Hallucinations are often accompanied by a variety of mental disorders. However, they often have a great importance for the correct diagnosis. This is due to the fact that different mental states characterized by the predominance of one or another hallucination. Joining hallucinations to pre-existing mental disorder indicates the weighting of its course.

What kind of hallucinations and

Hallucinations (illusion) - is one of the types of violations of sensory perception, which is characterized by the fact that the presentation and the images appear without a real stimulus or a real object, that is, when a person sees, hears or feels something that is actually not. All of this significantly changes the attitude of the patient to the environment and causes strange reactions to other people. Hallucinations are not usually arise by themselves, and on the background of a mental disorder.

The hallucinations can be visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile (tactile), and a general sense of hallucinations (enterotseptivnymi, vestibular, motor).

Heteroptics

Visual hallucinations can be as simple as flashing lights, spots, smoke, fire. But in some cases there are complex visual hallucinations, often it happens on a different background dizziness. The patient sees the objects, people, animals and insects (sometimes do not exist in nature), different patterns of life, including frightening. Scenes can be fixed or mobile, monotonous or replace each other, black and white, colored or painted in any one particular color. So, for epilepsy Epilepsy - a sacred disease   characterized by hallucinations, painted in bright colors - red or blue.

The size of hallucinatory images and objects can be of normal size, very small ("Lilliputian") and very large (giant) sizes.

Hallucinatory images may occur out of sight of the patient, more "behind" the patient may see himself as if from outside, or to see his counterpart, can see written (eg on the wall) words that have for him is very important.

The most common visual hallucinations occur in the evening or at night on the background of stupefaction.

Auditory hallucinations

Auditory hallucinations are also different, as acousma, phonemes or verbal hallucinations.

Acousma called simply hallucinations in the form of different sounds - beats bells ringing, rattle, bang. When phonemes patient hears certain words or parts of words, while the verbal hallucinations, he identifies the speaker as a friend or a stranger (man, woman or child). We hear the patient calls the "voices." "Voices" can have a different intensity (from a whisper to a shout) and content.

The content of auditory hallucinations are usually related to the content of painful delirium Brad - not only crazy . "Voices" can threaten the patient, to force him to do something, to tease, to condemn, to protect and soothe. Threatening and condemning the "voice" often appear against a background of depression Depression - a little more than a bad mood And friendly - on the background of elevated mood (euphoria) of the patient. The most dangerous are imperative (mandatory) voices, which often cause the patient to commit unlawful acts.

Auditory hallucinations are usually perceived by both ears, but there are also unilateral auditory hallucinations, which are perceived in one ear. There are auditory hallucinations are usually unchanged when consciousness, often at night, in the silence and perceived it as an objective reality.

Olfactory, gustatory and tactile hallucinations

• Olfactory hallucinations - it is different, not always clearly distinguishable smells, often unpleasant, aversive.
• Taste hallucinations - a nasty taste in the mouth is food or liquid. If the patient eats or drinks, the food may be unusual for her taste, and often unpleasant.
• Tactile hallucinations - a tickling sensation, crawling insects on the body, the pressure on the body. Sometimes these hallucinations occur within the body.

Hallucinations are a common sense

Hallucinations include enterotseptivnye general sense, motor and vestibular hallucinations.

• When enterotseptivnyh hallucinations (hallucinations internal organs) the patient feels that inside it there are objects or living things (such as a frog or a snake in the stomach, the ants in the blood vessels), which destroy the internal organs.
• Motor hallucinations may occur feeling of muscle contraction in their immobility, a sense of movement of the tongue, feeling writing some words. Most often it is a violent movement of the patient "force" them to do.
• Vestibular hallucinations - a sense of imbalance, falling or flying. They can also manifest itself in the instability of the world: rock wall, step on the patient.

Patients with hallucinations must necessarily be hospitalized, because they can be dangerous both for themselves and for others.

Galina Romanenko

What is the loss of memory?

Interesting event or emotional experience to remember more than a routine event. Memory loss - the inability to maintain certain memories, the inability to recall information. Memory loss, amnesia often called, is characterized, in the first place, it is impossible to remember any of the events. The degree of amnesia may be different: sometimes the person is not able to recall the events that took place recently, and sometimes - the facts from the distant past.

Types of memory loss

Depending on the cause of the memory loss, it may be gradual or sudden, temporary or permanent. In some cases, the loss of memory is limited by the inability to remember recent events have taken place, and in other cases - inability to recall events that occurred in the past.

