"How to help someone when they’re hallucinating
Disclaimer: I am not every schizophrenic person ever. I am just one person. I’m writing this using my own personal experiences with my hallucinations and what others can do to help. Feel free to add your own suggestions.
-Move the person to a different location. It should be relatively quiet without sensory overload or crowds of people. Sometimes the person will refuse to leave their hallucinations, in which case you have to find a way to make them. If they are refusing to leave but clearly very agitated, they are entering psychosis and need to get out.
-Stay with the person. Sometimes my hallucinations give me intense fear and anxiety in which case I’d rather not be on my own to hallucinate terrifying things. Also, spoiler alert, but sometimes psychotic people hurt themselves. Sometimes they don’t even know they’re doing it. If you leave them completely alone, there’s a chance self harm will occur.
-Reassure the person. Tell them that what they’re experiencing is not real. Tell them you’re staying with them. Tell them it will be over soon. Be calm and kind.
-If the person is having auditory hallucinations, the best thing you can do is to actually get them away from noise. Don’t try to make them listen to music or bring them into loud areas. That will likely cause them to hallucinate more. Take them somewhere quiet and wait for it to pass on its own.
-If the person is having visual hallucinations, likely they will be looking up, at least in my experience anyway. When I hallucinate, it’s usually something I need to raise my head to see. I have a friend who will notice when I’m staring up at something she can’t see and will raise her hands to block it. That way, I see her hands which distract me, and then I look down at her instead of at whatever I’m hallucinating. Distractions are great for visual hallucinations.
-Touch the person (if they’re okay with it). Touching me when I’m hallucinating helps in two different ways. It helps to ground me. If I can feel you touching me, I know that I’m still in reality. It is also calming. If I’m very agitated or fearful, it’s nice to have a reassuring hand touch my shoulder to calm me down.
-Often when people are hallucinating, they get very antsy. Try giving them something they can fidget with, or ask if they want to squeeze your hand.
-Don’t let the person focus on their hallucinations. Even if it’s terrifying, my natural urge is to look at or listen to the hallucination. I once was having quite a disturbing hallucination and every time I turned my head to look at it, a friend of mine would gently guide my head away from it and make me focus back on her.
-Ask them if there’s anything they specifically need. Everyone is different. Don’t bombard the person with questions, just ask them what they need. A question I’m often asked is if food or water will help, to which I reply, no, it doesn’t. (Except if the hallucination is causing me to panic, in which a case drinking water will help calm me down. Some people like to chew gum or suck on a candy to help ground them but I haven’t really personally found that helpful for me.)
-Don’t panic. You’re not the one hallucinating. You have nothing to fear. Psychotic does not mean violent. A hallucinating person is not going to hurt you. The person likely will be quite fearful themselves, so you need to do your best to remain calm for them. Panicking will just make the situation worse."
Disclaimer: I am not every schizophrenic person ever. I am just one person. I’m writing this using my own personal experiences with my hallucinations and what others can do to help. Feel free to add your own suggestions.
-Move the person to a different location. It should be relatively quiet without sensory overload or crowds of people. Sometimes the person will refuse to leave their hallucinations, in which case you have to find a way to make them. If they are refusing to leave but clearly very agitated, they are entering psychosis and need to get out.
-Stay with the person. Sometimes my hallucinations give me intense fear and anxiety in which case I’d rather not be on my own to hallucinate terrifying things. Also, spoiler alert, but sometimes psychotic people hurt themselves. Sometimes they don’t even know they’re doing it. If you leave them completely alone, there’s a chance self harm will occur.
-Reassure the person. Tell them that what they’re experiencing is not real. Tell them you’re staying with them. Tell them it will be over soon. Be calm and kind.
-If the person is having auditory hallucinations, the best thing you can do is to actually get them away from noise. Don’t try to make them listen to music or bring them into loud areas. That will likely cause them to hallucinate more. Take them somewhere quiet and wait for it to pass on its own.
-If the person is having visual hallucinations, likely they will be looking up, at least in my experience anyway. When I hallucinate, it’s usually something I need to raise my head to see. I have a friend who will notice when I’m staring up at something she can’t see and will raise her hands to block it. That way, I see her hands which distract me, and then I look down at her instead of at whatever I’m hallucinating. Distractions are great for visual hallucinations.
