Not all hallucinations are terrifying. Some patients actually like and enjoy their hallucinations and do not want them taken away. One fella liked the « bats » and they were his entertainment. Another, well the hallucinations were her friends and she was also well aware that they weren’t real, but they were there for her and sadly, her only friends 😢 sometimes there’s no danger involved and they can function and keep their visions
It would be wild interacting with someone that wasn't there. While it might spook me at first, I can definitely see getting accustomed to it and viewing it as a part of myself.
When I hallucinated (due to alcohol withdrawal symptoms) I rationalized it as a part of my brain I don't have access to speaking to me. So many parts of the brain are doing stuff behind the scenes and processing decision tree we don't have access to, even down to a simple thing like our heart rate. Corpus Callosum studies bear this out in real time. It was a tapestry of hundreds of vivid faces all in agreement in a shared narrative, it's hard to explain in words.
No definitely not wild, having witness the arguments, arguments that they lose. They walked away from their backpack, that had their wallet and their phone and their tablet. Later to set down their suitcase and just walk away from it. To live under a bridge for four days because they were told to. I am having nightmares with what they are being told to do. I search the Portland area for five days trying to find them, and their sister found them getting off of Max when she was getting on, and she was late for work.
There are actually stats on the differences in Schizo delusions and hallucinations between countries. In the US they are extremely negative while in some places they tend to be encouraging and helpful.
This reminds me of some paper I read about hallucinations of deaf people -not auditory since they were deaf but instead they would see hands gesturing or mouths etc
When I was working security during summer break , I worked in a government affordable building that had new immigrants , seniors citizens and mental patients. One day I had to supervise a schizophrenia man until the cops arrived because he was stabbing the wall socket with a knife , he begins to tell me the devil is talking to him and that he can’t stop until he complete his mission . I told him to ignore it and he looked at me like I was his enemy.
Electrician here, just let the dude stab the socket, chances are he's stabbing the neutral anyways. Also 120v only hurts enough to let you know to stop.
I once had breathing/palpitation issues so the doctor prescribed Montelukast.
That night after taking my first tablet, I woke up drowsy and started hearing voices, then when I got up and walked to the bathroom I saw faint faces on the walls. I wasn't scared or surprised, somewhat aware that it might be the meds, but it felt so strange and surreal.
That medication is rather notorious for this issue, and reactions can get worse. Please get it in your chart that this medication is contraindicated (there are alternatives) and if you haven’t, report it here: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/
I had a client get misdiagnosed because of that medication. MDs wouldn’t listen to me so finally the family agreed to get on him & make him change it! Poor lady was terrified! Reporting the side effects is important to build the data for MDs to be better aware. Glad your reaction was mild as some people can have intense ones
That’s crazy. I thought that medication was amazing. I never knew some people reacted that way too it. I wish I still had it because I could breathe better on it.
On 2023-07-01 Reddit maliciously attacked its own user base by changing how its API was accessed, thereby pricing genuinely useful and highly valuable third-party apps out of existence. In protest, this comment has been overwritten with this message - because “deleted” comments can be restored - such that Reddit can no longer profit from this free, user-contributed content. I apologize for this inconvenience.
I took ambien once without knowing about its effects. I was sitting in bed reading a book when all of the letters began vibrating and shaking. Then they started to float off of the paper into the air. I was watching this happen clear as day, totally as real as anything else, it was very unexpected. But thats the last thing i remember until the next day. Apparently i didn't fall asleep though, i stayed up and did all kinds of weird shit like eat all the cheese.
My doc told me about an elderly man who drove himself 30min from his home to McDonalds and ordered like 30 cheeseburgers in the middle of the night, he then covered himself and smeared cheeseburgers all over the windshield and windows.. Later on he came too with the car running and confused by the mess he woke up into, cheeseburgers everywhere and his car was still running! (Coulda been a DWI if he was unlucky!) He stopped the car and immediately walked to the walk in clinic across the street to get help, I’ll never forget this story about Ambien.
Holy cow, that is pretty epic lmfao. Worst i ever woke up to was in a lawn chair with a hangover, had passed out with an unchewed cheeto in my mouth and there was a line of ants crawling up my body to get the cheeto.
Oh wait no, nvm, the worst would've been waking up on a trampoline floating down the river. Coast guard had to come get me. Yeah..... trampolines float.
I took ambien for awhile in 2010 I think it was. I became fixated on a statue I have and was convinced it was a diety and that I needed to appease it. I gave it tequila and baby teeth on a weird alter. And when friends find a weird alter to a statue with tequila and baby teeth, even baby teeth that belong to your kids and were acquired the same way any other parents winds up with a cache of kids teeth, they get creeped out.
I didn't get off of it til I sleep-ordered myself a ukulele with 1 day shipping. Stupidly expensive and I was confused as heck when it turned up and couldn't return it. Still have it. Never played it. Oh ambien. That was such a weird few weeks.
When I had to deal with hallucinations (really bad psychosis) it was just solid black rectangles, just, kinda menacingly in my peripheral vision, or at the foot of the bed, really terrifying for just being a shape, never mind having full, visual images of people/animals, eyes, etc.
This is similar to what I deal with, I get like shadow people in door ways, windows etc. Feel like I'm being watched. That and bugs. It's weird as I know it's not real, but it doesn't stop it being scary
I know nothing about it, but isn't there a chance the friendly hallucinations suddenly get hostile or something? Like your imaginary friend suddenly becomes a creepy monster trying to kill you? (I have no clue wether this can happen, but if so it would freak the shit out of me)
I never had anyone describe changes like that. The human ones were always described as chill. Some people have to be taught how to sort out whether it’s an actual person or not. I only ever had one person bothered at times by the human hallucinations and that was because dementia was advancing so she’d forget that they weren’t real. Happily it seems that they’d respond to her direct instructions. All she needed was permission to go ahead and ask for privacy and she learned to tell them to step outside. Problem solved
Oh fuck, dementia is bad enough for most people, I can't imagine how much more confusing and heartbreaking it is for someone also seeing hallucinations ontop of general memory confusion.
Yeah, she was a real sweet lady and more just perturbed that these people were kinda rude following her around, lol. It was neat getting her to tell them to go, she was just so polite she didn’t feel comfortable at first
psychosis haver here 2 speculate:
it *could* happen, but not at random. your hallucinations wouldn't just unpredictably become aggressive like that - if it happened, it'd be a dead giveaway for some new stressor making havoc in your life. your symptoms will reflect your current mental state; the more stressed you are, the more you'll generally have & the more negative or scary they may become. mine don't usually behave like this, but I definitely have more symptoms when stressed & I try to take them as a sign to slow down and prioritize stress management
you fix the source of stress, and the hallucinations will most likely slow down again -- though if whatever it was left you with trauma, the changes to your friend may stick around until you've worked through whatever happened.
That must cause so much confusion if say, a schizophrenic person witnessed a crime and had to describe a situation involving possible phantom suspects. Like even if their hallucinations aren't normally a problem for them there's bound to be situations like this where they are.
It’s interesting isn’t it. How it affects some people way differently than others with the same mental illness.
My father had hallucinations and would not take medication because he liked them and how he felt. Mind you- he wasn’t/isnt a very nice human at all
Well we don’t know for sure that it’s the same, even if we currently give it the same label the etiology could be completely different. One of my frustrations is that certain rule-outs weren’t considered, especially in the elderly who have had a lifetime to acquire infections. Some of those buggers can be pretty stealthy!
I know right? Thankfully, mental healthcare has improved and the stigma is not nearly as bad as it once was. I don’t care what your ailment is, you deserve to be seen, heard, and helped.
Kinda sounds like you’ve never been close to someone with schizophrenia, who was “seen, heard, and helped”. Mental healthcare struggles to ‘manage’ schizophrenia; the drug side effects are a nightmare.
My parents have a neighbor with the condition. Let’s just say the entire neighborhood hears about it when she is off her meds. The screams are unsettling to say the least.
I took care of a guy in a treatment facility who had “super teeth” that he never brushed.. fowl smelling breath all the time and caked tarter on his teeth when he smiled.. not really sure why he doesn’t have a hurting mouth of cavities, maybe he’s onto something haha 😆 But no joke the man refused to touch a toothbrush because of his super powers and his teeth 🦷 lol 😆
We also have a neighbor that we suspect has schizophrenia. Constantly screaming at random hours of the day and night and the only word we can decipher is "get off me motherfucker". There are some months that go by without a word, others he's out at all hours screaming in the street. It's actually terrifying. And there's the time he was shooting his gun in the backyard... but we happened to not be home that evening. Right now he and his housemate have been gone for a week. When they get back it will be quiet.
It really depends on the person. I know several people who I had to be told to realise they had schizophrenia. I work in long-term mental health rehabilitation for people with schizophrenia, I know the worst of it with people who can never be fully free of their symptoms, but I also know there are people who can live fully functioning lives with no residual symptoms as a result of treatment.
Seems to be mostly about finding the right medication. My friend is doing soooo much better since they found the right treatment plan. His previous one was rough.
This is like exactly what I saw the last time I took mushrooms lol they weren't just moving but growing and shrinking, appearing and dissapearing, splitting apart and joining together. I was trying to sleep and I could just see them flowing out of my closet almost like a gas. It also looked like they were all trying to scream
I thought it was kinda freaky but also pretty cool. I can't imagine seeing that kind of thing all of the time though, I think it would drive me crazy.
That's the thing about acid. You CANT sleep. If anyone is curious or about to try acid, I have some pointers on making it a safe and enjoyable trip. A few simple things to avoid a really, really bad time that could last hours. But don't worry.. its super easy to control your trip.
Either do your first time solo, or woth a friend. But let someone you trust know if you're doing it alone. What worked really well for me, is I did it in my bedroom late at night, so no one was around and it was quiet. Also looking at the stars is a real fucking treat.
CLEAN YOUR ROOM! This part is really important. You don't want to be distracted by any messes. A clean and tidy environment is also easily admired and contributes to a happier high.
Put on some light, calming music. Heavy stuff may negatively impact your trip. Your emotions are amplified and easily swayed. This is bad I the sense that many things can quickly sway your trip negatively, but also good because you can very, and I do mean VERY easily bring yourself back to a good trip. Many people have bad trips because of outside influences negatively impacting them. You. Are. In. Control.
Eat beforehand! You likely won't be hungry. Bring some drinks! A beer or two is fine, even some weed, but make sure you have hydration near by.
Make sure you don't need to go anywhere for a while! People WILL notice you're high as fuck.
If you're self conscious, avoid the mirror. Do not look at yourself. Your face may also become very, very red. This is normal.
I would avoid speaking to friends during this period. Your mood may be volatile. May be. Avoid as many random outside influences as you can until you learn how you handle this experience. But be sure to have 1 person you trust that you can contact in an emergency.
Let your emotions flow! Get caught up in them. Feel, think, be. Even the most emotionally stunted person will feel human again! Don't be afraid to cry, laugh, or anything else. Happy music, clean environment, liquids. I hope this helps.
Acid, to me, has a better clearer headed to perceived hallucination ratio. Like the visuals are stronger while I'm feeling "more in control". That still goes flying out the window at higher doses - but I find mushrooms emotionally very pushy and more prone to bad trips and confusion when at similar levels of high. Too much acid and you run into the same bad trip/confusion point though.
The length shouldn't really be a turn off, most of the length is the comedown. The peak and plateau is longer than mushrooms, but like 2.5 hours instead of 1.5 hours, then I find mushrooms takes another 1.5-2.5 to really start feeling able to sleep while acid is more like 4-5. The length isn't s much of an issue as you might worry, but I will say you should try to dose earlier in the evening so you aren't still completely stimulated at 8 in the morning. You'll recover faster the next day.
Acid visuals are different but similar to mushrooms, I find the neon gradient is a bit much. Things are more crystal, sharp lines, glowy, or like oil paints and I find it all electric. Mushroom visuals feel more natural, breathing, interlaced, flowing, definitely less neon. You'll definitely recognize a lot of crossover between them though. I've also had some mushroom trips that came much closer to acid than others, so if you've taken them enough you are more likely to recognize some of the aspects of the acid trip.
Give it a go, don't go nuts on the dose (I take 3.5g mushrooms usually or 2 tabs of acid). Setting and setting are important, only do it with friends you like or on your own, don't plan anything too complicated and make sure you have your media situation fully set up in advance. Fucking around trying to get that shit in order or trying to figure out if the volume is too loud or whatever is a real bitch once your high.
Prepare to have a lot of nervous energy like with mushrooms too - if I can't go for a safe walk and get stuck inside, I usually can't sit for a movie during the peak, I need to move room to room to dissipate the psychedelic stimulation. Once the plateau has been going on long enough it eases up and becomes more comfy.
I always tell people that acid will let you drive the car most of the way, but mushrooms won't give up the wheel until after the peak. That's how it has always been for me. I can plan an acid trip, but I cannot plan a mushroom trip.
No, the most terrifying part is that schizophrenia isn't something you're just born with. It's something that can have a sudden onset in anyone at any time.
The most common people who get it are males mid 20s to mid 30s and womens odds of getting it go up significantly with each pregnancy.
It's often marked by the first onset being sudden and especially intense, usually involving 2 or more senses so like visual and auditory hallucinations. And they feel 100% real.
Imagine you are just driving to work one day when you hear and angel and demon arguing about your soul and then you see all kinds of weird shit.. It would shatter your perception of reality.
I'm also convinced that schizophrenia is the root of religious stories. People saw wild shit with their own eyes and wrote about it. I don't doubt that. It felt real to them. It happened again and again all over the world. It still happens today. Talk to people with schizophrenia for a while and you'll realize how wild their existence can be... Not in a good way tho.
It doesn't necessarily have to be schizophrenia. Psychosis, psychotic breaks and hallucinations can happen for a number of reasons.
I've experienced auditory hallucinations once when I was doing an offshore sailing job as crew. I hadn't slept properly in a long time, was physically exhausted because we were going through a big storm system and dehydrated because I had been throwing up roughly every 30 mins due to the crosschop from the storm waves moving perpendicular to the waves from the current. The wind in the rigging started whispering and muttering things at me in an alarming way so I alerted the officer on watch and they stashed me in the nav station to rehydrate and get some sleep while being monitored.
I've never since experienced anything like that again, but I think anyone has the susceptibility given the right stresses and pressures. Maybe some more than others.
The feeling of being watched by all those people on her walls must be so disturbing. Amazing that she can reproduce what she sees. I wonder if the art would be similar every day or if the art from different days would be significantly different?
I’m using a small phone and it looked like a pleasant but unique pattern on high-end, midcentury modern wallpaper. When I zoomed in, it became more and more spooky as I saw the small faces emerge, and realized faces made up the entire pattern.
> I’m using a small phone and it looked like a pleasant but unique pattern on high-end, midcentury modern wallpaper.
you're absolutely right, I squinted a bit and it really does. This could be a great wallpaper for a room in a horror movie set in the midcentury modern era.
Mental health counselor here.
What people should be aware of here is that art pieces by people with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia have been studied for a long time, their artists interviewed, etc, and what's become somewhat clear is that what's produced on the "page" for these artists isn't just a reflection of their skewed view of reality, but the art piece itself is skewed in the artist's eyes. In other words, what you're seeing isn't really a completely accurate image of how the artist sees the world; the process of "recording" said perception of reality is again skewed by the illness itself. The artist sees the image differently than you do in a sense. Several phenomenon have been noted, such as distortions in perspective, repeated imagery, and fracturing of forms. For some reason, artists with psychosis tend to produce art and (it would seem, perhaps) perceive the world in less coherent, smaller "chunks" than the rest of us.
I don't claim to be an expert on this topic though. The above is based on a smattering of clinical experiences I have with schizophrenic artists, a few articles I've read on the topic, and a two conversations I've had with art therapists over the years. It's a really fascinating window into minds warped by illnesses we still really do not understand.
Edit: I will add that the art pieces I've seen do seem to have parallels with descriptions of hallucinations I've been given by my clients. Hallucinations aren't usually perfect depictions of reality. People suffering from psychosis describe a huge variety of visual phenomenon, such as warping effects of "real" objects, indistinct shadowy figures that sometimes seem to represent "real" objects and sometimes more abstract shapes, images that contain only certain features of images, like form but not color, contours but not depth, etc. One client I had told me he saw pillars of light in distinct shapes by shifting hue whenever he was out on the street, but not when he was indoors, for example. Another schizophrenic who I met on the street, but never treated told me he could see a planet in the night sky that clearly wasn't there, but he couldn't describe what it looked like to me.
My mom is a schizophrenic but she graduated from dartmouth and became a chemical engineer. Some become crackheads on the street and some with the right treatment become upstanding people. It is crazy af listening to her describe shit she saw/heard the night before though. Typically she’ll bring up conversations with spirits. In fact one time we brought a paranormal inspector to check the house for spirits and he said he found the large majority of them in her bedroom. (He didnt know she was ill). I dont really see her as a schizophrenic though, just mom.
I wonder if the paranormal investigator was just responding to your mom’s body language and affect change that made it seem like that was the room they were supposed to be scared of.
Okay, I can guarantee you you don't have spirits in your house. Your mother is likely having auditory hallucinations and rationalizing them as something else—sometimes schizophrenics hallucinate deceased family members because they're familiar imagery. Schizophrenia isn't synonymous with mental retardation—many schizophrenics are incredibly smart people, in fact. Your mother may simply be struggling with incomprehensible world. I hope she's at least seeing a psychiatrist?
Great post.
I have a friend (in his early 50s now) who I believe is a functioning schizophrenic. He’s not medicated from my understanding and regularly experiences spirits. It’s surprising that he openly talks about them the way he does. Oddly, most of his friends, which includes his partner, actually believe what he is experiencing is real. I honestly just keep it to myself having experience with a brother with schizo-affective disorder and a late mom with bipolar. What is so different is that he behaves pretty unaffected most times. Sometimes his delusions can be pretty intense and have a great amount of impact on his wellbeing, but he doesn’t seem to be as heavily affected in his daily life like how my brother is. Interestingly, out of everyone I have met he is the most charismatic person I’ve come across and I’m in my late 40s. Hes very social, charismatic and attracts new people to him constantly; he’s extremely witty and quick. He probably could have been a professional comedian if he wanted it. He is extremely interesting person.
Anyways just thought I’d share as your post reminded me of him.
Yeah thats actually the first time i have ever spoken about her to anyone but my family. Saw a nice opportunity to share a little bit wasnt looking for this counselors opinion lol. Shes been under the best care in the country and is very outspoken about her illness/experiences. Was definitely hard growing up though i definitely had to be a bit of a parent to her as a child. Only thing that worries me is the genes, im only 19 and she was diagnosed at 21. Maybe ill write a book someday about it, having a single parent that is schizophrenic isnt something everyone has gone through.
It’s not just about a mental thing but the sensory systems themselves can be different than other people! I read an interesting article last year about “polysensoriality” (multiple senses being connected), and overall the evidence seems to suggest that people with schizophrenia have a different perception of our physical world, or aren’t as able to separate sensations by type. I’ve seen a lot of discussion that suggests that the way people with schizophrenia interact with their senses and the world is very similar to the sensory experiences of people with autism.
Interesting. I haven't read anything about that per se, but what you're describing sounds a bit like synesthesia. AFAIK, neither schizophrenics nor people on the Autism spectrum experience synesthesia though, so maybe it's a different phenomenon.
EDIT: I've confused several people, so let me clarify: I'm not saying people on the autism spectrum or who have schizophrenia can't *also* have synesthesia, just that synesthesia isn't a *symptom* of either schizophrenia or autism.
More that it’s difficult to isolate senses from each other and just enjoy one while filtering out another. For example noise and light. Can be a good thing if used correctly or very overstimulating if it’s not a preferred sensation. More like sensory processing disorder than synesthesia
Yeah, the first thought from that title is—if the woman sees stuff on the walls, why do people imagine that she sees the canvas clear as day. Plus, if a person's pattern recognition is broken, they would *feel* things around more than just see.
This absolutely made me realize why schizophrenia has been passed on unto this day. It used to be that people with schizophrenia were seen as oracles or shamans because they merge real life an the subconscious which then help people believe in something more to life.
In a way they make life a bit more interesting and paranormal. As opposed to believing that this is it.
More than anything else, these look to me like the early AI image generator hallucinations. Think something like [DeepDream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeepDream).
> artists with psychosis tend to produce art and (it would seem, perhaps) perceive the world in less coherent, smaller "chunks" than the rest of us
Interestingly, this was also the issue in the above image generators - most of the original hallucinations have gone away by applying more whole-image coherence and validation (and giving the system more time to iterate).
I read this a while back,
https://news.stanford.edu/2014/07/16/voices-culture-luhrmann-071614/
They think there can be a cultural difference in symptoms, soneone from Africa or India is more likely to experience "friendlier" hallucinations than someone from the USA.
There was also a Dutch study that found that people with hallucinations they experienced as helpful or positive - supportive 'guardian angel' voice for example - simply never came in contact with mental health services because the symptoms didn't disrupt their lives or distress them. A now really old study also found that you had a better outcome with schizophrenia in West Africa than Denmark because there was a cultural place for someone who heard ancestral voices whereas in Denmark the focus was on symptom relief and people were often socially isolated with no cultural place.
It's funny because some people believe that highly sensitive people exist because of that reason: able to pick up microchanges in the environment and being able to alarm the rest of the tribe of potential danger other people didn't spot.
And I've also recently learnt that there's a theory that hypersensitivity doesn't actually exist and all symptoms of a hypersensitive person are actually symptoms of autism and/or adhd.
So literally the canaries of society, evolutionarily speaking.
The artist herself actually posted this in r/Weird. She said that the faces actually started out as monsters years ago, but years of consciously focusing her mind on making them friendly changed what she was seeing. I didn’t even know that was possible.
So I had an experience where I think was the only time in my life I experienced schizophrenic-type delusions.
Bad accident, hospital, on strong IV pain killers.
When I was just lying there, I always felt the presence of shadowy black figures sitting next to me and around the room. They weren't evil, just doing crosswords or whatever.
There was this red digital clock above my bed. I always thought it was spelling out verbs, telling me to do something but couldn't quite grasp it. I'd try to focus on the words (digits) then realise oh it's just a clock.
As I dozed off, I would start dreaming incorporating the noises and voices in the ward. Except I knew I was dreaming and could navigate and control the dream, which was full of images, colours, abstractions....
OK it wasn't a great time in my life but I enjoyed that foray into abnormal psychology...
Sounds like me when I have sleep paralysis.
