations. At least in the medical-psychiatric literature in Europe, since at least a hundred years.

Hope this helps,

Love and Hugs,
Tara

P.S. You might want to get a second opinion

[tarabug922]

Originally Posted by tarabug922

Hi Deliquesce,

This site explains it really well. All the info on psuedo hallucinations is near the bottom.

www.sidis.net/spdpdchap21.htm

[deliquesce]

thanks for the link, tarabug.

seems like he's saying pseudo-hallucinations progress into fully fledged ones? is there a hiding under the table emoticon here?

[skymonk]

I hear voices that come from within&from without my head. It's like I have my thoughts, then I have mind chatter, then I have a cacaphony of voices in my head&then I have 3 voices that come from outside of my head-they sound like there is someone standing behind my left shoulder talking to me. More like hurtling insults. My voices are always negative in their manner. I've been this way since I was a little kid&I'm 40 now. Anyone recognize or heard of this?

[deliquesce]

hi skymonk,

when i talked to my pdoc about this - he said there are two types of voices ppl get. some are very abusive or insulting or are commenting on everything that you do. the other type are related to past traumas. it is possible that because you have PTSD that your voices are related to your past trauma?

[Junerain]

I read the article, and it hits home in my case. One can look up in the dictionary the difference between a 'sane' and 'insane' person, although I am not sure it applies the exact defintion to this particular article, which hits so close to home. What are people's thoughts regrading the point of insanity as it relates to pseudo hallucinations?

[tarabug922]

Skymonk,

The article above talks exactly about what you're talking about. There are differences in voices in your head (part of pseuedohallucinations) and voices outside of your head (hallucinations). I tend to think that many people have voices inside their head and I agree with deliquesce that it could stem from PTSD. I know almost all people with eating disorders have negative voices inside their head listing negative actions, words anything. So you are not alone.

JuneRain,

I think insanity is such a lucid point constantly moving that there really is no definitive way to answer that. Though pseudohallucinations do not seem to be taken as seriously as hallucinations it's gotta be the start to knowing you're going insane IF as they say hallucinations stem from psuedohallucinations. So, in my case, I feel like I know I am going to go insane because I've had pseudohallucinations followed by hallucinations that were both auditory, tactile and visual. People always say if you think you're crazy you're not but knowing that you are experiencing something that nobody else is experiencing, or something that is not real is a form of insanity, no? Just my wild stab at answering your question. Hope you got something out of it.

Love and Hugs,
Tara

[deliquesce]

one thing i am wondering - and maybe someone can clarify - is that even with the 'real' hallucinations (ie the ones outside of my head) - i always knows that other ppl can't see them/hear them.

are people who have schizophrenia aware of this also? that their hallucinations aren't real? or is it more difficult for them to tell?

sorry about the ignorant question, i'm just trying to get my head around things. i really am worried that one day i might not be able to tell the difference between what's "real" and what's not.

[tarabug922]

Deliquesce,

I think that knowing your hallucinations are not real makes them pseudohallucinations. And people with schizophrenia most often believe that their hallucinations are real and don't understand why people don't hear or see them too.

I too often worry about losing my mind to hallucinations or an alter reality. But we cannot take up the time we do have worrying about time we may not have, it makes now less important. But living in the moment is what is truly important so if you can set your worries aside try to. I will try to also.

Love and Hugs,
Tara

[_time]

To anyone who may have the experience to know this, when you experience auditory hallucinations in or outside of your own mind, do they have different voices than your own or do you hear them as your own voice?
And what might you visually hallucinate? Such as other people maybe, or different? Also what might other variations be of hallucinations with the different senses (Smell, taste, feel, etc.)?
Sorry if I am being to personal or forward, but this is something I have been pondering for quite some time.
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this.

[madisgram]

i am so glad to see this thread.my ex-husband has pseudo hallucinations every day. we talked about his. he "sees" a guy someitmes...but mostly he hears him inside his head and then verbally answers the guy. he knows i can't hear the guy. i asked him if he thought the guy was real. today he says no, he is not real.
in the past tho he has said it's difficult for him to differentiate what is real and not real. makes sense.
tonite the guy inside his head was threatening him...knock down david's door, etc which must be terrifying. we talked about this. i told him the guy is not real, for real, but in david's mind he seems real. i suggested he answer the guy and say, i know you are not real. i know you can't knock down my door because you are not real. i also reminded him that we love him and would never allow this guy to hurt david.
so that's my spin on this thread. i also told david since he was having a good lucid day that the voice might be trying to lure him back cause he's mad since david hasn't given him as much attention today.
david was mentally exhausted tonite and went to bed early..i'm hoping tomorrow will be less intrusive for him with his thoughts/hallucinations. each day is different.

[spiritual_emergency]

madisgram: i asked him if he thought the guy was real. today he says no, he is not real. in the past tho he has said it's difficult for him to differentiate what is real and not real. makes sense. tonite the guy inside his head was threatening him...knock down david's door, etc which must be terrifying. we talked about this. i told him the guy is not real, for real, but in david's mind he seems real.

Oddly enough, I was just listening to a song about that idea when I read this post.

Every generation, blames the one before
When all of their frustrations, come beating on your door

I know that I'm a prisoner to all my father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage, to all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him, in the living years...

Sometimes, not always, what is experienced in fragmented states, relates very directly to our past personal experience as if they were ghosts from the past. I've no idea if that might apply in your husband's case but it has applied to aspects of my own.

~ Namaste

.

[Junerain]

There comes a point where the generation before us their frustrations, hopes, and fears fade as we experience adulthood, true adulthood, and discover where our OWN hopes and fears lie, an ever intensely personal realization...............................