Schizophrenic hallucinations can take the form of auditory, visual, or other disturbances. Auditory hallucinations are the most common, often involving voices with specific messages and personalities. Delusions are also common in schizophrenia. Hallucinations are not always indicative of schizophrenia, but seeking medical help is recommended.
Usually, schizophrenic hallucinations take the form of auditory hallucinations, but there are other types of hallucinations common to schizophrenia as well. The exact description of what an auditory hallucination feels like for a schizophrenic person varies, but many people describe it as hearing voices and believing them to be real. Delusions are also a common symptom of schizophrenia, but are not considered hallucinations because they are beliefs, not perceptions. Schizophrenic hallucinations can also result from complete and total misinterpretations of existing stimuli, to the extent that existing stimuli bear very little relation to what the schizophrenic person sees or hears.
One of the most common types of schizophrenic hallucinations involves hearing voices or other sounds that are not actually present in the world. Most people with schizophrenia describe this type of auditory hallucination as voices, usually with specific messages and often personalities. The mentally ill person may believe that the voices belong to, for example, a supernatural being. This is very different from a person who understands that voices come from an internal place rather than the external world. There are many instances where a person might hear voices that are not present without experiencing other symptoms of mental illness, so hearing voices is not in itself an indicator of mental illness.
Auditory hallucinations in the form of voices are often frightening due to the malevolence of the voices or the number of separate characters being heard. Voices can command a person to do evil deeds, but they can also criticize the listener or order him to commit suicide. Auditory hallucinations very rarely take a purely benevolent form, but some characters within the hallucinations can be purely positive or negative characters.
Other auditory disturbances are also sometimes part of schizophrenic hallucinations. A person may be convinced that they hear bugs in the walls or that there is music playing. In all of these cases, the noises are completely devoid of related stimuli in the world. It is not always easy to distinguish between schizophrenic hallucinations and what are better called illusions, because the disturbing sound can be so subtle that it is very difficult to hear.
Visual hallucinations are less common in schizophrenia but still occur. Often, these hallucinations occur in combination with auditory hallucinations. The other senses can also sometimes perceive things that are not present in the world. Which components make up the hallucinations depend on the person involved. Hallucinations don’t always point directly to schizophrenia, but they are almost always problematic in terms of health, so if someone is hallucinating it’s a good idea to seek medical help right away.
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