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Writing: James Walsh

The A to Z of Normality – Hallucinations

'To perceive is to interpret, to interpret is to feel, to feel is to manipulate'
James Walsh

The Oxford Companion to the Mind states that a Hallucination is a 'sensory perception in the absence of external stimuli'. This definition would suggest that hallucinations are somehow experiences generated inside a person's head. Commonly, there are two hallucinatory experiences - auditory and visual. Auditory hallucinations are sounds experienced inside a person's head, misinterpreted as originating from the environment. Visual hallucinations are sights experienced inside a person's head, misinterpreted as originating from the 'outside world'. Hallucinations are supposedly a sign of mental ill health but I will argue that there is a strong element of normality in the hallucinatory experience. So what is normal about sensory experiences, generated inside someone's head, which are wrongly perceived as coming from the environment?

Hallucinations - How Common?

Many studies have demonstrated how people are inclined to experience hallucinations if deprived of sensory stimulation. For instance, if a person lies floating in a tank of water at constant body temperature in total silence and darkness it will be only a matter of time before they begin to hallucinate. The subject will begin to experience sights and sounds even though the environment they find themselves in lacks such external influences. We also know of the classic example of people in distressing situations experiencing hallucinations. A sailor ship-wrecked or someone lost in a desert, both without food or water, will begin to hallucinate after a few days alone. The most common example is the mirage. A person lost in the desert dehydrating begins to see an oasis even though there is nothing but miles of sand and clear blue sky in front of them.

One of the most interesting findings about auditory hallucinations is that one third of the population have or continue to experience 'alien' voices in their head. Auditory hallucinations in the form of voices are supposed to be a symptom of major mental ill health. If this is correct then one third of the population requires some form of psychiatric treatment for mental illness - a frightening thought.

Is there an explanation?

The discussion above suggests that hallucinations are extremely common. We are all susceptible to hallucinatory experiences if placed in a situation bereft of external stimuli and more than likely all of us. have experienced at some stage a hallucination of some form. This suggests that there must be an explanation or purpose for the hallucinatory experience in humans. What follows are possible reasons for hallucinations.

Visual Hallucinations

Visual hallucinations may occur in a distressing situation where the person may want to confirm a perceived threat or may want to convince themselves that a physical requirement to their survival has appeared in front of them. For example, some individuals report seeing someone pointing a gun or knife at them when it is evident to all around that there is no such threat. This person is in obvious distress. More than likely they are confused, feel vulnerable and therefore threatened by a world they can make little sense of. They may generate a hallucinatory gun or knife being pointed at them. This hallucination acts as a confirmation that the world is hostile and menacing. The person experiencing a mirage may want to believe that something essential to their survival has appeared in front of them. This could be called 'expectancy motivation' and may be essential for the person's survival during life-threatening circumstances. To see water appearing in front of someone who is dying of thirst may encourage the person to continue searching and is more likely to result in them eventually finding some. Lying down and giving up the search would lead to certain death.

Auditory hallucinations

There are two forms of auditory hallucinations;
1.Positive and
2.Negative.

1. Positive auditory hallucinations are attempts, of the person experiencing them, to talk themselves 'up' or 'down'. I am certainly subject to this self-talk to help me through difficult situations or to congratulate myself for achieving a personal goal. When facing an anxious situation such as an exam I generally find myself talking myself down saying things in my head such as 'come on Jim you know this stuff or 'two hours and it will be all over' or 'so what if I fail, it's only an exam'. We are all subject to this form of self-talk which helps us to calm ourselves when confronting uncomfortable circumstances. After achieving a personal goal such as passing a driving test I would say to myself 'I'm proud of myself or 7 deserved that after all my hard work'. This is talking myself up and is a form of self-congratulation, acknowledging success. Such self-congratulatory talk can also help us comfort ourselves in times of distress.

2. There is also a negative side to self-talk - the voice of self-criticism. When we fail or make the wrong decision we tend to chastise ourselves saying things like 'how did I ever do something so stupid' or 'when am I ever going to learn'. This self-talk is self-defeating but we are all subject to it from time to time.
Individuals who experience auditory hallucinations find it difficult to distinguish between their own voice and that of one originating from the environment. These experiences have been studied and it has been found that while a person is hearing voices they do not recognize, their voice box is stimulated. This is confirmation that they are attempting to talk to themselves as with the examples above. What appears to be 'normal' here is that like all of us this person is talking to themselves. What may be more important to the person experiencing voices is not that they find it difficult to identify their own voice but the emotion 'attached' to the voice. If during a hallucinatory experience an individual is feeling anxious they are more likely facing uncomfortable circumstances and are attempting to talk themselves up or down. If a person is experiencing feelings of elation while hearing voices they are more likely congratulating themselves or trying to comfort themselves with happy optimistic thoughts. That there may be confusion with the voice content is pretty irrelevant. It is the emotional response where the normality lies.

Conclusion

Hallucinations are extremely common. Every one is susceptible to experiencing hallucinations if deprived of external stimuli or placed in a distressing situation such as being lost in a desert or shipwrecked. One third of the population are reported to experience auditory hallucinations from time to time. There is a strong possibility that an explanation for hallucinations is to help people survive in or make sense of a world which is, to us all at times, confusing, dangerous or distressing. Even in the case of auditory hallucinations (ie: voices) there appears a strong element of normality when considering that the person is attempting self-talk in response to emotional requirements - something we all do from time to time. I have used just a few examples of auditory hallucinations and reasons why these experiences exist in the human mind but there are probably as many examples as there are emotional combinations.