-Touch the person (if they’re okay with it). Touching me when I’m hallucinating helps in two different ways. It helps to ground me. If I can feel you touching me, I know that I’m still in reality. It is also calming. If I’m very agitated or fearful, it’s nice to have a reassuring hand touch my shoulder to calm me down.
-Often when people are hallucinating, they get very antsy. Try giving them something they can fidget with, or ask if they want to squeeze your hand.
-Don’t let the person focus on their hallucinations. Even if it’s terrifying, my natural urge is to look at or listen to the hallucination. I once was having quite a disturbing hallucination and every time I turned my head to look at it, a friend of mine would gently guide my head away from it and make me focus back on her.
-Ask them if there’s anything they specifically need. Everyone is different. Don’t bombard the person with questions, just ask them what they need. A question I’m often asked is if food or water will help, to which I reply, no, it doesn’t. (Except if the hallucination is causing me to panic, in which a case drinking water will help calm me down. Some people like to chew gum or suck on a candy to help ground them but I haven’t really personally found that helpful for me.)
-Don’t panic. You’re not the one hallucinating. You have nothing to fear. Psychotic does not mean violent. A hallucinating person is not going to hurt you. The person likely will be quite fearful themselves, so you need to do your best to remain calm for them. Panicking will just make the situation worse."
❤37💯4👍2
autism, socialization, neurodivergency
"conversation is one of the most difficult things for me as an autistic person
over time, i've become very good at masking my autism
and i've learned some strategies that see me through most conversations
[...]
noscripting
[...]
all of this masking, mirroring and processing in real-time is exhausting.
in the moment, i feel alert, engaged and like im a fun person!
i feel like i might even be charismatic!
it makes me feel good about myself
but it takes a heavy toll
prolonged periods of contact send me into autistic burnout"
#pending_trannoscription
"conversation is one of the most difficult things for me as an autistic person
over time, i've become very good at masking my autism
and i've learned some strategies that see me through most conversations
[...]
noscripting
[...]
all of this masking, mirroring and processing in real-time is exhausting.
in the moment, i feel alert, engaged and like im a fun person!
i feel like i might even be charismatic!
it makes me feel good about myself
but it takes a heavy toll
prolonged periods of contact send me into autistic burnout"
#pending_trannoscription
❤41🔥4👍2🤔2
socialization, self compassion
"when i was training to be a battered women's advocate, my supervisor said something that really blew my mind:
"you can always assume one thing about your clients; and that is that they are doing their best. always assume everyone is doing their best. and if they're having a day where their best just isnt that great, or their best doesnt look like your best, you have to be okay with that."
any now whenever anyone in my life, either a friend or a client, frustrates me, disappoints me, or pisses me off, i just tell myself They are doing their best. Their best isnt that great today, but i have days where my best isnt that great either."
"when i was training to be a battered women's advocate, my supervisor said something that really blew my mind:
"you can always assume one thing about your clients; and that is that they are doing their best. always assume everyone is doing their best. and if they're having a day where their best just isnt that great, or their best doesnt look like your best, you have to be okay with that."
any now whenever anyone in my life, either a friend or a client, frustrates me, disappoints me, or pisses me off, i just tell myself They are doing their best. Their best isnt that great today, but i have days where my best isnt that great either."
❤36🔥6👍2💯2
mental health, meds, body
"i hate when ppl say shit like BUT ANTIDEPRESSANTS ALTER YOUR BRAIN FUNCTION UNATURALLY READ UP ON IT NURGGHH like yeah, youre right, they force it to produce serotonin so i can function, similar to how i take thyroxine bc my thyroid doesnt fucking make the right shit, similar to how people with diabetes take insulin, similar to how people with low iron take iron supplements"
"i hate when ppl say shit like BUT ANTIDEPRESSANTS ALTER YOUR BRAIN FUNCTION UNATURALLY READ UP ON IT NURGGHH like yeah, youre right, they force it to produce serotonin so i can function, similar to how i take thyroxine bc my thyroid doesnt fucking make the right shit, similar to how people with diabetes take insulin, similar to how people with low iron take iron supplements"
👏39🔥6❤2🤮2🍓2👍1😁1🤔1😱1
socialization, capitalism, kindness
"i was in line at aldi and this girl with two toddlers in front of me had her card declined and she looked so fucking sad and said "let me call my husband real quick" and it was only 18 dollars, so i just paid for it, and she was very sweet and then as she walked off, the lady behind me said "you know that was probably a scam, right?" and like, even if it was, like what a sad fucking scam, right? 18 dollars at the aldi.