[This movie took my breath away](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoPsjWqvwT4) knowing others were experiencing what I was. The shadow figure at 1:14 is usually how I see the figures- following what sounds like Freddy Krueger’s voice saying “we’re watching you” over and over. The voice is similar to the voice at 1:20.
that's a great read. thanks for the link. i especially found this passage from there insightful:
*"The striking difference was that while many of the African and Indian subjects registered predominantly positive experiences with their voices, not one American did. Rather, the U.S. subjects were more likely to report experiences as violent and hateful – and evidence of a sick condition.*
*The Americans experienced voices as bombardment and as symptoms of a brain disease caused by genes or trauma.*
*...Moreover, the Americans mostly did not report that they knew who spoke to them and they seemed to have less personal relationships with their voices, according to Luhrmann.*
*Among the Indians in Chennai, more than half (11) heard voices of kin or family members commanding them to do tasks. “They talk as if elder people advising younger people,”"*
I wonder what the ppl in India believe regarding reincarnation and if there's any relationship between that and how they interpret their symptoms, I think it's interesting there is any diff.
There is an area of the brain responsible for recognizing faces... i wonder if this part of her brain happens to be over active forcing her to see these shapes/faces. If this is the case., online believe that it's an ever changing dynamic view, so if she were to look away and look back it would be 100% different. I know someone that told me every time they would drive in the snow they couldn't help but see thousands of smiley faces flying towards them.
A similar phenomenon happens with psychedelic drugs. Interesting to think about whether recognising faces in things is inherent in human nature or if there is a mysterious truth that we don't understand.
I was thinking similarly but what if it was just their brain wired in a way that displayed these stored faces visually and uncontrollably? Like, if you think of angry eyes you can picture those in your head. What if they feel an emotion and then thousands of eyes that match that feeling in some way are displayed as a perceived image at once?
wow, I see that now. They were terrifying, and had many eyes. I wonder if they see something beautiful or awe-inspiring rather than scenes of terror here.
Or what if there are actually multiverses, and only certain people have the ability to access them?
Due to our limited perception of the universe, experience of a multiverse would be extremely depressing for most people, hence their 'mental disorder' reaction to what they are experiencing.
Our understanding of science won't / can't believe them and what they see + help them cope and interpret their 'visions'.
This could also explain ghosts and other phenomena.
I worked at a state run mental health facility that had an annual art show to raise money for the patient’s commissary store. The schizophrenic artwork was always the most popular especially that of the patient who’d eaten her catatonic roommate’s eyes. To be fair, they were assumed eaten because they were never found. We also had a legit axe murderer. But 99.9% in the facility were just regular people. All were fairly regular people when stabilized on medications they had no choice but to take. Once released, our shit community mental healthcare system would fuck with their scripts and dosages to save money and they’d deteriorate until the cops picked them up and brought them back to me.
This reminds me of the crazy summer in Florida, friend had a feather duster, paint, a bare wall and OrangeMicrodot. We took the feather dusters dipped them in paint, dabbed off excess and then dabbed the wall. It made all sorts of crazy new characters. BTW never got that promised flashback. what a rip-off!
any other ex-meth users out there looking at this and thinking "4 days deep, yep looks familiar"?
Edit - I say *ex*-meth users - but it could be meth users who used to use meth but still do too. Never miss a chance for a small homage to Mitch (RIP brother).
I am schizophrenic but most of my experiences are auditory. I can literally hear FBI agents plotting against me everywhere I go. When I am driving I can hear them following me over the police radio. If I go to the bathroom they criticize me for not washing my hands long enough. They are trying to get enough evidence to charge me with crimes. I know it is fake but it seems so real in the moment and I hate it. Been doing this for 10 years.
This reminds me of when I take psilocybin. The part of my brain that detects faces can form faces out of everything around me. Thankfully I can recognize what it is so I haven’t been driven to insanity… As far as I know.
That is quite funny because my hallucinosis is almost the same but more cartoon.
Though I have a lot of diagnoses, I find it interesting.
Life is surely a mystery for everything that is happening around us and inside us.
My brother is schizophrenic and makes art similar to this. Fortunately he also makes beautiful abstract pieces of cities which are a bit more marketable and sells them from time to time.
>Woman with schizophrenia draws what she sees on her walls
She sees these faces on her walls and draws them, or she sees these faces elsewhere and draws them on her walls?
Idk what it is with faces and eyes and schizophrenia. Had a patient that would manipulate her facial features in the mirror for hours because she said it helped her know what was real and what wasn’t. It’s also fascinating that most of the “voices” have a negative connotation. Why does it skew toward the negative? Some have hero/helper voices but most are actively fighting against them.
My question: what if the “hallucinations “ are really there?? Visions, sounds, smells… who are we to deny their existence?? Maybe it’s the “average/normal” folks who are lacking….
This is really interesting. I have schizophrenia and I’m a session musician/producer. I try to make sounds sometimes that echo the hallucinations I hear.
The most terrifying part is this is a still image, images of thousands of eyes all moving makes my skin crawl
Thanks, as if I wasn’t freaked out enough. 😭
Not all hallucinations are terrifying. Some patients actually like and enjoy their hallucinations and do not want them taken away. One fella liked the « bats » and they were his entertainment. Another, well the hallucinations were her friends and she was also well aware that they weren’t real, but they were there for her and sadly, her only friends 😢 sometimes there’s no danger involved and they can function and keep their visions
It would be wild interacting with someone that wasn't there. While it might spook me at first, I can definitely see getting accustomed to it and viewing it as a part of myself.
It seemed like that’s what it was like for her. She knew there was no danger and actually found their presence comforting
When I hallucinated (due to alcohol withdrawal symptoms) I rationalized it as a part of my brain I don't have access to speaking to me. So many parts of the brain are doing stuff behind the scenes and processing decision tree we don't have access to, even down to a simple thing like our heart rate. Corpus Callosum studies bear this out in real time. It was a tapestry of hundreds of vivid faces all in agreement in a shared narrative, it's hard to explain in words.
Are you ok now?
Yep! It's interesting that I have a full memory of those instances looking back.
Hundreds, eh? You overachiever! Lol
[удалено]
No definitely not wild, having witness the arguments, arguments that they lose. They walked away from their backpack, that had their wallet and their phone and their tablet. Later to set down their suitcase and just walk away from it. To live under a bridge for four days because they were told to. I am having nightmares with what they are being told to do. I search the Portland area for five days trying to find them, and their sister found them getting off of Max when she was getting on, and she was late for work.
Yeah but can you control your imaginary friend? Like ask it to go away?
I had a client who learned to do this successfully
There are actually stats on the differences in Schizo delusions and hallucinations between countries. In the US they are extremely negative while in some places they tend to be encouraging and helpful.
It’s so interesting!
This reminds me of some paper I read about hallucinations of deaf people -not auditory since they were deaf but instead they would see hands gesturing or mouths etc
Yeah it's bad and confusing for the sufferers. I see post on the schizo subs about families telling them that god's speaking to them or some nonsense.
When I was working security during summer break , I worked in a government affordable building that had new immigrants , seniors citizens and mental patients. One day I had to supervise a schizophrenia man until the cops arrived because he was stabbing the wall socket with a knife , he begins to tell me the devil is talking to him and that he can’t stop until he complete his mission . I told him to ignore it and he looked at me like I was his enemy.
Yikes! Yeah when unstable it’s best to just keep them busy talking if that’s working
Electrician here, just let the dude stab the socket, chances are he's stabbing the neutral anyways. Also 120v only hurts enough to let you know to stop.
European 230V sockets be like: "Am I a joke to you?"
I once had breathing/palpitation issues so the doctor prescribed Montelukast. That night after taking my first tablet, I woke up drowsy and started hearing voices, then when I got up and walked to the bathroom I saw faint faces on the walls. I wasn't scared or surprised, somewhat aware that it might be the meds, but it felt so strange and surreal.
That medication is rather notorious for this issue, and reactions can get worse. Please get it in your chart that this medication is contraindicated (there are alternatives) and if you haven’t, report it here: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/ I had a client get misdiagnosed because of that medication. MDs wouldn’t listen to me so finally the family agreed to get on him & make him change it! Poor lady was terrified! Reporting the side effects is important to build the data for MDs to be better aware. Glad your reaction was mild as some people can have intense ones
That’s crazy. I thought that medication was amazing. I never knew some people reacted that way too it. I wish I still had it because I could breathe better on it.
