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Illusions vs. Delusions
Hello, I am asking if anyone else has experienced what I have experienced, and whether or not it's suggested that I go to a neurologist or some kind of mental health professional. I've already seen an optometrist, and I was told that my eyes are fine. I've never discussed other symptoms before; I told my optometrist, "I'm seeing auras" and was told that I don't blink enough/I concentrate too hard/eye strain. =/
I've never slept well. Ever.
I recall hallucinating when I was younger (except I didn't think it was hallucinations, obviously) and ever since, I will have hallucinations, not always intensely mind you, but still, nearly everyday. About 5 years ago, I started to have very chronic hallucinations (seeing people's auras, energy in the air, people turning into monsters, seeing cats walking around, feeling people touch me, things crawling under my skin, sky looking apocalyptic, smelling things not there) and, I wouldn't call them 'delusions', but I have to consciously convince myself out of thinking that if something in my environment reacts in a specific way, then it will cause something else, completely unrelated, to happen OR something in my environment has some meaningful interpretation for something else unrelated.
Sometimes I get thoughts of people reading my mind if I sit close to them, but I then rationalize the impossibility. I took the birth control pill for 3.5 years and started getting migraines and my symptoms maximized. I have since come off and no longer have migraines. I would say that I've always been more or less prone to something similar to depression. I eat a balanced diet. Does this provide reasonable suspicion that there's something serious happening with my brain (some for of petite mal epilepsy? tumor?)? Or am I experiencing something variably similar to other people and have little to worry about? I figure if I know the stuff I see and think isn't real, I mustn't be diving into psychopathy. Any thoughts? Is it possible I am just acutely aware of my thought processes and have eye strain? I know people hallucinate while under stress... that might be a contributing factor. If you experience something similar, tell me what you've decided to do, and if I ought to do anything.
I've never slept well. Ever.
I recall hallucinating when I was younger (except I didn't think it was hallucinations, obviously) and ever since, I will have hallucinations, not always intensely mind you, but still, nearly everyday. About 5 years ago, I started to have very chronic hallucinations (seeing people's auras, energy in the air, people turning into monsters, seeing cats walking around, feeling people touch me, things crawling under my skin, sky looking apocalyptic, smelling things not there) and, I wouldn't call them 'delusions', but I have to consciously convince myself out of thinking that if something in my environment reacts in a specific way, then it will cause something else, completely unrelated, to happen OR something in my environment has some meaningful interpretation for something else unrelated.
Sometimes I get thoughts of people reading my mind if I sit close to them, but I then rationalize the impossibility. I took the birth control pill for 3.5 years and started getting migraines and my symptoms maximized. I have since come off and no longer have migraines. I would say that I've always been more or less prone to something similar to depression. I eat a balanced diet. Does this provide reasonable suspicion that there's something serious happening with my brain (some for of petite mal epilepsy? tumor?)? Or am I experiencing something variably similar to other people and have little to worry about? I figure if I know the stuff I see and think isn't real, I mustn't be diving into psychopathy. Any thoughts? Is it possible I am just acutely aware of my thought processes and have eye strain? I know people hallucinate while under stress... that might be a contributing factor. If you experience something similar, tell me what you've decided to do, and if I ought to do anything.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello dear and welcome to the medhelp forum. I can understand your anxieties well. You would need to visit a psychiatrist’s office to check up the possibilities of a delusional disorder, bipolar illness, schizophrenia etc. You will need drug therapy including antipsychotics and anti depressants. Psychotherapy may be required including cognitive therapy. Rule out any space-occupying lesion with a Brain CT and EEG for seizure disorder. Wishing you all the best.
I suggest making appointments with a psychiatrist and a neurologist. I'm not a doctor, so I couldn't tell you what it is in confidence.
The problem is, the symptoms you have match up with both mental illnesses and physical problems. It can go both ways. People who think they are going crazy have a tumor; a person who thinks they have brain cancer would just be scyztophrenic. Either way, you want to see a doctor so you can get this thing that's going on fixed.
A friend of mine had depression and she used to see/hear things. She always had problems sleeping, to the point where she would stay up for days at a time until she would pass out from exhaustion. She's on a sleeping pill for that now. She would get really paranoid and think that every time someone is whispering, they're whispering about her. I remember one time when I was waiting at her locker so we could go to class, and these two girls walked by talking about how one of them was adopting a dog. All of the sudden, my friend burst in to tears, and when I asked what was wrong, she said those girls made a mean comment about her. They never even looked at her in reality. Her doctor said this was caused by the constant bullying she went through while she was at private school (where she attended before going to school with me, where we met).
Maybe you could bring up depression to whoever you see? It's just a thought.
I hope you get better soon.
~ Emily
The problem is, the symptoms you have match up with both mental illnesses and physical problems. It can go both ways. People who think they are going crazy have a tumor; a person who thinks they have brain cancer would just be scyztophrenic. Either way, you want to see a doctor so you can get this thing that's going on fixed.
A friend of mine had depression and she used to see/hear things. She always had problems sleeping, to the point where she would stay up for days at a time until she would pass out from exhaustion. She's on a sleeping pill for that now. She would get really paranoid and think that every time someone is whispering, they're whispering about her. I remember one time when I was waiting at her locker so we could go to class, and these two girls walked by talking about how one of them was adopting a dog. All of the sudden, my friend burst in to tears, and when I asked what was wrong, she said those girls made a mean comment about her. They never even looked at her in reality. Her doctor said this was caused by the constant bullying she went through while she was at private school (where she attended before going to school with me, where we met).
Maybe you could bring up depression to whoever you see? It's just a thought.
I hope you get better soon.
~ Emily
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