I (18f) am starting to realize that I might have been having delusions and hallucinate, I’m still not full on sure but hearing my sister talk to me Thursday multiple times, only for me to look at her and she was just minding her own business really freaked me out as it full on sounded like we were in the middle of a conversation only to realize we weren’t.
I’m so sorry if this is hard to follow my mind is just really jumbled right now.
I don’t believe I’ve been seeing things? I mean at night sometimes the shadows will dance around and look like tentacles or claws, and sometimes have faces but I’m pretty sure that’s just because of poor vision in the dark. I mean, I have seen cats randomly and when I full on look at them they dissapeer, or after a few blinks they’re gone, alongside hearing random meows or distant conversations that factually aren’t happening- and I always believe that everyone hates me and is watching me and my parents are going to throw me out now that I’m 18.
I also full on believe that my thinking is always jumbled as in order for me to think coherently it feels hard to and I struggle to keep up with a conversation as it’s hard to follow up with my own mind and with what others say. I think I’m starting to become delusional because I full on believe that I’m a parasite that’s above these humans I’m living with and at some point without me realizing it I either became aware of that or stole this body that is my human skin- factually I know it’s wrong but I can’t shake the feeling I feel like a parasite.
There are a few other things like- it’s hard to control my mood and it seems every few weeks or months I will be in this ‘positive’ state until I switch into a ‘negative’ mindset- I originally thought it to be a sort of seasonal depression type of thing but it’s not aligning with the seasons?
i really don’t know what to do because I don’t want to sound insane and than have everyone think I’m faking this, I just dont know what to do
Edit:
Tgank you so much for the repsonses I’m genuinely thankful for it- I’m sorry if I’m not responding well I’m just really panicked so it’s just harder for me to think and also type- but it’s like super super aprecciated and its helping me think in like- a different perspective
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you sound like you are experiencing a mental health episode that no one here would be qualified to diagnosis over the internet but I would suggest seeing a doctor if you aren’t willing to tell your parents.
do you consume any drugs, including weed?
Are you taking any substances? That could be making things worse. Otherwise you just need to talk to a trusted adult. I’m sorry this is happening to you.
Tell them you need to see a dr. You can go to your primary or family dr. If you think they’ll be understanding and sensitive to your situation tell them why.
If the worse thing my child ever told me was that they were experiencing mild symptoms of schizophrenia, as a parent I would be relieved. This is one of the few things that can mostly be fixed with a pill. And the most admirable thing is that you are recognizing the symptoms on your own rather than being in denial. You are a strong person for seeing what’s going on and facing it and someone I’d be proud of.
I can’t tell you how your parents are going to react, but if you were my kid, I would want to reassure you that this is very much treatable like a lot of things are. This is much, much easier to manage than say addiction or a personality disorder or cancer.
This is serious and you need to get it checked out.
If you explain to your parents some of the things you’ve written here, they should be willing to take you to a doctor… but if not, you can try another trusted adult, or even going yourself since you’re an adult.
As others have pointed out, stop taking any dangerous drugs. If you’re taking any medication, bring a list of them to the doctor you meet, so they can determine if any of your medication may be causing this.
There can be medication that helps you with this issue, so it’s important you get it checked out as soon as possible.
Take care! Good job reaching out, this is an important matter to address.
Okay, these could be the beginning signs of schizophrenia. I know that sounds scary, but don’t be scared, lots of people live with this and it IS a manageable disorder and it CAN be treated. You should talk to your parents and tell them what you just told us and ask to see a psychiatrist as soon as possible. Your psychiatrist can diagnose you and help you manage the disorder and prescribe medication that will reduce or eliminate your symptoms.
I’ve seen one schizophrenic who actually got cameras around their house and then when someone is suddenly there, they go check the cameras to tell if someone really is there or if they’re hallucinating and it works. The hallucination loses its power as soon as you see that you’re talking to yourself or talking to someone who isn’t there. They might still be there, but now you know they’re a hallucination.
You don’t necessarily have to do that per se, but your therapist can help you. So please go get evaluated and treated. The earlier you catch it and treat it, the better your outcomes will be. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You’re not a bad person or turning into a monster or going crazy. Okay? You’re just dealing with an issue, and you can get on top of it. I believe in you. You deserve the help. You deserve to live a lucid full life, and you can. It starts by asking for help.
