If you experience hallucinations because of narcolepsy, what are they like? I was listening to a sleep expert talk about narcolepsy today, and they said they are always super vivid, like experiencing 2 realities at once. Before my diagnosis I always felt like I was having dreams while I was awake (I still do), but I very rarely confused them with reality. What are your hallucinations like, and how do they affect your day to day life?
I see the shadows especially when tired or been stressed and doc said those are hallucinations even if I know they aren’t real. I know they aren’t real cause they’ve happened since I was a kid and had a lot of practice being like welp let’s do a double take to check that and nope that was a hallucination. Had other hallucinations that were way more than shadows but when crazy shit happens in front of your eyes for me I’m just like oh shit that’s my red flag I need to up my self care and slow down. They’re sort of like feelings- they may feel real but they aren’t reality. Still valid but my hallucinations aren’t “real”. But definitely check lol may be real.
In my experience the hallucinations are *not* super vivid. When people think of the the word hallucinations, they'll think of it like how it can be with schizophrenia where it's super vivid and realistic. But that isn't always true. Hallucinations don't have to be just visual, they can be any of you senses. For Narcolepsy it's most often auditory hallucinations, which are the hardest to identify in my opinion !! It was so crazy to me after being on meds to realize I didn't really believe in ghosts or anything anymore, because I *wasn't hearing things.*
I've only had hallucinations twice. Both times I happened to b in the hospital. The 1st time they were super bad! They were very vivid! I was seeing flashes of lights, I had visions of something that looked like I was watching a movie premiere on the ceiling, I heard the nurses talking about some trick they were playing on the patients trying to see who would figure it out first, I was hearing and seeing so much $#!@ that night and the nurses just blew it off like it was nothing! I felt like I was losing my mind! I left the hospital b4 I was ready because of that. It was still going on after I got home and when I would try to fall asleep flashes of light would go off in my head and wake me back up! God it was horrible! But this last time I was in the hospital apparently I was incoherent and hallucinating but I don't remember any of it. However the Dr did tell me that hallucinations were a side effect from the combination of meds that I was on. So I stopped taking a couple of the ones that she said were doing more harm than good.
Mine have varied. I once had a recurring one that was just this one specific knock on a door from a TV show I had watched. I had another where I was seeing and hearing a full symphony. It kept building to impossible levels and I could hear I swear thousands of instruments, it was beautiful, and then I started laughing because wtf is my brain doing, and then a like, 50s TV show laugh track started playing and building like the symphony had so I just went on tf to bed 😂
I always wake up thinking my dreams really happened too. Sometimes I have extremely violent nightmares and when I wake up, I dont know where I am and I'm convinced that someone's died or I've been wounded or attacked.
same!! Usually either someone in my family trying to kill me or someone in dream going after them and I wake up so confused. I’ve told my sister not to talk to me for a day because she tried to kill me in my dream and still trying to reconcile and get back to reality so I don’t want to be rude because I’m still processing that out of reality.
They always feel like I fall and go to sleep but im actually experiencing my interactions with people. Kind of like an out-of-body experience. However, I do get auditory hallucinations during these episodes
I've experienced the "2 realities" thing before. The most memorable time was in high school, I was sitting in my biology class during lecture and thought the sofa from my mom's house was in the room, with my dog sitting on the couch. I couldn't tell if I was at school or at home for a moment because both the lecture going on and the dog staring at me on the couch seemed equally real.
Mine are super vivid. I normally stare whatever shows up until it fades away. Normally takes a few seconds since I start waking up. They happen seemingly random times. They started as large bugs and now it’s all over the place from cute animals to nightmare type things. Really hate those.
I sometimes have vivid dream-like hallucinations at night and often have normal hallucinations in the day (they can be visual or auditory).
I often hear voices when there's no one around (usually calling my name), or I see what I think is a cat or child out of the corner of my eye.
While working at a gas station a few years ago I remember one day I kept seeing a man in a military uniform in the corner of my eye It was crazy vivid but everytime I looked it was just a sunglasses rack and I repeated all day
☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Share
Copy Link
Copied
Join the Alike community
Discover your Alikeness™ with people who are on the same journey, gain wisdom and get emotional relief in a secure & anonymous space.
.svg)
.svg)
SleepyAnya
427d
If you experience hallucinations because of narcolepsy, what are they like? I was listening to a sleep expert talk about narcolepsy today, and they said they are always super vivid, like experiencing 2 realities at once. Before my diagnosis I always felt like I was having dreams while I was awake (I still do), but I very rarely confused them with reality. What are your hallucinations like, and how do they affect your day to day life?
6
20
Share
Hallucinations
Cataplexy & Narcolepsy
strugglebus
427d
4
WallyWasTaken2
427d
2
strugglebus
427d
1
SleepyAnya
427d
2
ShelbyLane
403d
0
Waterlemon
367d
0
alliillaalli
266d
2
sleeepy
259d
0
Ginny58
254d
3
QuinnSee
219d
0
out_of_orexin
153d
1
Aly24
150d
0
Lucky1
110d
0
Bakon
58d
0
☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision