The Untold Connection between Nightmares and Delusional Disorders

“Mom! Can I sleep with you?” This is the most often asked question by a six to eight year old child. Many parents initially give in to their child’s request as they feel the child needs more time to understand the importance of sleeping alone. But one among ten mothers may try to find the real reason of their child’s fear. Most commonly children have fear of dark. Some frequently get nightmares where they visualize green eyed monsters or a giant dragon that is running behind them to gobble them up in one go. Some do not like loneliness. When the first and third reasons are somewhat acceptable and does not associate any medical symptom with itself, the second condition of regular fretful nightmares needs a serious watch. Here are some common patterns that can develop into a serious mental block in the future years of the child.

• Repeating patterns in nightmare

If the child is frequently seeing the same dream sequence, it definitely means some serious trouble in the brewing. The parent needs to observe the child’s behavioral pattern, the books he reads, the TV programmes that he watches and the friends he moves out with. If the reason for the nightmare is resultant of either of the above reasons, the child is just affected on the periphery. Unfortunately, if the child has a constrained and depressed mind set and is highly sensitive by nature, it is a must for the parent to connect to a child psychiatrist for further help.

• Delusional disorders

Delusions definition is simple. It is another variant of schizophrenia where the affected person hears voices that are inaudible to others. With delusion the person firmly believes the unreal exists and remains confused. Some common types of delusional disorders that will reflect in early child hood are through hallucinations and frequent terrors in the form of nightmares. Hence if these dream patterns continues above the age of 12, the child needs psychotic treatments to channelize their thoughts and get back to normalcy.

• How to help the child?

The children are parent’s treasure. Rather than forcing them to sleep alone and overcome the fear themselves as they have become “of age”, parents must step into the child’s shoes and find out what is disturbing them. Parents must help their child to understand what is real and what is non-existent and indulge the child into real world sports or games that makes the children grow physically and mentally strong.

Do Mentally Unstable Cause Violence out of Their Will?

Mental instability of a person is most unfortunate for him as well as his family. When a subject is diagnosed with mental in stable condition like madness, delusions, psychic disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia etc, in most prevalent cases he will be lonely supported only by his family or close friends. He is seen as a tormentor by the neighbors in general. But statistics has a different say in this regards. It has been observed in a survey that mentally unstable people experience more violence and wrath of people in comparison to the violence they inflict on them. Astonishing is it not? Unfortunately this is true.

• Reasons behind the Violence

A mentally unstable person bears the brunt of brutal violence as he does not know how to react. When he tries to voice his defense, people hardly take him seriously and this irritates them further. As a result they try to harm the ones who caused physical or mental assault upon them. In some other scenarios where the subject suffers from delusion he tends to see things which others do not see and he also hears sounds which others cannot hear. When people blame or make fun of him for his erratic actions these people tend to get violent. Thus the ultimate reason for a mentally unstable person to get harmful is the unaccountable physical and mental torture that has been inflicted upon them.

• Prevention of Unstability

Preventing a severely mentally unstable person to cause violence is easy. All one needs to do is to keep them indoor or admit them to an asylum where he can be taken care of under medical supervision. But people with bipolar disorders, delusional disorders, depression or schizophrenia will look very natural and normal in general circumstances. These people should realize their self and their state of mind and preempt themselves with anti-depressant so that they can still be counted safe.

Mental health and violence are interconnected as violence is defined as a result of mental aggressiveness. A healthy person too can turn violent when his mind stops to guide him in the right path. There are numerous societies and non-profitable organization networks who work seamlessly to explain common people about the mental makeup of such pitiable souls so that the world can perceive their goodness and help these people live a better life to enjoy the bounties of nature.

What Are Types Of Delusional Disorder

There are many people who face the problem of delusion, but it is difficult to identify the person with this mental sickness because they normally socialize and do the work, apart from the respective area of their delusion. The delusions definition can be understood, as a firm and unshakeable belief in something which does not exist. 

Patient’s suffering from delusion experiences the incidents which can happen in real like too, such as conspiracy against the patient, accident, being followed, deceived, falling in love and poisoned. These situations are created inside the mind of patient which he believes with full convection, but in reality either the situations are not present or they are highly amplified.

This mental illness usually happens during the period of middle to late lifespan of patient, and women’s are more affected by this illness as compared with the men’s.