Do you think they would be responsive if you just said you needed to see a doctor or a psychiatrist and wasn’t specific about why? You could even frame it as just being about trouble sleeping, or anxiety, or mood swings, something that sounds less scary if you think that will help. I know I often struggled to talk to my parents about my mental health because it was so overwhelming to say out loud and paradoxically I didn’t want them to think I was crazy and broken, and it often meant I hid how I was feeling until it became really destructive. Whatever you can do to talk to a professional you trust about this, the sooner the better
Hey, sorry you’re going through this. This does sound like it could be a mental health episode where you’re experiencing delusions, paranoia, or psychosis. If you haven’t been taking any medications or substances, this can happen organically – some people have a predisposition to it and it can occur once you reach a certain age or experience a stressful event. Depending on what’s causing this episode, there’s a good chance it won’t get better without medical intervention, and you may do or say things that you’ll regret or even cause serious harm to yourself or others.
You’re 18, so you don’t have to tell your parents if you don’t want to, but you should tell someone. You can go to a hospital, your family doctor, or a trusted adult. You can start by saying something like “I’m scared that I’ve been hearing things that aren’t real and having thoughts that don’t make sense. I need help.”
I’d really urge you to ask for help sooner rather than later while you still have some insight into what’s happening to you. You’ve got this, good luck!
Look at it this way: If you are indeed suffering from a mental illness like schizophrenia, the sooner you have it treated the sooner things will feel right again.
Most parents would be happy to jump in and help if you feel you are unwell, for any reason. If you twisted your ankle, or could no longer tolerate sugar, you would be sure to go to a doctor and have it treated. If there is a chemical imbalance that is causing issues for you, and medications can help, it is wise to seek assistance.
If by chance it turns out to be something less, that’s good too.
An additional note: Don’t borrow trouble. That means don’t refuse to do the right thing in any given situation because you are afraid this or that might happen. Always take the logical, calm, path that makes sense.
Tell your parents. If they refuse to help you, tell another authority figure: an aunt, teacher, coach, nurse, or call a therapist or mental health professional.
You can do this.💫
About 10% of people routinely hear things, with nothing else apparently wrong, so breathe, this is going to be fine. People don’t talk about it because others may judge them.
Your to-do list: start noticing when/where it happens. Start a log, with a gentle curiosity! You might discover connections this way that could otherwise go unnoticed. Examples: an aura, only when fatigued, only when depressed, after a certain exposure, etc. If you are using anything “recreationally,” stop all of it. You need to get this sorted and no matter how much a supply feels trustworthy, this can happen from substance use. Nourish yourself with quality foods as best you can and be sure to get your B vitamins and Omega 3s. . Do all of this while you have an appointment on the books to get checked out, medically. Prepare for that appointment with the logs, including what you notice with your mood. Both visual and auditory hallucinations can occur in depression, including the bipolar type. Be prepared for whether your MD finds something medical, or if an evaluation for a mood disorder may be recommended. Nobody here can tell you what way this may go. We can tell you that you are not alone, and whatever you learn will help you to understand and best manage. You got this, and it is so awesome that you are getting help for yourself! Soon it will not need to be your focus and you can return to all of the other wonderful things about you!
Can you be honest with your sister and ask her for her support? You are 18 and able to seek medical assistance without asking your parents, right? If you’re not sure they’ll be supportive maybe she could be that person to lean on as you seek medical care.
OP I have a teenager just a little younger than you are. If my teen was experiencing what you are experiencing, I would really want him to come to me and tell me. Let them know you are worried because your mind is doing unusual things, and you need help. If you can’t tell them that, then at least tell them you urgently need to see your PCP. Your PCP will believe you, and take this seriously, and help you. The first step is sometimes the hardest. If you feel more comfortable talking to one of your parents than the other, tell that one. You don’t have to suffer alone. Please, OP, let your parents help you.
Call your doctor’s office and ask for an appointment because you are hearing things that aren’t there. Go to the appointment and describe things exactly as you described them here, and ask for the doctor’s help to tell your parents.
