Poll Positive Psychotic Symptoms And Ptsd

[Ed Norton]

Many researchers and clinical practitioners report positive psychotic symptoms, namely, delusions or hallucinations AFTER the trauma occured.I am not interested in a comorbid diagnosis such as schizophrenia and PTSD, but psychotic symptoms as part of the PTSD itself.

 

[franciemarnie]

I hallucinated due to sleep deprivation and I was sleep deprived because I was in fight or flight too long a time without a break - about a year straight. So I hallucinated as a result of a symptom of PTSD.

I knew it wasn't real but...shudder. Not fun.

 

[Ed Norton]

That is very interesting franciemarnie. very interesting indeed.

 

[Ed Norton]

Just to clarify hallucinations can involve any of the senses, including smell and touch. And a delusion is any highly unlikely or irrational thought or belief such as believing others can read your thoughts or that people are out to get you e.g. the CIA is watching me or parasites are living inside me.

 

[Lucycat]

I had almost forgotten - the time when My Therapist was talking to me by sending facebook messages telling me to commit suicide. It was really frightening, and T was quite concerned when I told him about it.

At other times I saw the carpet and walls moving and changing colours. I knew it could not be real, but I could not stop it - it happened within therapy sessions when I was completely overwhelmed, and T had to guide me into using the grounding techniques.

These were all in the very early days of therapy, and my T said it was not unusual, with that amount of distress. He did not think any other 'label' or diagnosis was necessary ( I had been diagnosed with Complex PTSD)

 

[Marf]

I heard a radio, when there was no radio on to hear.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I answered no.

I have hallucinated before, after a medication overdose. Not fun at all. The hallucinations were only over the span of a day, but I questioned reality for the next few months. I hope I never experience hallucinations again. I feel for those who do.

 

[DharmaGirl]

I heard voices, but my blood sugar was over 600, so it could have been from that.

 

[Hashi]

I used to have hallucinations. Like, when I was sitting on a train once I "saw" my attackers get on and sit in the seats all around me, that kind of thing.

I've also had problems in the past with hallucinations from hypnopompic/hypnogogic states, which is when you're in a consciousness inbetween sleep and waking. Many people experience someone coming into the room, walking over to them and pressing down on their chest (in the past it was called hag-riding, or being ridden by a witch). I didn't used to get that, I used to get other horrors.

Not speaking scientifically but from how I experience things, I group hallucinations together with flashbacks and nightmares. I started doing visualisations to protect myself from all three, and don't have them any more.

I haven't experienced delusions, unless you count obsessive compulsive disorder things, like being convinced I've unlocked a window and left it wide open after I checked it.

Do you see delusions and hallucinations as being connected, or part of the same thing? I see delusions as being about thinking/ruminating, and hallucinations as being about feeling/experiencing.

 

[Ed Norton]

Hashi, I am not sure of the answer to your question, but what you say sounds logical.I am very curious about this phenomenon but my understanding of it is very limited.

What I find interesting is that my flashbacks and dissociative events went into remission after my delusional experiences. I also, during that time, stopped having nightmares. Unfortunately, my nightmares have returned. I have also had one dissociative event since my delusions ceased. I think the delusions were a way for my brain to protect itself from psychic pain.

 

[Changing4Best]

I had a several day long hallucination of hearing someone tell me that I was going to be arrested for impersonating a police officer, something I've never done (of course). The voice went on for days telling me what jail is like, and never once did I question this, I believed it was true.

Another time I have psychotic actions and voices telling me to do things and what would happen in the far future and so on. I believed it all, wrote letters to folks about it and everything.

Apparently I am on the proper meds now, since these things are no longer happening.

 

[zaniara]

I'm a bit confused and don't know what to answer. I have seen, smelled and felt things that wasn't really there. But consider that being flasbacks. Isn't hallucinating something you do about things that was never real, and also believing them to be real?