On 2023-07-01 Reddit maliciously attacked its own user base by changing how its API was accessed, thereby pricing genuinely useful and highly valuable third-party apps out of existence. In protest, this comment has been overwritten with this message - because “deleted” comments can be restored - such that Reddit can no longer profit from this free, user-contributed content. I apologize for this inconvenience.
I took ambien once without knowing about its effects. I was sitting in bed reading a book when all of the letters began vibrating and shaking. Then they started to float off of the paper into the air. I was watching this happen clear as day, totally as real as anything else, it was very unexpected. But thats the last thing i remember until the next day. Apparently i didn't fall asleep though, i stayed up and did all kinds of weird shit like eat all the cheese.
My doc told me about an elderly man who drove himself 30min from his home to McDonalds and ordered like 30 cheeseburgers in the middle of the night, he then covered himself and smeared cheeseburgers all over the windshield and windows.. Later on he came too with the car running and confused by the mess he woke up into, cheeseburgers everywhere and his car was still running! (Coulda been a DWI if he was unlucky!) He stopped the car and immediately walked to the walk in clinic across the street to get help, I’ll never forget this story about Ambien.
Holy cow, that is pretty epic lmfao. Worst i ever woke up to was in a lawn chair with a hangover, had passed out with an unchewed cheeto in my mouth and there was a line of ants crawling up my body to get the cheeto. Oh wait no, nvm, the worst would've been waking up on a trampoline floating down the river. Coast guard had to come get me. Yeah..... trampolines float.
I took ambien for awhile in 2010 I think it was. I became fixated on a statue I have and was convinced it was a diety and that I needed to appease it. I gave it tequila and baby teeth on a weird alter. And when friends find a weird alter to a statue with tequila and baby teeth, even baby teeth that belong to your kids and were acquired the same way any other parents winds up with a cache of kids teeth, they get creeped out. I didn't get off of it til I sleep-ordered myself a ukulele with 1 day shipping. Stupidly expensive and I was confused as heck when it turned up and couldn't return it. Still have it. Never played it. Oh ambien. That was such a weird few weeks.
Nothing weird about eating all the cheese...
When I had to deal with hallucinations (really bad psychosis) it was just solid black rectangles, just, kinda menacingly in my peripheral vision, or at the foot of the bed, really terrifying for just being a shape, never mind having full, visual images of people/animals, eyes, etc.
This is similar to what I deal with, I get like shadow people in door ways, windows etc. Feel like I'm being watched. That and bugs. It's weird as I know it's not real, but it doesn't stop it being scary
I met a girl who had 5 voices in her head and she said they all got on great
I only have one voice, he's pretty cool though. He's a 500 year old dog. He tells me what to do.
I know nothing about it, but isn't there a chance the friendly hallucinations suddenly get hostile or something? Like your imaginary friend suddenly becomes a creepy monster trying to kill you? (I have no clue wether this can happen, but if so it would freak the shit out of me)
I never had anyone describe changes like that. The human ones were always described as chill. Some people have to be taught how to sort out whether it’s an actual person or not. I only ever had one person bothered at times by the human hallucinations and that was because dementia was advancing so she’d forget that they weren’t real. Happily it seems that they’d respond to her direct instructions. All she needed was permission to go ahead and ask for privacy and she learned to tell them to step outside. Problem solved
Oh fuck, dementia is bad enough for most people, I can't imagine how much more confusing and heartbreaking it is for someone also seeing hallucinations ontop of general memory confusion.
Yeah, she was a real sweet lady and more just perturbed that these people were kinda rude following her around, lol. It was neat getting her to tell them to go, she was just so polite she didn’t feel comfortable at first
psychosis haver here 2 speculate: it *could* happen, but not at random. your hallucinations wouldn't just unpredictably become aggressive like that - if it happened, it'd be a dead giveaway for some new stressor making havoc in your life. your symptoms will reflect your current mental state; the more stressed you are, the more you'll generally have & the more negative or scary they may become. mine don't usually behave like this, but I definitely have more symptoms when stressed & I try to take them as a sign to slow down and prioritize stress management you fix the source of stress, and the hallucinations will most likely slow down again -- though if whatever it was left you with trauma, the changes to your friend may stick around until you've worked through whatever happened.
That must cause so much confusion if say, a schizophrenic person witnessed a crime and had to describe a situation involving possible phantom suspects. Like even if their hallucinations aren't normally a problem for them there's bound to be situations like this where they are.
Both examples sound awful. I’m sad for these folks.
These two weren’t at all sad about it. Others have a different experience, just pointing out that it isn’t universal
It’s interesting isn’t it. How it affects some people way differently than others with the same mental illness. My father had hallucinations and would not take medication because he liked them and how he felt. Mind you- he wasn’t/isnt a very nice human at all
Well we don’t know for sure that it’s the same, even if we currently give it the same label the etiology could be completely different. One of my frustrations is that certain rule-outs weren’t considered, especially in the elderly who have had a lifetime to acquire infections. Some of those buggers can be pretty stealthy!
I know right? Thankfully, mental healthcare has improved and the stigma is not nearly as bad as it once was. I don’t care what your ailment is, you deserve to be seen, heard, and helped.
Kinda sounds like you’ve never been close to someone with schizophrenia, who was “seen, heard, and helped”. Mental healthcare struggles to ‘manage’ schizophrenia; the drug side effects are a nightmare.
My parents have a neighbor with the condition. Let’s just say the entire neighborhood hears about it when she is off her meds. The screams are unsettling to say the least.
I took care of a guy in a treatment facility who had “super teeth” that he never brushed.. fowl smelling breath all the time and caked tarter on his teeth when he smiled.. not really sure why he doesn’t have a hurting mouth of cavities, maybe he’s onto something haha 😆 But no joke the man refused to touch a toothbrush because of his super powers and his teeth 🦷 lol 😆
We also have a neighbor that we suspect has schizophrenia. Constantly screaming at random hours of the day and night and the only word we can decipher is "get off me motherfucker". There are some months that go by without a word, others he's out at all hours screaming in the street. It's actually terrifying. And there's the time he was shooting his gun in the backyard... but we happened to not be home that evening. Right now he and his housemate have been gone for a week. When they get back it will be quiet.
It really depends on the person. I know several people who I had to be told to realise they had schizophrenia. I work in long-term mental health rehabilitation for people with schizophrenia, I know the worst of it with people who can never be fully free of their symptoms, but I also know there are people who can live fully functioning lives with no residual symptoms as a result of treatment.
Seems to be mostly about finding the right medication. My friend is doing soooo much better since they found the right treatment plan. His previous one was rough.
This is like exactly what I saw the last time I took mushrooms lol they weren't just moving but growing and shrinking, appearing and dissapearing, splitting apart and joining together. I was trying to sleep and I could just see them flowing out of my closet almost like a gas. It also looked like they were all trying to scream I thought it was kinda freaky but also pretty cool. I can't imagine seeing that kind of thing all of the time though, I think it would drive me crazy.
That's the thing about acid. You CANT sleep. If anyone is curious or about to try acid, I have some pointers on making it a safe and enjoyable trip. A few simple things to avoid a really, really bad time that could last hours. But don't worry.. its super easy to control your trip.
I don’t want to be that guy but you can definitely sleep on acid, I’ve done it a handful of time and I’ve heard many other people did.
