Anxiety is often self-sustaining. When a person struggles with anxiety, they often have symptoms and experiences that can create more anxiety.
Although uncommon, one issue that is especially prone to creating more anxiety in anxiety-prone individuals is the presence of what are often called “hallucinations” – experiencing sights or sounds that are not actually there, that no one else can see or hear.
Hallucinations are more common in those with panic attacks and PTSD, but can affect anyone with any anxiety or stress disorder. They’re also a trigger for more anxiety, because a person that experiences a hallucination often finds that they experience either fear of the hallucination, or fear of what the hallucination means about their mental health.
But before we begin talking about anxiety-related hallucinations, it’s important to make clear that these are *not* true hallucinations. While many people experience a perception of hallucinations with anxiety, they’re not an altered reality. They’re not psychosis. Instead, they’re just a way our brain is responding to things (stimuli) that are happening around us, as well as our anxiety itself.
Who We Are – Flourish Psychology
Flourish Psychology is a New York City based boutique private practice that treats patients struggling with anxiety and anxiety related symptoms. We consider ourselves to be a partner in our mental health, with a team of amazing therapists that are here to help you with your needs. Please reach out today for more information, or to schedule an appointment.
What Causes These “Hallucinations?”
Anxiety related hallucinations are not necessary hallucinations, at least not the same way that psychosis can cause hallucinations. Instead, they’re perception issues caused by the mind and how it is processing information, as well as symptoms of anxiety that are being misinterpreted by our anxiety.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s not worrisome when you experience it. These symptoms are common, and can be caused by issues such as:
Hypervigilance and Sensory Overload – Anxiety heightens your awareness of potential threats. This hypervigilant state can increase sensitivity to sound and sight, and create the illusion of auditory/visual input. In overstimulated environments, the brain may try to “fill in” missing sensory information, sometimes resulting in the perception of non-existent sounds.
Stress-Induced Cognitive Distortion – Prolonged stress can impair the brain’s ability to differentiate between internal thoughts and external sounds. An anxious mind may interpret internal self-talk or intrusive thoughts as external voices, or may see unexpected movements or shadows as signs of danger.
Sleep Disruption and Fatigue – Chronic anxiety often interferes with sleep. Severe sleep deprivation is known to cause perceptual disturbances, including visual and auditory issues, as well as make it much harder to calm an anxious mind and process various senses.
Intrusive Thoughts with Sensory Characteristics – Some individuals with anxiety disorders experience intrusive thoughts that are vivid and have sensory qualities. These may be misperceived as external voices, especially during panic episodes or emotional distress.
Anxiety Symptoms – Anxiety itself causes symptoms that can appear at first glance to be a hallucination. For example, it may cause changes to light perception, or buzzing in the ear. These can then be misinterpreted by the person’s anxious mind.
These are only a few of the examples of ways that anxiety can create a perception that there are hallucinations, despite no hallucinations taking place. Anxiety also makes a person more likely to worry about their mental health, increasing the risk further.
Types of Anxiety Hallucinations
Hallucinations can affect all of our senses, but are most likely to be auditory or visual. Examples of these hallucinations include the following, though this is not a comprehensive list.
Auditory Hallucinations
Most “hallucinations” from anxiety are going to be auditory (related to hearing). That is because, as we discussed earlier, most hallucinations are not true hallucinations but rather ways that our brain is perceiving other sounds and stimuli, and our ears are far more likely to be responsible for picking up “extra” information that we’re not otherwise paying attention to.
You can think of it like this: when you’re looking at an object, you know exactly what the object is, you can see it, and you’re focused on it. It’s in front of you.
But sounds can come from any direction. They can be loud or quiet. They can be unexpected, and they can’t be turned off when we’re not paying attention (we can’t close our ears and it goes away). This is why we are likely to be more prone to auditory hallucinations. For example:
Name – We may hear someone calling their name when no one is there, or hear our name being talked about within a crowd when it was not actually said.
Background Noise – We may perceive faint music, buzzing, or whispers.
Weird Noises – We may experience distorted or exaggerated environmental sounds.
Self-Talk – We may hear internal dialogue that feels louder or more intrusive than usual.
One weird auditory hallucination that we have yet to find the cause of is people that complain they hear a loud pop or bang. This is more common in those that have panic disorder. It’s not entirely clear what causes this noise. It may be that a slightly quieter banging noise is made loud by our sensitivity to anxious noises. But it does seem to be an experience that many share.
These experiences often occur during panic attacks, periods of severe stress, or chronic sleep deprivation, all common features of anxiety disorders. They may also occur for seemingly no reason at all in someone that has anxiety, because anxiety is more likely to cause sensitivity to anxiety-producing sounds.