Responding to your edit – it’s okay. We are here for you, not the other way around. Take what you need and ask for more if you need it. Don’t worry about us, this is all about you
I’m sorry that sounds scary l. The sooner you get a diagnosis the sooner you can get a psychiatrist and start figuring out best proper medication regimen. These things can get worse untreated. Other commenters are right to warn you of substances. Good luck
Definitely to a mental health professional. I’m so sorry you are experiencing this. I can’t trust my family, so I personally would call and make my own appointment. If you need to go through your parents, I would be vague and just let them know you NEED a psychiatrist or therapist.
You’ll be OK, but definitely focus on getting professional help
Everyone sees stuff..get out of the house for awhile .. esp if your in a big city. Exp. Nature.. if you take anything.now is the time to stop…..
It’s not something to panic about. I was absolutely terrified when my son started hallucinating. He would have a conversation with a friend only to find that friend wasn’t at school that day.
But it’s really all just brain chemicals.
Too much dopamine can cause hallucinations. You take a medication, lower the dopamine and basically stop them in most cases.
Funnily enough I have early onset parkingsons. If I take medication to raise my dopamineto get rid of tremors, I can get hallucinations.
If my son takes too high a does of his medication to lower dopamine and get rid of hallucinations, he can get tremors
Any just thinking about it in this way takes away fear, I think.
That and I think we’re all moving away from terns like skitzophrenia and more toward the idea of a spectrum of hallucination conditions
Hey, I had a psychotic episode when I was younger and it was very frightening.
Reaching out for help was also scary because I didn’t know what would happen but I wish I’d done it sooner.
Please speak to a trusted person about this as soon as possible.
Sounds kind of normal to me, but I’ve been told I’m not a reliable metric to judge topics like this. I hope you are ok and get the support you need.
I hope you see this. I have an MS in Psychology and experience with people with similar symptoms. Currently, I work in a lab at the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry.
I want to make this short so you follow. I just want to come outright and say that minor hallucinations are perfectly normal, especially when tired (i.e. sometimes people hear their name being called at night).
However, you are showing signs of something a little more serious. Imagining that you are having a full conversation is NOT typical. Hearing people say articulated things to you (i.e. “did you do the dishes?”), is NOT typical.
I think you should be very careful with your mental health right now, and seek out a professional who can screen you for a psychotic disorder. If you are going to school, working, anything stressful, PLEASE STOP, and give your body and brain time to relax. It is crucial that you do so now.
You are the exact age that most people who have Schizophrenia or other similar disorders develop them. Once you have such a disorder, it WILL NOT GO AWAY AND REQUIRES LIFELONG MEDICATION. I cannot stress that enough.
Please go easy on yourself and try not to stress, as you appear to be in the beginning stages, it may be possible to reverse. But that window is narrow and needs to be addressed now. PLEASE SHOW THIS REDDIT POST AND MY RESPONSE TO A TRUSTED ADULT.
Try to remind yourself that the paranoia is not real. People are likely NOT talking behind your back. If you start to have vivid visual hallucinations, pull your phone out and try to record them. This works as a grounding tool to know what is not real.
Make sure you are getting sleep, as symptoms may get worse when tired.
A psychiatrist should be able to help you figure out what is going on pretty quickly with meds.
Please read a book called, “The Center Cannot Hold” by Elyn Sacks. It may help you with some understanding about yourself.
The good news is, it’s likely temporary. So you’re going to be ok. Everything is ok. You are ok right now, even if you’re not feeling it, you are ok.
I experienced hallucinations like this due to a sleep disorder! Please talk to your parents and a doctor.
If your parents won’t take you seriously, please talk to a school counselor and ask for help. Given the timing, if you are off for spring break, please call 911. This needs to be taken seriously
This may be overoutpaygrade here but you need to see a doctor. Could be mental health or possible a side effect from some physiological issue. I get partial focal seizures (absence seizures like the lights are on but nobody is home) that when uncontrolled cause hallucinations and paranoia. Its terrifying! Thank God for modern medicine. I take a couple different meds and I’m back to myself.
Honey, please talk to your parents or get to a doctor if you can. You need a diagnosis in order to get help. You’re going to be OK. Just don’t try to go this alone.
OP, this sounds so scary for you. You don’t have to tell your family if you don’t think they’d understand, but you can make an appointment with your doctor (just tell your parents you want to follow up with the dr about something personal, though they don’t even need to know right now).
But if you can share this, it would be good to have their help to navigate the process of getting evaluated and treated.