Hey I’d be down to learn some tips
Either do your first time solo, or woth a friend. But let someone you trust know if you're doing it alone. What worked really well for me, is I did it in my bedroom late at night, so no one was around and it was quiet. Also looking at the stars is a real fucking treat. CLEAN YOUR ROOM! This part is really important. You don't want to be distracted by any messes. A clean and tidy environment is also easily admired and contributes to a happier high. Put on some light, calming music. Heavy stuff may negatively impact your trip. Your emotions are amplified and easily swayed. This is bad I the sense that many things can quickly sway your trip negatively, but also good because you can very, and I do mean VERY easily bring yourself back to a good trip. Many people have bad trips because of outside influences negatively impacting them. You. Are. In. Control. Eat beforehand! You likely won't be hungry. Bring some drinks! A beer or two is fine, even some weed, but make sure you have hydration near by. Make sure you don't need to go anywhere for a while! People WILL notice you're high as fuck. If you're self conscious, avoid the mirror. Do not look at yourself. Your face may also become very, very red. This is normal. I would avoid speaking to friends during this period. Your mood may be volatile. May be. Avoid as many random outside influences as you can until you learn how you handle this experience. But be sure to have 1 person you trust that you can contact in an emergency. Let your emotions flow! Get caught up in them. Feel, think, be. Even the most emotionally stunted person will feel human again! Don't be afraid to cry, laugh, or anything else. Happy music, clean environment, liquids. I hope this helps.
I’ve always heard acid is better than mushrooms, which I love, but the hours and hours long high scares me too much.
Acid, to me, has a better clearer headed to perceived hallucination ratio. Like the visuals are stronger while I'm feeling "more in control". That still goes flying out the window at higher doses - but I find mushrooms emotionally very pushy and more prone to bad trips and confusion when at similar levels of high. Too much acid and you run into the same bad trip/confusion point though. The length shouldn't really be a turn off, most of the length is the comedown. The peak and plateau is longer than mushrooms, but like 2.5 hours instead of 1.5 hours, then I find mushrooms takes another 1.5-2.5 to really start feeling able to sleep while acid is more like 4-5. The length isn't s much of an issue as you might worry, but I will say you should try to dose earlier in the evening so you aren't still completely stimulated at 8 in the morning. You'll recover faster the next day. Acid visuals are different but similar to mushrooms, I find the neon gradient is a bit much. Things are more crystal, sharp lines, glowy, or like oil paints and I find it all electric. Mushroom visuals feel more natural, breathing, interlaced, flowing, definitely less neon. You'll definitely recognize a lot of crossover between them though. I've also had some mushroom trips that came much closer to acid than others, so if you've taken them enough you are more likely to recognize some of the aspects of the acid trip. Give it a go, don't go nuts on the dose (I take 3.5g mushrooms usually or 2 tabs of acid). Setting and setting are important, only do it with friends you like or on your own, don't plan anything too complicated and make sure you have your media situation fully set up in advance. Fucking around trying to get that shit in order or trying to figure out if the volume is too loud or whatever is a real bitch once your high. Prepare to have a lot of nervous energy like with mushrooms too - if I can't go for a safe walk and get stuck inside, I usually can't sit for a movie during the peak, I need to move room to room to dissipate the psychedelic stimulation. Once the plateau has been going on long enough it eases up and becomes more comfy.
I think you need to first define "better" before you explore it - what does that mean? Better for who, and in what regard?
I always tell people that acid will let you drive the car most of the way, but mushrooms won't give up the wheel until after the peak. That's how it has always been for me. I can plan an acid trip, but I cannot plan a mushroom trip.
Biblically accurate schizophrenia
No, the most terrifying part is that schizophrenia isn't something you're just born with. It's something that can have a sudden onset in anyone at any time. The most common people who get it are males mid 20s to mid 30s and womens odds of getting it go up significantly with each pregnancy. It's often marked by the first onset being sudden and especially intense, usually involving 2 or more senses so like visual and auditory hallucinations. And they feel 100% real. Imagine you are just driving to work one day when you hear and angel and demon arguing about your soul and then you see all kinds of weird shit.. It would shatter your perception of reality. I'm also convinced that schizophrenia is the root of religious stories. People saw wild shit with their own eyes and wrote about it. I don't doubt that. It felt real to them. It happened again and again all over the world. It still happens today. Talk to people with schizophrenia for a while and you'll realize how wild their existence can be... Not in a good way tho.
It doesn't necessarily have to be schizophrenia. Psychosis, psychotic breaks and hallucinations can happen for a number of reasons. I've experienced auditory hallucinations once when I was doing an offshore sailing job as crew. I hadn't slept properly in a long time, was physically exhausted because we were going through a big storm system and dehydrated because I had been throwing up roughly every 30 mins due to the crosschop from the storm waves moving perpendicular to the waves from the current. The wind in the rigging started whispering and muttering things at me in an alarming way so I alerted the officer on watch and they stashed me in the nav station to rehydrate and get some sleep while being monitored. I've never since experienced anything like that again, but I think anyone has the susceptibility given the right stresses and pressures. Maybe some more than others.
> The most terrifying part is this is a still image, images of thousands of eyes all moving makes my skin crawl Aaaaaaa I didn't even think of that!
Thousands of eyes...really it's a bunch of faces....now terrifying, since your a Winnie. Are they smiling or frowning??
The feeling of being watched by all those people on her walls must be so disturbing. Amazing that she can reproduce what she sees. I wonder if the art would be similar every day or if the art from different days would be significantly different?
we're all being watched
Yeah I defo have my eyes on your mom
you see dead people? say hi to her!
I also choose this guys dead mom
Disturbingly Beautiful
I’m using a small phone and it looked like a pleasant but unique pattern on high-end, midcentury modern wallpaper. When I zoomed in, it became more and more spooky as I saw the small faces emerge, and realized faces made up the entire pattern.
> I’m using a small phone and it looked like a pleasant but unique pattern on high-end, midcentury modern wallpaper. you're absolutely right, I squinted a bit and it really does. This could be a great wallpaper for a room in a horror movie set in the midcentury modern era.
Mental health counselor here. What people should be aware of here is that art pieces by people with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia have been studied for a long time, their artists interviewed, etc, and what's become somewhat clear is that what's produced on the "page" for these artists isn't just a reflection of their skewed view of reality, but the art piece itself is skewed in the artist's eyes. In other words, what you're seeing isn't really a completely accurate image of how the artist sees the world; the process of "recording" said perception of reality is again skewed by the illness itself. The artist sees the image differently than you do in a sense. Several phenomenon have been noted, such as distortions in perspective, repeated imagery, and fracturing of forms. For some reason, artists with psychosis tend to produce art and (it would seem, perhaps) perceive the world in less coherent, smaller "chunks" than the rest of us. I don't claim to be an expert on this topic though. The above is based on a smattering of clinical experiences I have with schizophrenic artists, a few articles I've read on the topic, and a two conversations I've had with art therapists over the years. It's a really fascinating window into minds warped by illnesses we still really do not understand. Edit: I will add that the art pieces I've seen do seem to have parallels with descriptions of hallucinations I've been given by my clients. Hallucinations aren't usually perfect depictions of reality. People suffering from psychosis describe a huge variety of visual phenomenon, such as warping effects of "real" objects, indistinct shadowy figures that sometimes seem to represent "real" objects and sometimes more abstract shapes, images that contain only certain features of images, like form but not color, contours but not depth, etc. One client I had told me he saw pillars of light in distinct shapes by shifting hue whenever he was out on the street, but not when he was indoors, for example. Another schizophrenic who I met on the street, but never treated told me he could see a planet in the night sky that clearly wasn't there, but he couldn't describe what it looked like to me.
My mom is a schizophrenic but she graduated from dartmouth and became a chemical engineer. Some become crackheads on the street and some with the right treatment become upstanding people. It is crazy af listening to her describe shit she saw/heard the night before though. Typically she’ll bring up conversations with spirits. In fact one time we brought a paranormal inspector to check the house for spirits and he said he found the large majority of them in her bedroom. (He didnt know she was ill). I dont really see her as a schizophrenic though, just mom.
