What are the ? What types of hallucinations exist? This phenomenon is part of psychopathology that studies alterations in perception and imagination.
What are hallucinations?
Hallucinations, at first in the history of psychopathology, were defined as “perceptions without object”. But there are nuances in that definition, as we see in Amparo Belloch’s definition.
Belloch is a professor of psychopathology at the University of Valencia and, together with Sandín and Ramos, define this phenomenon in (2010): “anomalous experiences that are not based on stimuli that really exist outside the subject” or what “They persist when the stimulus that caused them has disappeared”.
According to the authors, another characteristic of this phenomenon is that the person who manifests them experiences them as if they were totally real. That is, in reality they exist and, in addition, they usually generate a lot of discomfort, since they happen without the person being able to control them.
Hallucinations: disorders where they appear
They typically appear in psychotic spectrum disorders such as schizophrenia or brief psychotic disorder (as part of the positive symptomatology of these disorders), as shown by the (2014) diagnostic criteria for these disorders.
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But they can also appear, although less frequently, in very serious depressive episodes, especially in psychotic depression, and in manic episodes of bipolar disorder.
If we talk about organic diseases, hallucinations can appear in neurological disorders, dementia, cerebrovascular accidents (CVA), brain tumors, with the consumption of certain substances (drugs or medications) or in epilepsy.
Finally, they also arise in non-pathological situations related to excess anxiety or stress (although it is much less frequent).
Differences with other phenomena
We should not confuse hallucinations with other perceptual phenomena such as illusions or delusions. In the case of illusion, we are talking about the distorted perception of a stimulus or an object that actually exists (in hallucination, this element is non-existent).
And in the case of delusion, here we are not talking about a perception, but rather a belief that the person lives with absolute conviction (despite evidence proving otherwise).
On some occasions, hallucinations are accompanied by delusions, since these delusions are what the person uses to “justify” or “prove” their hallucinations.
Types of hallucinations
Belloch et al. (2010) cite different types of hallucinations, taking into account different parameters when classifying them:
According to the sensory modality
If we base ourselves on its, that is, on the way in which the person receives the information about the hallucination, we find the following types of hallucinations:
auditory hallucinations
They are the most common, especially in schizophrenia. In turn, within these hallucinations we find two large groups:
- Elementary auditory hallucinations: for example, hearing tones, murmurs, steps, knocks.
- Complex auditory hallucinations: for example, hearing someone’s message, or hearing two people talking to each other.
And on the other hand, auditory hallucinations can also be based on other criteria when classifying, these criteria being:
- The clarity with which the person perceives the hallucination.
- The intensity or magnitude of the perceived stimulus.
- The content; Thus, we can talk about voices that ask for things, that recriminate, that comment on the actions we do, etc.
- The way of addressing the person; that is, the language used and the tone.
- The location, that is, the distance from which the voice or sound in question is perceived.
Finally, as a curiosity, we find a particular type of auditory hallucination, which is musical hallucination. This involves listening, for example, to a song, religious music or someone singing.
visual hallucinations
Visual hallucinations are those that the person perceives through the sense of sight. These can be classified according to three main criteria:
- Its theme: within them we find, for example, zoopsies, which are hallucinations related to insects.
- Its size, which is further subdivided into:
- Lilliputians (perceiving objects smaller than they are)
- Gulliverianas (perceive them larger).
- Their quality: hallucinations can be more or less blurry or clear, of different colors, they can move or be static, and they can be congruent or incongruent with the person’s ideas or delusions (if they exist).
Olfactory hallucinations
This type of hallucination causes the person to smell odors that do not correspond to objective reality. They are usually associated with the idea or delusion of being poisoned. An example of them is putrefaction (smelling like rotten food). But they also include smelling nice things.
This particular type of hallucination appears most typically in the context of a brain tumor, although it can also arise as a result of suffering from a psychotic disorder.
taste hallucinations
Gustatory hallucinations, that is, feeling a taste that is not actually perceived (usually unpleasant tastes) or not feeling any taste when the person eats.
As in the previous case, the person may believe that they have been poisoned and, as a result, develop delirium. They usually appear together with the olfactory ones and are coherent with each other. For example, a person may smell food and notice a bad taste.
Tactile hallucinations
Finally, tactile hallucinations are those that come from touch; They can arise throughout the body or in a specific area of it.
The person who suffers from them may experience different sensations, such as tingling, burning, pinching, touching or electric currents. Depending on their content, they will be classified as:
- Haptic hallucinations: This is a physical sensation, such as tingling or tingling.
- Contact hallucinations: also called passive hallucinations, they involve the person feeling that someone is touching them.
- Active hallucinations: it is the person themselves who has the sensation of touching something (or someone), although this does not really happen.
- Water hallucinations: they involve a feeling of humidity.
- Bodily hallucinations: an example of these is feeling that we are hollow inside.
- Kinesthetic hallucinations: perceiving that a part of the body is moving.
Depending on the degree of complexity
If we look at their degree of complexity or elaboration, hallucinations can be of two types:
- Simple: noises, glare, flashes, etc.
- Complex: voices with messages, people, scenes, various situations, etc.
According to the content
Depending on their content, hallucinations can be:
- Related to the person’s ideologies.
- Related to your needs, desires, fears, memories.
- Related to their surroundings and environment.
- Related to your life situation (for example, concerns).
- Others.
Other types of hallucinations
Finally, we found a group of hallucinations outside the usual classifications, that is, they do not follow the previous parameters. They are the following types of hallucinations:
- Autoscopy:
- Internal autoscopy: when the person sees the inside of their body, such as their bones, veins and viscera.
- External autoscopy (also called double autoscopy): in this case, the person sees their own image in front of themselves.
- Negative autoscopy: the person looks in the mirror and does not perceive his or her own reflection.
- Extracampal hallucination: involves seeing something outside the visual field. For example, seeing something in Rome while in Seville.
- Negative hallucination: it involves not seeing things that are in reality.
As we have seen, there are many types of hallucinations, although in the case of mental disorders, the most common are auditory hallucinations.
Bibliographic references:
- American Psychiatric Association -APA- (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Madrid. Panamericana.
- Belloch, A., Sandín, B. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual of Psychopathology. Volume II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.