Hallucination can be a symptom of different health issues such as schizophrenia. It is a state of sense in which a person can hear and feel things even they are not actually around. The most common type is the auditory hallucinations in which an individual claims hearing voices and sounds. In fact, there are people hallucinating hearing the voices of dead ancestors, old acquaintances and even guardian angels. This serves as reassurance and comfort for them.
However, there are instances when hallucination becomes worse in which it needs intervention. It is said that this symptom can cause disorientation and distress. That is why as early as possible, it is important to know and learn the things coping with hallucinations. Luckily, there are strategies that can be used in alleviating the symptoms.
Hallucinations Coping Strategies
Some people suffering from schizophrenia hallucinations seek medical intervention. Aside from medications, there are other alternative ways coping with hallucinations that include the following:
Fighting back – This strategy of coping up involves talking back or yelling to hallucinations. Fighting back the voice is not a good idea because it may result to depression because the voice would not go away by itself.
Passive acceptance – Accepting hallucination has positive emotional effects, but in the long run passive acceptance can consume your entire life.
Mindfulness techniques - Acknowledging the voices can be agreeable, but accepting guidance from the voices should be spared of.
Distraction – Another way in coping with hallucinations is through distractions. You can focus on tasks, watch television or recite numbers. Using distractions is more effective than the white noise.
Ask for help – People experiencing frequent hallucinations should ask help from family, friends and even support group. Going out with friends can divert the attention and make the mind busy.
Meditative activities – Exercising and engaging in other meditative activities like yoga can help prevent hallucinations. It is because this activity can calm your mind and body.
Hallucination can cause higher level of distress especially if the person does not know how to cope with it. The condition may aggravate to those people using drugs. If the condition persists, the best thing to do is to consult a psychologist for possible intervention. Through the help of psychologist, the symptoms can be intervening. Using the alternative way of dealing with hallucination can be implemented even outside the structured therapy.
The strategies in coping with hallucinations do not challenge the belief of the person where the voice is coming. This means that the techniques would not make a person irritated imposing him or her to oppose his or her belief. The coping strategies can only be effective only if the person hallucinating will acknowledge and practice it. Likewise, practicing the strategies can also help in gaining more control over the voices being heard. Not all the techniques can be effective to many individuals. That is why it is important to choose techniques in coping with hallucinations that would work best for you. After all, it is you alone who can determine which one is working and which one is not.