Visual Hallucinations
Visual hallucinations are less common with anxiety, but can still occur. When they do, they’re not that different from auditory hallucinations, in that they’re more likely to be misinterpretations of more common visual experiences, or issues caused by anxiety itself.
For example, anxiety causes the pupils to dilate, which brings in more light. It can also causes “tunnel vision,” which is where you’re able to see better directly in front of you while the sides of your vision may appear blurry or checkered. Like with auditory hallucinations, a person may also overreact to visual stimuli. Examples of these visual hallucinations include:
Fleeting shadows or flashes of light
Movement in the peripheral vision with no identifiable source
Visual static or “visual snow” during panic or hyperventilation
Seeing patterns, blurs, or spots that resolve quickly
Perceiving shapes or outlines that disappear upon closer inspection
As you can see, many of these are related to your eyes letting in more light. Hyperventilation can also affect your vision, and people with anxiety are prone to eye pain/discomfort, eye tiredness, and more.
Anxiety is also going to cause people to be more fearful of what they see, and possibly interpret it as dangerous. A tiny unexpected shadow may appear to be a person to someone with anxiety, and their imagination can make them feel like a person is hiding near them, leading to more anxiety symptoms.
All of these are examples of how a person might experience what feels like a “visual hallucination” but is instead just anxiety leading to misinterpretation of normal visual experiences.
Other Hallucinations Caused by Anxiety
Most of our “hallucinations” are going to come from our eyes and ears. But we might also experience what we think are hallucinations caused by other senses. For example:
Unexplained Smells – Anxiety can heighten our senses and make us more sensitive to different smells. This means that not only might we smell things that others cannot, but also we may interpret those things as unpleasant or scary because of our anxiety.
Weird Sensations – Anxiety, panic attacks, and related symptoms like hyperventilation, can cause a person to experience a combination of hypersensitivity and “Self monitoring.” This is where they are subconsciously scanning their bodies for weird feelings, and then experiencing those feelings stronger than a person might otherwise. This can make it feel as though you’re hallucinating a touch or other feeling.
Odd Tastes – This may not be so much a hallucination, but a symptom of anxiety. Many people experience a change in their taste buds with anxiety, with bad tastes or metallic tastes that show up while eating or while nothing is in your mouth at all.
These are other examples of issues that may be viewed as “hallucinations” in some form, but are otherwise normal.
Difference Between Anxiety Hallucinations and Psychosis
When a person experiences these types of strange hallucinations, one of their biggest fears it that they’re experiencing a form of psychosis. That fear itself can also cause more anxiety. Luckily, there are many ways to tell that this is anxiety and not another mental health issue.
The biggest tell is that you’re aware of it – that you have the concept that what you’re seeing isn’t real. Someone with psychosis typically believes that what they’re seeing and feeling is real, and so the very act of questioning whether or not you’re truly hallucinating is itself a sign that you are not. Other examples include:
Content – Anxiety-related disturbances are often vague or brief (e.g., hearing one’s name called), and may not include ongoing complex or commanding voices.
Frequency – Anxiety-induced hallucinations tend to be less common, and not part of a persistent pattern of sensory disruption.
Anxiety-Triggers – Anxiety-related hallucinations tend to trigger anxiety as they occur, or happen during periods of anxiety. Psychosis related hallucinations rarely trigger anxiety unless the content of the hallucination is specifically frightening, in which case it’s because the person is perceiving it as real.
Only a therapist or doctor can truly identify what is anxiety and what is psychosis, but most individuals that struggle with psychosis are unaware of it, and are not experiencing anxiety in the same way as someone with an anxiety disorder.
What Happens Next?
If you’re experiencing anxiety-related hallucinations, it’s almost always a sign that your anxiety has become difficult to manage. Whether it’s panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, or something else, feeling like you might be hallucinating is a sign that your anxiety is in need of professional support.
Here at Flourish Psychology, we provide mental health treatment in New York for those that are looking for help with their anxiety or other mental health issues. We can teach you skills to help you manage your anxiety, and train your mind to experience less fear if and when you do have these manifestations.
For more information, or to get started, please reach out to Flourish Psychology, today.
Law is one of the most demanding fields, and the mental health effects of the profession are well documented. We touched upon this in one of our more recent resource pages that we added a few days ago. Lawyers, specifically as a result of their profession, are more prone to mental health challenges like anxiety and depression.
Still, we know there are many barriers to treatment. Culture around law is one, for example, as is the ability to find a therapist that specializes in what you need.