Following are the types of delusional disorder:

• Bizarre delusion:

In this situation the patient tends to imagine things and situations which are not possible to happen in real life.

For example: The patient has a strong belief that the internal organ of one person is exchanged with the internal organs of another person without any surgery and scar.

• Non-bizarre delusion:

In this type of delusion, the patient creates the situations in his mind which are possible in the existing life.

For example: The patient has a firm belief that someone is behind him everywhere.

• Mood-congruent delusion:

In mood-congruent delusion, the delusions are dependent or related to the patient’s mood or emotional state.
For example: The patient believes, that commentators of cricket match disapproves him or he firmly believes that he will fly and he will reach the top of the sky.

• Mood-neutral delusion:

In this type of delusion, the emotional state or mood of the patient doesn’t create any difference.

For example: The patient can have a belief that, an extra head is growing out from the side of his head. In this type of situation, the mood of patient is usually natural; they are not feeling depressive or manic.

The doctors have still not found the exact cause of delusion disorder, but there are few symptoms which help in identifying the mental sickness in patient. These symptoms include low mood, hallucinations, getting angry and getting irritated. With the help of early identification of illness, medications, psychotherapy a patient can be cured, but the most important is the love and support of family members and friends.

A Comprehensive List of the Reasons for Hearing Voices or Schizophrenia

Have you ever come across people who say, “I am hearing voices in my head?” Complex noises or hearing voices is something normal, but if the experience gets bad, then it is a matter of concern. The sufferer might need a medical help to get rid of the problem. Here is the list that highlights the reasons for Schizophrenia or hearing voices -

• Split brain

Schizophrenia literarily means ‘split brain’, but this isn’t what exactly happens in schizophrenia. Actually, those who hear voices in their head have ‘split’ mind. In other words, they are under dual mindedness due to reasons like sexual abuse or because of defence mechanism that is hidden in some part of their brain. It is not normal or easy for a human being to keep the “hidden bits” in his or her brain. And if the thing is inside their brain they encounter flashbacks, as a result they have hallucinations of that the abuser is saying nasty things to him or her.

• Low self-worth- 

When someone’s mood is low at times due to low self-esteem he/she begins to hear voices that resonate with her/his mood. In other words, the person consciously feels that he or she is encountering criticisms with the words and by the same person that abused him/her long back at some point of time.

• Overdose of alcohol or drug

If a person is heavily drunk or takes overdose of the drugs that stimulate dopamine he or she will hear voices likely. In cases where one drinks alcohol occasionally, the voice is much like low self-esteem. In case of intake of drugs, the person hears voice similar to that of police sirens or it feels like someone is trying to get hold of you.

• Mental illness

People who suffer from schizophrenia or hearing voice problem experience variety of voices. However, while treating them psychiatrists consider all the three types of voices. These include- many people speaking abusive about him/her, negative comments, hearing of own thoughts. Such voices are string signs of schizophrenia. As a matter of fact you must also know that voices can also be heard in other mental illness cases such as severe depression, advanced dementia, etc. 

In situations like schizophrenia or hearing voice it’s very important to seek a psychiatrist help or professionals that can help treat this problem. In such cases the patient is encouraged for self-help or for getting himself/herself treated. Hence it’s the duty of his/her family members to get help from experts.

Auditory Hallucinations: What do they mean?

Many of us remain concerned with increasing sound pollution and complain about so many audio stimuli in the environment. Imagine the condition of the people who have to face the situation of hearing voices in their head in addition to all the sounds coming from their surroundings. Yes, this is what happens in the case of unfortunate people who are victims of auditory hallucinations. These people perceive voices that are not there for real but coming from their own head. 

Voices that are coming from one’s own head

Among hallucinations of all kinds, it is the auditory hallucinations that are most common. People suffering from mental disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are the ones who hear voices inside their head. Sometimes there is a single voice talking to these people but in other cases there are multiple voices talking and even giving commands. All this begins in the form of whisperings and mumbling but as mental disorder takes root, these voices become audible and very clear. The patient becomes confused at first as he believes these are voices coming from outside but when he sees no one around; he accepts the reality and finds himself in a very unpleasant condition. He has nowhere to go but to keep listening to these voices that are often accusatory and abusive. 

