A common symptom of schizophrenia is visual hallucinations. Visual hallucinations happen when you see people or objects that aren’t there or when your visual perception of people and things that are real is distorted or warped, hence the image above. The visual sensations you experience may seem real, but they’re not. It’s essential to include objects and people in the distortion of reality. In other words, “seeing imaginary people” is too restrictive, albeit accurate in describing some visual hallucinations.
During relapses of my paranoid schizophrenia, I have seen objects and people that were not real. However, the distortion of my visual perception of real objects and people is far more pronounced. A common problem I have had when struggling with my schizophrenia is the distortion of the faces of real people. It’s a frightening experience. I have also had a problem with reading, as the words seem to “melt on the page.” The auditory hallucinations I wrote about in a previous blog post fit into the paranoid aspect of my symptoms. However, the visual hallucinations and distortions do not. I could not do anything about them, so the reaction was pure fear with no way out but to get healthier.
Other types of visual problems have also plagued me. For example, during all my lousy episodes with schizophrenia, I have had a problem with color perception. I have also been afraid of the color black, making it impossible to read black print. For some reason, blue is a safe color. I found that if something was in black ink, say in a word processor, if I turned the black to blue, I had no problem. To my senses, blue was a “safe color,” whereas black was “threatening.”
Some worthwhile relief I had from such hallucinations was through medication adjustments and therapy. I found that writing down – in blue ink – what I was experiencing helped a great deal, even if what I was writing didn’t make much sense.
Suppose you are dealing with someone undergoing visual hallucinations. In that case, trying to convince them they only have this problem because they are mad is a conversation going nowhere, and it will only make them feel more threatened. The philosophy of the LEAP method we discussed in another post gives better advice. Try to get the person undergoing such hallucinations to relax and find you pleasant. Encourage them to share their experience. Listening to them puts you in no danger and can cause the struggling person to feel less alone and targeted. Convincing the person to seek treatment, or tell their psychiatrist about their current episode, is essential. Understand that someone isn’t dangerous just because they have visual hallucinations. What they certainly are is afraid, and they need kind and patient treatment.