According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 9% of Americans aged 12 and older abuse alcohol. In addition to directly affecting the internal organs and social status of such people, alcohol causes a strong dependence, which is very difficult to overcome on one’s own. One of the reasons is alcohol withdrawal, which in addition to painful sensations can be accompanied by hallucinations.
How and why do hallucinations appear, what accompanying symptoms should be alerted and whether alcoholic hallucinosis can be cured? About all this you will learn from our article.
What hallucinations can be
Hallucinations are unreal images that occur only in the mind of a certain person without the influence of any external stimuli. These are mind games that are often initiated by psychoactive substances. Alcohol is one of them.
Alcoholic hallucinations are:
- auditory. Manifested by the fact that a person hears sounds that other people nearby do not hear. This can be voices, music, footsteps, etc;
- visual. In such cases, the appearance of surrounding objects is incorrectly perceived: their color, size, shape, etc;
- tactile. The most vivid example is the sensation of insects crawling on the body;
- olfactory. Manifested by the sensation of odors, which are not really there;
- gustatory. Determined by the unusual taste of drinks and food, which is not felt by other people.
If you experience something like this and are in the process of withdrawal from alcohol — it means that you have hallucinations and it is better to turn to a rehabilitation center for help and qualified treatment of withdrawal syndrome.
Causes of hallucinations
Hallucinations can be caused by intoxication due to excessive alcohol consumption or withdrawal syndrome caused by abrupt withdrawal from alcohol after a long period of drinking (12-72 h after the last dose). In both cases, the unreal sensations are caused by the effects of ethanol on the brain. How does it work?
Ethanol enters the bloodstream and disrupts the balance of neurotransmitters. When alcohol is abused, this leads to a decrease in neuronal excitability. Hallucinations can occur for two reasons:
- due to increased dopamine levels and disrupted hormonal balance;
- increased sensitivity of neurons and overexcitation of the nervous system during abrupt withdrawal from alcohol.
Associated symptoms
If the cause of hallucinations is related to alcohol poisoning, they may appear suddenly. In the case of withdrawal, accompanying signs that hallucinations will appear soon may include:
- insomnia;
- irritability followed by apathy;
- loss of appetite;
- headaches;
- paranoia;
- anxiety;
- excessive sweating;
- fever;
- delirium.
It should be noted that according to various estimates, alcoholic hallucinosis may occur in only 5-20% of addicts.
Is it treatable?
It is possible to avoid unpleasant symptoms by moderate consumption of alcohol or complete abstinence from it. If the cause is withdrawal syndrome, it is possible to understand from the accompanying manifestations, which we talked about earlier, that it is necessary to immediately seek medical help.
Alcohol dependence should be treated — only in this way you can avoid negative consequences for your health. This can be done in inpatient or outpatient programs.
The task of medical staff is to help at the stage of removal of ethanol from the body – during detoxification. In this case, the patient may be prescribed various medications to stabilize the condition. These may include benzodiazepines, neuroleptics, vitamins and minerals. In addition to drug treatment, individual and group psychotherapy is used, aimed at working out the cause-and-effect relationships and skills to protect against triggers that provoke relapse.