If nothing else, you can also take yourself to a local emergency room. You just walk in and they’ll have you talk to a triage nurse. Tell them what you’ve said here, and they’ll have a doctor see you.
Go get help from your parents before you become too sick to even ask! This stuff can spiral out of control quickly.
Tell them as soon as possible.
OP, your posting history shows a long history of mental health issues – eating disorder, suicidal ideation, depression, etc
If you think you are having hallucinations, you most definitely are. It’s not your fault. It’s not a flaw. It’s mostly a brain chemistry issue that is manageable with proper help.
Unfortunately, it’s also not something that will likely go away, on its own. You need to make your family members aware that you are hearing and seeing things, along with those impulses to harm animals (from previous posts).
If your family won’t take these things seriously, or cannot get you the proper professional help, please tell your school counselors or medical office. They have to take your concerns seriously, and get you help
You do not have to fight this by yourself. And, you don’t have to make excuses or apologize for what you are going through. It’s not your fault. The only thing you have power over, is whether you choose to tell others and seek help
I wish you the best. Things can, and will, get better with help
Show this to them and call for help as you would for your best friend.
Some people shrug off getting assistance for mental illness because they see things in the movies and in TV shows and in media in general and they think that their symptoms are not extreme enough to warrant intervention. What you are describing doesn’t even necessarily have just one diagnosis it could be a range of things but you won’t know unless you get help. Typically that just starts with therapy, and seeing a psychiatrist. Usually that occurs after just getting a referral from your primary care physician. I Don’t know if you have access to your own health insurance card and make your own doctor’s appointments but you don’t necessarily even need to consult your parents to make these appointments because you are an adult. You are legally 18 years old and perfectly capable of seeking the sort of help yourself. Usually your doctor’s office even has your health insurance card on file so you don’t necessarily need to have it present at appointments although sometimes they do force you to bring that with an ID.
You could even just get a doctor’s appointment and not bring up the mental health stuff to your parents if you’re not comfortable with it just yet and get them to bring you to a regular doctor’s appointment.
What I do believe though is it is easier when you have more support on your side. I don’t know if mental health issues run in your family but It is infinitely easier to get help for these things when the family already has experience with them because they are not as scary and therefore they will be less likely to be in denial of such things.
I have a lot of experience with such things. I grew up with a mother that had slight schizophrenia with bipolar disorder. She would get manic when it was warm outside typically and then depressed sometimes severely when it was colder outside and then sometimes there would be an extra cycle in the middle of the year. A lot of these types of symptoms would ebb and flow but medication typically helped and having a care team of psychiatrists and a therapist also definitely helps!
The first steps would be to seek help! If you speak to your parents about it and they want to shut you down then you can make a doctor’s appointment for yourself. You’re an adult now and you should learn to start advocating for yourself in these situations because eventually you will be living on your own and independent from your parents and there’s no time like the present to start making positive choices for yourself.
Being able to advocate for your own mental health and being able to admit it and be honest is such a great win for getting better. It’s a hard thing to navigate and can be scary, and the systems in place can be frustrating, but keep advocating for yourself and be patient. Mental health takes time to treat, often takes time doing different treatments, but it’s totally worth it. Stay the course, you got this.
Definitely talk to a doctor! I was really scared to get help for my mental health (depression mostly), and I put it off for years and years because I was afraid to be labeled “crazy” or be locked up. I ended up having two stays in the psych ward and honestly all I wish is that I had gotten help sooner. They are there to help you and no one will judge you, and worst case is you lose a few mins of your time.
I have bipolar 1 and this sounds EXACTLY like it was before I got treated. OP, please get to a doctor ASAP. It sounds like you aren’t a danger to yourself now, but that is frankly likely to change without intervention.
In one of my “up” episodes I almost jumped off a fifth-story balcony because I thought I could fly. Thankfully I’m a scientist and questioning why the laws of gravity wouldn’t apply to one person kept me safe. Ultimately I decided was no scientific basis for flying and got help soon after. But I still stayed up there for 6 or 7 hours pondering it
Are you in school? If yes, please talk to your school nurse or school counselor about your experience.
At 18, you are legally an adult in most jurisdictions, and can go to a health facility for a check up on your own, as well.
Please, please OP – seek a professional – medical doctor, therapist / psychologist / psychiatrist to get an assessment. At the very least, your fears will be calmed.