While we do occasionally see patients in person, we are primarily a remote therapy service, and believe fairly strongly that it is the best option for many of our patients. That is especially true for those in the legal profession. Remote therapy has many benefits, including:
Flexible Scheduling – Being a lawyer is intensely demanding, and any time you save at all is time that you can spend on your work. As remote therapy requires no commute and typically has more flexibility, it becomes a better option for those that are as busy as lawyers tend to be.
Discretion – Stigma amount mental health is thankfully improving, but in the legal field, there still exists this feeling like others cannot find out about your mental health. Remote therapy tends to be much more discreet, as you can see a therapist anywhere with internet access.
Access to Specialists – Flourish Psychology, for example, has extensive experience working with lawyers and those in high profile positions. While we are in NYC, where there are many lawyers, those in other areas of New York may not have as many specialists in the area. Remote therapy means they can contact us from anywhere, even if they’re as far as Buffalo.
We are also able to offer services such as concierge therapy, which is typically only possible remotely. For those that have higher level needs or want more personalized, on demand treatments, this door is opened due to remote therapy methods.
Do You Need in Person?
Many people feel like they “need” in person in order to benefit. But we’ve found that even those that are looking for in person therapy eventually switch to remote therapy, simply because it’s easier to manage and, in some cases, more comfortable.
If you’re interested in learning more about any of our mental health services, or about the benefits of remote therapy, please reach out to Flourish Psychology, today. We’re here to help attorneys of all backgrounds get the support they need and start seeing real change with their mental health.
There are many people in high profile positions that are struggling with their mental health right now. These are individuals, often in high demand, time consuming jobs, often require mental healthcare that is as discreet as it is available – psychological support that can be obtained when you need it, no matter when that may be, all with privacy in mind.
Here at Flourish Psychology in New York City, we are a private practice that often partners with individuals in high profile positions specifically to help them navigate their mental and emotional health in a way that caters to them, with services that are:
Available when and where you need them most.
Less limited by hours and insurance.
Entirely personalized to your life.
It’s a service known as “concierge therapy” that is personalized to your specific needs, available for those that have lives that require and benefit from someone that is always there for them.
Who Concierge Mental Healthcare is For
Concierge psychotherapy is for anyone that has demanding mental health needs that require both discretion and availability. It is often used by those of higher status that work in high profile roles and their spouses, providing individual psychotherapy and support available via phone, text, video, and more.
Flourish Psychology, as a boutique private practice, works with many of these high profile clientele. We recognize that individuals in this bracket often are looking for a therapist or psychologist that is more available to them for a variety of mental health challenges, as well as a partner and coach to help them through roadblocks, keep them motivated, help their energy, and so much more.
It’s for anyone that is looking for something different – a partner in mental health, unrestrained by traditional hour long sessions, there to provide support on a retainer basis as you need it.
Why Choose Flourish Psychology?
The therapists at Flourish Psychology are experienced in working with professionals and their spouses in these high profile, high achievement roles. Our therapists have worked with celebrities, influencers, lawyers, doctors, and executives at organizations across NYC. Based in Brooklyn, we are available remotely no matter where you’re located in the state, and can help with conditions such as anxiety, work stress, depression, eating disorders, relationship challenges, and much more.
If you’re looking for a different form of psychotherapy, one that’s designed for those of your background and achievement, please reach out to Flourish Psychology, today, or review our page dedicated to concierge therapy to see if it’s the right choice for your mental health needs.
Successful relationships are a partnership AND made up of two unique individuals. You want to feel connected to another person, but you also want to make sure that you have your own independence, and that you’re willing to speak up for yourself, attend to your needs, engage independently in activities that appeal to you, and more.
Many people struggle with this balance, especially when it comes to what’s called “Codependency” – an extreme emotional and psychological reliance on a partner that makes it more difficult for one or both partners to have a mutually content relationship.
Some degree of partner reliance is often healthy. But too much can push a partner away, make it difficult to function properly, and so much more.
The problem is that many people struggle to identify when they’re the ones with codependency issues. How do you know the difference between healthy reliance on a partner, and co-dependency issues that may hurt your mental health and your relationship?
Signs of Codependency in Yourself
It’s okay to love your partner. It’s okay to feel emotionally connected to them. But pay attention to signs of codependency that may indicate that you are having issues with codependency, and know when to seek help. For example:
Trouble Saying No – If you have a difficult time saying no to your partner’s needs and wants, even at the expense of your happiness.
Behavioral Monitoring – If you’re paying too much attention to how your partner feels and trying to reach in ways to make them happy or avoid conflict.
Fearing Abandonment – If you alter your behaviors, even if they hurt you, because you’re worried about your partner leaving.
Guilt from Self-Care – If you feel especially guilty or anxious about engaging in any self-care activities.