Transient global amnesia - a rare condition characterized by complete but temporary loss of memory. On the other hand, in the case of a person with anterograde amnesia can not remember recent events that have occurred after any injury, however, is able to recall the events that occurred in the past. Finally, retrograde amnesia is characterized by the inability of a person to recall the events that anticipate or led to the injury, but all following the events that are remembered easily.

Causes of short-term memory loss

Short-term memory loss - a symptom of many different disorders: cause it could become certain diseases, depression, infections, injuries, dyslexia, a side effect of certain drugs, or persistent abuse of alcohol or drugs. Among the most common causes of loss of memory - alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease, brain tumor, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, depression, human immunodeficiency virus, meningitis Meningitis - an inflammation of the meninges Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, stroke and senility.

Among other causes of short-term memory loss include cerebrovascular disorders, cranial trauma, neurodegenerative disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus, thyroid disease, sleep disorders, transient ischemic attack, Wilson's disease, a psychological disorder.

One of the most likely causes short-term memory loss is considered an insult; according to the scientists of the National Association for Combating stroke US violated as a result of stroke, blood circulation in the brain can affect the mechanism for storing information in various ways man. Some patients have suffered from a stroke, not able to remember new information after the incident.

In some cases, short-term memory loss may cause traumatic brain injury, which was the result of a concussion.

One of the least common, but, nevertheless, likely causes short-term memory loss - an unbalanced diet: trying to get rid of the extra kilos, people follow a rigid diet, which can lead to unstable blood sugar. Low blood sugar Blood sugar - one of the main indicators of human health   It is a constant feeling of drowsiness and can lead to short-term memory loss.

A number of psychological disorders - including dissociative disorders - can cause short-term memory loss.

Moreover, the cause of short-term memory loss may be an oxygen deficiency in the brain as a result of choking or drowning. Respiratory problems may also reduce the oxygen level in the blood and thus cause the oxygen deficiency in the brain /

There are several types of infections can cause short-term memory loss. Among them - Lyme disease, tuberculosis, Tuberculosis - a full recovery is not guaranteed , Tertiary syphilis Syphilis - punishment of Venus AIDS. In addition, the cause of short-term memory loss may be developing a brain tumor.

Short-term memory loss as a result of depression

Psychological stress can cause a variety of mental disorders, including - short-term memory loss. Studies show that stress hormones destroy or inhibit the growth of brain cells, thereby affecting the mechanism of human memory information. The longer the depression, the greater the damage.

The cause of short-term memory loss can be hormonal imbalance: for example, during menopause many women suffer from short-term memory loss.

According to the Office of the Food and Drug Administration a number of medications can cause short-term memory loss. Among these drugs - antidepressants, anti-psychotics, sleeping pills, pain relievers. Cause short term memory loss drugs such as procyclidine, kemadrin, disipal, timolol, blokadren.

The interaction of certain drugs can also cause short-term memory loss: for example, the interaction of imipramine and baclofen, apo-imipramine and baclofen, imprina and baclofen.

Treatment of short-term memory loss

Regularly conducted scientific studies show that a balanced diet helps to prevent or slow the progression of memory loss. Restore the normal mechanism of memory helps vegetables, fruits, cereals, fish - but red meat, alcohol and foods high in saturated fats, on the contrary, can accelerate the loss of memory.

If memory loss, chronic and interferes with daily routine, you should consult your doctor who will determine the cause and prescribe treatment.

How to cope with loss of memory?

• The more people paying attention to the process, which is not available, the more likely that memories of it will be delayed in the long-term memory.
• At the first sign of violation of the mechanism of memorization is necessary to give up alcohol and drugs.
• Record daily activities and events help to recall a certain period of time.
• Healthy sleep helps to cope with loss of memory - daily should be given to sleep at least 8 hours.
• Saying phrases aloud makes it easier to remember them.
• Perhaps the most necessary measure in the fight against memory loss - and constant activity of the body and the brain - the proper blood circulation and a healthy lifestyle will prevent irreversible brain damage.

With age, the ability to learn becomes worse, and in old age, many people are not able to clearly remember the events - for example, many elderly people in the conversation asked the same question several times, because they can not remember what he had asked.

If you notice these symptoms of memory loss need to convince the person to consult a doctor and be patient in dealing with him. Stress, accompanied by a loss of memory, can only exacerbate the process.

In no case should not be allowed when communicating with a person suffering from memory disorders, the most common mistake - to treat him like a child. With such people need to communicate as with normal adults.