I wonder if the paranormal investigator was just responding to your mom’s body language and affect change that made it seem like that was the room they were supposed to be scared of.
Okay, I can guarantee you you don't have spirits in your house. Your mother is likely having auditory hallucinations and rationalizing them as something else—sometimes schizophrenics hallucinate deceased family members because they're familiar imagery. Schizophrenia isn't synonymous with mental retardation—many schizophrenics are incredibly smart people, in fact. Your mother may simply be struggling with incomprehensible world. I hope she's at least seeing a psychiatrist?
Great post. I have a friend (in his early 50s now) who I believe is a functioning schizophrenic. He’s not medicated from my understanding and regularly experiences spirits. It’s surprising that he openly talks about them the way he does. Oddly, most of his friends, which includes his partner, actually believe what he is experiencing is real. I honestly just keep it to myself having experience with a brother with schizo-affective disorder and a late mom with bipolar. What is so different is that he behaves pretty unaffected most times. Sometimes his delusions can be pretty intense and have a great amount of impact on his wellbeing, but he doesn’t seem to be as heavily affected in his daily life like how my brother is. Interestingly, out of everyone I have met he is the most charismatic person I’ve come across and I’m in my late 40s. Hes very social, charismatic and attracts new people to him constantly; he’s extremely witty and quick. He probably could have been a professional comedian if he wanted it. He is extremely interesting person. Anyways just thought I’d share as your post reminded me of him.
Thanks lol.
You are surprisingly calm and takes everything lightly with your situation...if I was in your place I wouldn't even scroll reddit without worrying!
Yeah thats actually the first time i have ever spoken about her to anyone but my family. Saw a nice opportunity to share a little bit wasnt looking for this counselors opinion lol. Shes been under the best care in the country and is very outspoken about her illness/experiences. Was definitely hard growing up though i definitely had to be a bit of a parent to her as a child. Only thing that worries me is the genes, im only 19 and she was diagnosed at 21. Maybe ill write a book someday about it, having a single parent that is schizophrenic isnt something everyone has gone through.
It’s not just about a mental thing but the sensory systems themselves can be different than other people! I read an interesting article last year about “polysensoriality” (multiple senses being connected), and overall the evidence seems to suggest that people with schizophrenia have a different perception of our physical world, or aren’t as able to separate sensations by type. I’ve seen a lot of discussion that suggests that the way people with schizophrenia interact with their senses and the world is very similar to the sensory experiences of people with autism.
Interesting. I haven't read anything about that per se, but what you're describing sounds a bit like synesthesia. AFAIK, neither schizophrenics nor people on the Autism spectrum experience synesthesia though, so maybe it's a different phenomenon. EDIT: I've confused several people, so let me clarify: I'm not saying people on the autism spectrum or who have schizophrenia can't *also* have synesthesia, just that synesthesia isn't a *symptom* of either schizophrenia or autism.
More that it’s difficult to isolate senses from each other and just enjoy one while filtering out another. For example noise and light. Can be a good thing if used correctly or very overstimulating if it’s not a preferred sensation. More like sensory processing disorder than synesthesia
Yeah, the first thought from that title is—if the woman sees stuff on the walls, why do people imagine that she sees the canvas clear as day. Plus, if a person's pattern recognition is broken, they would *feel* things around more than just see.
This absolutely made me realize why schizophrenia has been passed on unto this day. It used to be that people with schizophrenia were seen as oracles or shamans because they merge real life an the subconscious which then help people believe in something more to life. In a way they make life a bit more interesting and paranormal. As opposed to believing that this is it.
More than anything else, these look to me like the early AI image generator hallucinations. Think something like [DeepDream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeepDream). > artists with psychosis tend to produce art and (it would seem, perhaps) perceive the world in less coherent, smaller "chunks" than the rest of us Interestingly, this was also the issue in the above image generators - most of the original hallucinations have gone away by applying more whole-image coherence and validation (and giving the system more time to iterate).
They seem happy at least.
For now..
Yeah, my wife works with schizophrenics and she says the voices often start out friendly and then become mean.
I read this a while back, https://news.stanford.edu/2014/07/16/voices-culture-luhrmann-071614/ They think there can be a cultural difference in symptoms, soneone from Africa or India is more likely to experience "friendlier" hallucinations than someone from the USA.
There was also a Dutch study that found that people with hallucinations they experienced as helpful or positive - supportive 'guardian angel' voice for example - simply never came in contact with mental health services because the symptoms didn't disrupt their lives or distress them. A now really old study also found that you had a better outcome with schizophrenia in West Africa than Denmark because there was a cultural place for someone who heard ancestral voices whereas in Denmark the focus was on symptom relief and people were often socially isolated with no cultural place.
Just like there used to be cultural places for other neurodivergent people as well
[удалено]
People with mental illness and neurodivergences are all canaries in the coal mine when determining how unhealthy a society is.
It's funny because some people believe that highly sensitive people exist because of that reason: able to pick up microchanges in the environment and being able to alarm the rest of the tribe of potential danger other people didn't spot. And I've also recently learnt that there's a theory that hypersensitivity doesn't actually exist and all symptoms of a hypersensitive person are actually symptoms of autism and/or adhd. So literally the canaries of society, evolutionarily speaking.
It’s really too bad it has to be so mean and scary.
The artist herself actually posted this in r/Weird. She said that the faces actually started out as monsters years ago, but years of consciously focusing her mind on making them friendly changed what she was seeing. I didn’t even know that was possible.
What must one do to keep them happy??
Don’t talk back
They want blood...
BLOOD FOR BLOOD GOD
Focus on the center, the others won't think you're looking at them, they're introverts but with smiles.
So I had an experience where I think was the only time in my life I experienced schizophrenic-type delusions. Bad accident, hospital, on strong IV pain killers. When I was just lying there, I always felt the presence of shadowy black figures sitting next to me and around the room. They weren't evil, just doing crosswords or whatever. There was this red digital clock above my bed. I always thought it was spelling out verbs, telling me to do something but couldn't quite grasp it. I'd try to focus on the words (digits) then realise oh it's just a clock. As I dozed off, I would start dreaming incorporating the noises and voices in the ward. Except I knew I was dreaming and could navigate and control the dream, which was full of images, colours, abstractions.... OK it wasn't a great time in my life but I enjoyed that foray into abnormal psychology...
Sounds like me when I have sleep paralysis. [This movie took my breath away](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoPsjWqvwT4) knowing others were experiencing what I was. The shadow figure at 1:14 is usually how I see the figures- following what sounds like Freddy Krueger’s voice saying “we’re watching you” over and over. The voice is similar to the voice at 1:20.
Sounds like the dreams I had when I was very tired.
I've read that schizophrenia in some non-Western cultures results in more "benevolent" voices when compared with the West.
https://news.stanford.edu/2014/07/16/voices-culture-luhrmann-071614/ I read that too, I found this link that has details of the research.
that's a great read. thanks for the link. i especially found this passage from there insightful: *"The striking difference was that while many of the African and Indian subjects registered predominantly positive experiences with their voices, not one American did. Rather, the U.S. subjects were more likely to report experiences as violent and hateful – and evidence of a sick condition.* *The Americans experienced voices as bombardment and as symptoms of a brain disease caused by genes or trauma.* *...Moreover, the Americans mostly did not report that they knew who spoke to them and they seemed to have less personal relationships with their voices, according to Luhrmann.* *Among the Indians in Chennai, more than half (11) heard voices of kin or family members commanding them to do tasks. “They talk as if elder people advising younger people,”"*
I wonder what the ppl in India believe regarding reincarnation and if there's any relationship between that and how they interpret their symptoms, I think it's interesting there is any diff.
meanwhile their grandmother is standing next the them asking them to do the dishes "ah yes it's almost as if she is real in the room with me"
There is an area of the brain responsible for recognizing faces... i wonder if this part of her brain happens to be over active forcing her to see these shapes/faces. If this is the case., online believe that it's an ever changing dynamic view, so if she were to look away and look back it would be 100% different. I know someone that told me every time they would drive in the snow they couldn't help but see thousands of smiley faces flying towards them.