No way of escaping from these voices

In most cases of auditory hallucinations, victim says, ‘I am constantly hearing voices in my head’. This is a clear indication that he is suffering from a mental disorder. If you are a normal individual, you cannot imagine what it is like to be listening to voices coming from your own head. It is a virtual nightmare and the lives of these people become a living hell. Soon, people suffering from these hallucinations find themselves interacting with the voices coming from their head.  To all the people who are normal, an individual taking to himself appears to be abnormal. But to the victim, the voices are real and talking to him or about him and he has no way of escaping these voices. 

Auditory hallucinations force victims to do things as told by these voices. These people often do things they would never even imagine doing in their lives because they are often threatened by the voices that they would kill him if he does not oblige. The method of treatment of such individuals is to give them tranquilizers but this approach does not seem to work. Patients are now being taught to give space to these voices and listen to them but learn not to obey them.

Understanding Psychosis Symptoms

Psychosis is a word that conjures up images of insane people, talking to themselves and not responding to people in their surroundings. Psychosis is not a specific disease but an umbrella term that is used to refer a wide range of conditions that can affect an individual. However, in general, it is a condition where there is some loss of contact with the reality as the individual remains preoccupied with himself, unaware of his surroundings. The behaviour, perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of individuals suffering from psychosis get changed significantly and they can be easily identified among normal people. 

Wide ranging symptoms 

People suffering from psychosis exhibit a wide variety of symptoms depending upon their severity of illness and circumstances in their lives. However, all these psychosis symptoms can be broadly classified under four categories.

• Hallucinations involving 5 senses
• Delusions involving beliefs that are untrue and bizarre
• Disturbed though process
• Strange behaviour lacking insight

Psychosis patients withdraw into a world of their own

People who experience psychotic disorders develop symptoms that belong to three phases that begin with social withdrawal and loss of energy. However, not all victims of psychosis show symptoms of three phases. Patients complain of a weak memory and lack of concentration. They experience emotional changes and show anger and irritability without any reason. They suffer from anxiety and sleep disturbances. They become suspicious of other people and things and have a feeling that something is not right and others are hatching conspiracies against them. 

Lack of emotions and insight

Psychosis patients become apathetic and do not show their true emotions to others. They start to speak less and less and withdraw to an imaginary world of their own. They become devoid of ideas and lack insight of a normal individual. They do not feel enjoyment in anything in the real world and lack motivation and drive. Many psychosis patients develop suicidal tendencies and some of them start substance abuse. Many of them experience sleep disturbances and find difficulty in functioning normally. 

Broadly speaking, psychosis is a mental disorder that results from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It has been found that brains of people suffering from psychosis undergo chemical and structural changes and there is a general reduction in the amount of gray matter inside the brain. New scientific studies have revealed that the symptoms of psychosis are triggered by antibodies that are produced in the brain in response to some of the proteins.

Various ways to treat the disorder caused due to psychosis

A problem which is caused to the mental health which makes people to interpret or perceive things differently from the others who are around them is known as psychosis. This may be due to the two major symptoms of psychosis.

• Psychosis Treatment:

The treatment for the mental illness as psychosis involves the merge of social support, therapies that are psychological and antipsychotic medications.

• Treatment by team:

The treatment which is given for psychosis is by the coordination of a team of professionals of mental health who work together. If this is your first stage of psychosis then you may be reviewed by the team known as early intervention.

• Team of early intervention:

This is a team of professionals who deal with people who have faced their first episode or symptoms of psychosis. Few teams concentrate only on the specific age group right from 14 to 35 year old patients. This team will offer you various things which depend on the need of the patient

The few things which they offer are

• The entire assessment of their symptoms
• Prescribe medicines
• Services such as psychological advice
• Interventions in social, educational, occupational areas etc…

The treatment of psychosis will vary according to the cause why it has happened. This treatment usually covers a merge of social support and antipsychotic medicines. They also provide CBT or family therapy.

Only the course of antipsychotic medicines will be required for persons who are either using alcohol or withdrawing from it.

• Antipsychotics:

The treatment of psychosis for the first time will be recommended by medications known as antipsychotics or neuroleptics. The dopamine effect will be stopped by in taking these medicines. 

These medicines should be used only by taking the advice of the doctor. There are various other treatments also which will be given if the patients are in need of it.