Hey - I’m so sorry that you are having to deal with this! You sound like a really intelligent person who is doing the best you can to logically
explain/rationalize what is happening...in the midst of an experience that would drive anyone batty.
I am going to offer my 2 cents take it or leave it....
Envision a spectrum of human moods rolling from one extreme to the other....Suicidal, depressed, apathy, baseline/contentment, happy, euphoric,
mania...after mania the next level manifested is auditory or visual hallucinations. Hallucinations can also manifest themselves on the opposite
extreme end of the mood spectrum.
There are a number of things that can impact you brain chemistry so that is skews toward mania and ultimately hallucinations. The hallucinations you
are describing are exactly what someone who has progressed beyond “mania” would be experiencing. Hearing voices..or a specific voice can be very
hard to ignore. It is very real to the person experiencing it. Please try to think of is as a symptom (like a bad headache). You body is warning
you that something is wrong.
A number of different medical issues can cause auditory hallucinations to happen. Just one example, some people who take anti-depressants without
also taking a mood stabilizer....can wind up with auditory hallucinations due to the prescribed antidepressant. The antidepressant elevates their
mood, beyond happy, beyond euphoric, beyond mania...all the way to hallucinations. Certain vitamin deficiencies (B12) can also result in
hallucinations.
The longer you leave the underlying condition untreated the harder it will be to correct. However, with the help of a good doctor you can get back
to your pre-hallucination baseline.
I am assuming that you don’t have a lot of available downtime to address this - so here is my recommendation in the most expedient way to approach
it. I would suggest that you schedule an outpatient office appointment with a psychiatrist who has inpatient privileges at an acute care hospital.
If necessary the psychiatrist will recommend inpatient treatment (otherwise he can do the workup outpatient). Note: In an inpatient setting the
staff can take a team approach to rule out a medical reason for the hallucinations (vitamin deficiency, etc...) and they can help you get back to
where you were prior to the hallucinations...so don’t fight the doc on it if he/she recommends an inpatient admission.
Note: I would not recommend asking your family physician to try to treat this....hard for family practitioners to stay current on the best drugs for
this type of issue. They could inadvertently make things worse. I also would not recommend seeing a psychologist or a Master Degreed Counselor or
therapist (at least not initially). You need medical care by a doctor who can correctly diagnose you and also prescribe medications - with your
symptoms a psychiatrist would be a solid starting point.
Wishing you the best of luck with all of this!
a reply to:
Dawn65
edit on 17-10-2019 by Buvvy because: Typo
edit on 17-10-2019 by Buvvy because: (no reason given)
edit on
17-10-2019 by Buvvy because: (no reason given)