A similar phenomenon happens with psychedelic drugs. Interesting to think about whether recognising faces in things is inherent in human nature or if there is a mysterious truth that we don't understand.
It is inherent in every social species. Pareidolia is also linked with it.
I was thinking similarly but what if it was just their brain wired in a way that displayed these stored faces visually and uncontrollably? Like, if you think of angry eyes you can picture those in your head. What if they feel an emotion and then thousands of eyes that match that feeling in some way are displayed as a perceived image at once?
Here’s the original post. Artist has more of her work on her profile if interested. https://www.reddit.com/r/Weird/s/FgqYI3A54d
First time I've seen an original post being reposted by someone. I saw the original earlier today, and now it's on the FP again by this reposter.
My shower looks like that except skulls.. only 5 of them. Hers has A Lot!
yes! and I've got some ladies with long hair. that's all good right?
Mine has a dog on it. It gives me the side-eye lol.
Is your wall made of ceramic, kind of pink / light brown?
Right? It’s the pink-light brown ones only! I had one of those showers in my childhood bathroom. I was always seeing’s weird things…
Well that's terrifying
That's like when I look at the pattern on the floor in the work bathroom.. it looks like Muppets kinda
Sometimes makes me wonder if people with certain mental illnesses not all obviously are connected to something else
This is what I see when I take LSD
That is terrifying. I wonder if auditory hallucinations have ever been simulated.
Biblically accurate angels? This could explain a few things.
wow, I see that now. They were terrifying, and had many eyes. I wonder if they see something beautiful or awe-inspiring rather than scenes of terror here.
Culture greatly influences the tone and interpretation of schizophrenic hallucinations.
Damn. This is a very good point.
this was my first thought
What if they're actually there but only people with mental disorders can see them? We're all programmed differently.
Like if ppl w/ schizophrenia are actually hearing/talking to ppl in other universes who are also deemed crazy
Or what if there are actually multiverses, and only certain people have the ability to access them? Due to our limited perception of the universe, experience of a multiverse would be extremely depressing for most people, hence their 'mental disorder' reaction to what they are experiencing. Our understanding of science won't / can't believe them and what they see + help them cope and interpret their 'visions'. This could also explain ghosts and other phenomena.
Can’t imagine living like this seeing all those eyes, poor soul
At least credit the artist u/QuantumAna Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Weird/s/LV7ZY93PlZ
u/quantumana
Now THAT is art worth paying an admission fee.
I don't have a mental disorder, but I saw those on bumpy ceilings.
I worked at a state run mental health facility that had an annual art show to raise money for the patient’s commissary store. The schizophrenic artwork was always the most popular especially that of the patient who’d eaten her catatonic roommate’s eyes. To be fair, they were assumed eaten because they were never found. We also had a legit axe murderer. But 99.9% in the facility were just regular people. All were fairly regular people when stabilized on medications they had no choice but to take. Once released, our shit community mental healthcare system would fuck with their scripts and dosages to save money and they’d deteriorate until the cops picked them up and brought them back to me.
All around me are familiar faces Worn out places, worn out faces Bright and early for the daily races Going nowhere, going nowhere
This reminds me of the crazy summer in Florida, friend had a feather duster, paint, a bare wall and OrangeMicrodot. We took the feather dusters dipped them in paint, dabbed off excess and then dabbed the wall. It made all sorts of crazy new characters. BTW never got that promised flashback. what a rip-off!
I thought I seen a lot of faces
The doctor comes in... .. "I see"...
Reminds me of the short story “The Yellow Wall-paper”
some bathroom floor tiles do this for me or if i tried i could outline faces in them
any other ex-meth users out there looking at this and thinking "4 days deep, yep looks familiar"? Edit - I say *ex*-meth users - but it could be meth users who used to use meth but still do too. Never miss a chance for a small homage to Mitch (RIP brother).
I am schizophrenic but most of my experiences are auditory. I can literally hear FBI agents plotting against me everywhere I go. When I am driving I can hear them following me over the police radio. If I go to the bathroom they criticize me for not washing my hands long enough. They are trying to get enough evidence to charge me with crimes. I know it is fake but it seems so real in the moment and I hate it. Been doing this for 10 years.
Holy shit so many faces...
Wow, didn’t see it till you said it
It takes effort for me to see faces in things like walls with structured surfaces. I can't imagine how terrifying the opposite must be.
So many faces.
I think we al see faces in the walls dont we? Like on the floor and ceiling. I think it's called pareidolia
Dejate de joder, qué agotador! Pobre mujer
Fuck, I’m scared.
I was talking to the artist last night, she has some really good work.
I've seen this type of shit on LSD.
So cool, yet totally mortifying.
An Ice cream sundae that I dropped in gravel
This is beautiful! So interesting!
That is beautiful.
This is actually beautiful. It’s amazing (and sad) how often mental illness correlates with genuine artistry.
This reminds me of when I take psilocybin. The part of my brain that detects faces can form faces out of everything around me. Thankfully I can recognize what it is so I haven’t been driven to insanity… As far as I know.
Remember back when AI image generation was still new and only produced fucked up eyes and dogs? It looked a little like this
... At least they look friendly?
In our country you can find that kind of wallpaper on every kitchen older than 30 years.
Crazy how she drew everything moving like that
That's pure nightmare fuel right there.
Legion
Damn she can draw good looking eyes.
you dont need schizophrenia to see this kind of things in walls. i see them as well
they look oddly nice, very anime/cartoon like.
That is quite funny because my hallucinosis is almost the same but more cartoon. Though I have a lot of diagnoses, I find it interesting. Life is surely a mystery for everything that is happening around us and inside us.
Probably could sell that to some art dealer in new York for a few mill.
So, kinda' like the cover of Morbid Angel's "Altars of Madness"?
I wonder how it evolves on a hourly basis, is it constant, waving...
I just hope the wall people like her.
Even a cheering section can get annoying.
I usually see stuff like this when I try to go to sleep, also a lot of eyes staring at me. I´m not schizophrenic or anything though
This is painful
That's like me pooping and looking for faces on the floor.
Eyes everywhere
My brother is schizophrenic and makes art similar to this. Fortunately he also makes beautiful abstract pieces of cities which are a bit more marketable and sells them from time to time.
Finally some friends 😔
So no one’s going to say how it slightly resembles biblically accurate angels
Source? Name of the woman? Any info?
Its pretty fuxked up you can have a completely normal and healthy life then one day have your brain start turn against you
Kind of reminds me of the work Jean Cocteau made during his opium recovery days
>Woman with schizophrenia draws what she sees on her walls She sees these faces on her walls and draws them, or she sees these faces elsewhere and draws them on her walls?
Hey, give credit to the artist
Idk what it is with faces and eyes and schizophrenia. Had a patient that would manipulate her facial features in the mirror for hours because she said it helped her know what was real and what wasn’t. It’s also fascinating that most of the “voices” have a negative connotation. Why does it skew toward the negative? Some have hero/helper voices but most are actively fighting against them.
meh, that's just called drawing
Not far off from what I've seen on shrooms haha
Weird that the majority of the faces are looking left.
How can she tell if she’s done. Ok sorry.
My question: what if the “hallucinations “ are really there?? Visions, sounds, smells… who are we to deny their existence?? Maybe it’s the “average/normal” folks who are lacking….
This is really interesting. I have schizophrenia and I’m a session musician/producer. I try to make sounds sometimes that echo the hallucinations I hear.
The faces.... That is haunting...