[...]
do good recklessly
[...]
i dont care if it was a scam or not. just do nice things for people sometimes
[...]
another time, my dad gave 50 bucks to a guy who said he needed to buy medicine for his kids. i told my dad he was probably going to spend the money on alcohol or something, but my dad said that "whether he was lying or not says something about HIS character, but hearing someone in need and choosing not to help when i have the meanst to says something about mine" "
"i was in line at aldi and this girl with two toddlers in front of me had her card declined and she looked so fucking sad and said "let me call my husband real quick" and it was only 18 dollars, so i just paid for it, and she was very sweet and then as she walked off, the lady behind me said "you know that was probably a scam, right?" and like, even if it was, like what a sad fucking scam, right? 18 dollars at the aldi.
[...]
do good recklessly
[...]
i dont care if it was a scam or not. just do nice things for people sometimes
[...]
another time, my dad gave 50 bucks to a guy who said he needed to buy medicine for his kids. i told my dad he was probably going to spend the money on alcohol or something, but my dad said that "whether he was lying or not says something about HIS character, but hearing someone in need and choosing not to help when i have the meanst to says something about mine" "
🔥25❤19💯5👍2👏2
growth
"sometimes we are childish. sometimes we do something our 16 year old self would have done, think something our 11 year old self would have thought, cry like our 7 year old self would have cried. why is this so embarrassing? why does it make us feel such shame? when you're 20, 30, 40, are you not also every age you've been before? do all of your previous incarnations not live inside of you?
what they dont understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. and when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you dont. you open your eyes and everything's just like yesterday, only it's today. and you dont feel eleven at all. you feel like you're still ten. and you are - underneath the year that makes you eleven"
"sometimes we are childish. sometimes we do something our 16 year old self would have done, think something our 11 year old self would have thought, cry like our 7 year old self would have cried. why is this so embarrassing? why does it make us feel such shame? when you're 20, 30, 40, are you not also every age you've been before? do all of your previous incarnations not live inside of you?
what they dont understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you're eleven, you're also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. and when you wake up on your eleventh birthday you expect to feel eleven, but you dont. you open your eyes and everything's just like yesterday, only it's today. and you dont feel eleven at all. you feel like you're still ten. and you are - underneath the year that makes you eleven"
❤35
mental health
"in therapy, i learned that this is a risky form of self-care
because... if that one big thing gets taken from you
or becomes an obsession
you're left with almost nothing that is truly yours
so im working on making my self-care a rainbow
that way, i'll have so many colors to turn on when im feeling dark blue"
"in therapy, i learned that this is a risky form of self-care
because... if that one big thing gets taken from you
or becomes an obsession
you're left with almost nothing that is truly yours
so im working on making my self-care a rainbow
that way, i'll have so many colors to turn on when im feeling dark blue"
❤44🤔2👍1
self compassion, mental health, growth
"please make sure that wherever you're at in life, you dont treat it like a transitory period. dont waste your college years wishing to be already graduated and have a job. dont waste your single years wishing for someone to be in love with. if/when those things come, they will come in due time and they will be good. but there is nothing like looking back and feeling empty because you wasted literal years ignoring what you had because you were hoping for something better. while its important to better yourself and reach for your goals, dont neglect the present because thats where you are now and its your now that determines your future"
"please make sure that wherever you're at in life, you dont treat it like a transitory period. dont waste your college years wishing to be already graduated and have a job. dont waste your single years wishing for someone to be in love with. if/when those things come, they will come in due time and they will be good. but there is nothing like looking back and feeling empty because you wasted literal years ignoring what you had because you were hoping for something better. while its important to better yourself and reach for your goals, dont neglect the present because thats where you are now and its your now that determines your future"
😢22👍13💯12🍓7🔥2❤1🤮1
mental health, society, trauma
"this young koala has a mental health problem
what i like about this comic is that it doesnt "trivialize" mental health problems in and of themselves. its clear that the koala IS genuinely traumatized by what's happened. but it does emphasize that the mental health problems are a symptom of some real tangible problem that needs to be dealt with immediately"
"this young koala has a mental health problem
what i like about this comic is that it doesnt "trivialize" mental health problems in and of themselves. its clear that the koala IS genuinely traumatized by what's happened. but it does emphasize that the mental health problems are a symptom of some real tangible problem that needs to be dealt with immediately"
💯41❤11👏2👍1🤮1🍓1