Identity Loss – If you give up everything that made you who you are in order to appease the needs of someone else.
Emotionally Exhausted and Overwhelmed – If you’re frequently feeling exhausted or overwhelmed from the work you put in to making a partner satisfied.
Low Self Esteem – If you have low self-worth, especially if it appears to be tied to how you see yourself in the relationship.
Problem Solver – If you are constantly trying to solve problems for someone else and make life easier for them, without expecting them to put in the work.
These are only some of the signs that a person may be struggling with codependency. Your relationship should lift you up, be mutually beneficial, provide you with confidence in yourself and the future, and be with someone that is there to help you with your needs. If you find that you’re not in this type of relationship, but you have significant dependence on your partner, that may be codependency.
What Happens Next?
If you believe that this describes you and your experience, typically it is something you address in psychotherapy. Often, this type of dependency comes from other sources, such as abandonment issues in youth, low self-esteem, abuse, and more.
If you are concerned, or you simply want to make your experience in relationships better, please reach out to Flourish Psychology today.
Some people are easily affected by what they see on social media. They’re prone to believing the things that they see online, and they allow it to affect their view of the world.
For example, a teenager may see a series of videos of ornate ways that other teenagers ask people to prom. They may then expect that all teenagers are/should be asked out in this way, and find themselves disappointed when their date, partner, or friend doesn’t put in the same level of effort.
Or, perhaps you see a video on a new shoe, or a new cream, or a new slang term, and you immediately buy the shoe or try the cream or use the slang term. Those are examples of a person that followers influencers and is also easily influenced by them.
That is its own separate challenge. Some people are more susceptible to this type of influence than others.
But what if you’re not *that* easily influenced?
What if you know for a fact that you’re not really someone that buys what influencers recommend you buy? You’re interested in what they have to say, but it doesn’t drive your purchase behavior. You’re “uninfluenceable.”
Or are you?
The truth is following influencers and being on social media frequently do affect behavior, even if you think you’re immune, Because, even if you don’t feel like you’re prone to buying products you see online, you can still be influenced by simply following these topics:
Increasing Interests – People that follow a lot of interior designers may not buy the products they offer, but the more their algorithm shows them interior designers, the more they look at their own home and feel they need a change. This is true about videos of sports cards, purses, face creams, even movies. People that see anime clips are more likely to watch more anime. People that see videos about dresses are going to be more likely to buy dresses.
Decreasing Feelings of Self-Worth – Similarly, the opposite holds true as well. A person that follows interior designers, for example, is going to start to think less of their home as they see that it doesn’t compare to the ones they see online. A person that follows people that sell or discuss purses is going to look at their own purses and feel like it’s not good enough. These are natural emotions to surrounding yourself with videos of things you see as better.
Branding – You may believe that you’re not easily influenced, but branding science is very real and extensively researched. If you see a brand, or you see a product, and you run into that product/brand again in your travels, you are more likely to use it. In your mind, you’re not being “influenced,” because you’re coming to the conclusion yourself. But your curiosity and desire to even consider the product because you saw it before indicates that you’ve been influenced against your will.
Unrealistic Expectations – Most people that spend a lot of time online think that the average person makes over $100,000 a year. They think that the average person owns a home. They think that the average person should be able to travel comfortably and often. All of these things are not true, but social media can change the reality that we have without us knowing simply because of what we saw online.
Imagine you’re following a beauty influencer. They show you all sorts of products – creams, lotions, makeup, and more. You decide not to use any of them. But then they show you a lipstick in a color you adore, so you buy it.
In your mind, it wasn’t being influenced, because you didn’t buy it “because the other person told you to.” But in a way, you did, because their recommendation excited you about that particular product.
Similarly, imagine you’re following people that teach basketball skills. You start to feel worse about how bad you are at basketball, and get motivated to try to be better. In a way, that’s good – you’re out there, improving a skill, getting healthy – but before that, you were feeling worse about yourself as a result of what you’re seeing online.
Either way, you’re still being influenced in ways that can harm your budget and your mental health, simply by spending time getting influenced by various social media algorithms.
No One is Immune to Influence
Whether we want things we didn’t want before, feel worse about ourselves, or expect impossible things from others, social media does have an affect on how we think and feel. The more things and people we follow, the more they directly and indirectly influence us, even if we generally consider ourselves to be not so easily influenced.
Either way, whether it’s learning to be free of social media or teaching ourselves to love ourselves more, it’s important to understand how and why our time on social media affects us, whether you’re the one being influenced or the influencer.
Location: 300 Cadman Plaza West Floor 12 - Brooklyn, NY 11201
Manage Consent
By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
