Can stress cause halucinations?

Question

EG: Person under a lot of stress begins to suffer from fatigue that leads to fainting and times of panic and anxiety that lead to hallucinations.

Answer 1

Not sure but I can tell you this for sure. Hallucinations can cause stress.

Answer 2

Well i would not say that all people end up fainting from fatigue,
some do , some don't. I would say the fatigue has come about from the stress though, and they are not get restful sleep, and that will lead to fatigue, and panic and anxiety attacks, and of coarse if you have not sleapt in a long period of times, yes it can lead to hallucinations. That is when you better, decide that you have let this go too far already, and go and seek some professional help. Cause if you don't you could find that you are hallucinating more and more, and they may just be getting really weird, then they are going to think that you have really lost it. Sometimes you get so that you can not tell if it was an hallucaination, cause it is so darn real that you can feel the wind off of a preastorica birds wing flying over you, and you may find yourself hitting a hard floor, trying not to let that bird get to you. So yes a lot of stress, and no sleep can lead to panic and anxiety, and even hallucinations. So if you think this is happen to you, you should go and seek professional help right now. Call the crisis line in your area, or what ever you need to do , but get the help that you need. Hope this helps some.....

Happy hoildays,,,,,, now go and get that help.

Answer 3

Oh yeh, been there done that. Before you end up in the looney bin because the docs don't know what to do with you, here's a couple of things to do. It could be heart and nervous system related. Mine was the result of an autonomic nervous system problem which caused my heart AND blood pressure to drop at the same time during severe stress. Normally both of these things rise during stress, but there could be a problem that (for me) was easily fixed with a little "cocktail" of Florinef and Norpace. The problem was identifying it...I was even diagnosed for a while with somotaform disorder and sent to a "behavioral clinic" because the docs couldn't figure it out. If you have the same problem as I did, it's going to be tough to catch. As soon as you faint, your body corrects itself and by the time you get to the hospital you're fine again. Sort of...what they weren't paying attention to was that even when I got to the hospital I was bradycardic. It was only slightly bradycardic, but they were ignoring it. As long as the blood pressure didn't drop, I was fine, so they thought I was just healthy with a low heart rate. However...every time I got stressed the blood pressure dropped, and my heart rate went super low. They finally caught it on a heart monitor and a tilt table test.

Now...how could a condition like this cause hallucinations? Simple, low blood pressure and low heart rate equals less oxygen to the brain which means, if you're not passed out, you're seeing things.

So...my suggestion is to see a neurologist and cardiologist, and then to also get yourself into therapy. If you have something like I did, even though it's a physical condition, your mind is still the trigger. If you can learn to be more calm during stress, you're less likely to have episodes. Sleep is also key...lack of sleep can also trigger episodes and cause you to hallucinate. I finally had to just super-simplify my life so as not to provoke any problems. The result is you'll feel better, more relaxed, and will have some fun stories to tell people about the times you used to hallucinate!

Hope this helps...but please, get to a doctor to get checked out! By the way, the conditions you might be having could be vasovagal syncope, bradycardia, and hypotension.

Many Blessings,
Lilyth

Answer 4

Hello =)

Before I read your explanation, I was going to say that stress cannot, but fatigue certainly can.

Yes, stress causes fatigue, which places the mind under severe "stresses" that can cause a host of problems, including rather "vivid" hallucinations.

Once, some years ago, I saw a big, black cat on my stairway. Since I knew, logically, that there could not be a big black cat in my house, I became so frightened of it, that I could not go upstairs to bed that night.

After you get used to "seeing things", as long as you know they are not real, and that they do not harm you, you can pretty well ignore them, and go about your business.

Of course, the logical antidote is to get more rest, but, this is not always possible, as I'm sure you are painfully aware, or this wouldn't be happening to you.

I wish you the best of luck with this.

Namaste,

--Tom

Answer 5

If a person is underneath severe depression and anxiety it can lead to paranoia, delusions, and possibly hallucinations if the person becomes psychotic. People will literally think people are out to get them or will see things or hear voices. You have different types of hallucinations. Your tastebuds, visual, audatory...I forget what the other ones are...

Answer 6

hallucinations are the result of psychosis or drug related, they are not caused by stress. it sounds like you are having anxiety attacks that lead to fainting when you hyperventilate....if there is less oxygen going to your brain, you may think you see something that is not there. see a doctor..there are meds that might be able to help. If you can slow the breathing down, then you will not faint.

Answer 7

..there are times when a defense of a person is to imagine things..so it may not be hallucinations..it myt just be illusions..hallucinations are exhibited only by people having psychosis like schizophrenia and the like..so normal people who become stressed would not experience hallucinations unless they have psychosis

Answer 8

You may have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. I have bipolar disorder, and stress can trigger mania. I have never had hallucinations though. That must be frightening. I strongly suggest you see a doctor.

Answer 9

I would have to say that stress alone couldnt cause hallucinations.

Answer 10

Theoretically possible but rare...more likely illusions. The differences between the two too complex to go into here..try researching the net...a good one is refdesk.com