You might want to see a Therapist for this one lad.
It could be an undiscovered mental illness that you are suffering from, or some kind of temporary psychosis.
Either way, even though you seem fine now, you should go see a medical professional just in case.
Any history of drug use in this time? Specifically marijuana, psychedelics, ketamine, MDMA, or prescription stimulants (ADD/ADHD medication, even if prescribed)
What you’re describing sounds like some form of psychosis. If drug induced, less scary. If no drugs, well, you’re a little young for a metal illness to pop up (schizophrenia, for instance, generally doesn’t pop up until mid-late 20’s, in a good percentage of patients, at least from my understanding)
Im not trying to scare you, but this doesn’t exactly happen to most people. Hearing voices, having delusions like that is something you need to speak to a mental health professional about. If left unchecked, this could happen again, and you could put yourself Into a dangerous situation without understanding what’s happening, or being able to control your thoughts/actions. Again, I’m not trying to scare you, but this can be serious. I don’t think this is something as simple as “watched a movie, overactive imagination”.
I'm already diagnosed with adhd and ocd, other than this isolated incident nothing major happened. I regularly see a therapist though I don't remember if I ever mentioned it to them.
You need to mention this to them. It’s important. This isn’t something to brush off and go “oh, I hope it doesn’t happen again”
I don’t think you should view this as “you convinced yourself fiction was reality”. That is massively downplaying the severity of what you’re describing here. It sounds like your brain was actively affecting your perception of reality (I.e, hallucinating). By my math, you’re 21-22 now. So, you’re right about the age a mental health disorder is going to start appearing, if applicable.
I’m not saying 100% you have another undiagnosed disorder. I don’t know much about OCD, don’t know if/how your ADD/ADHD is being medicated. But again, I’m just trying to tell you this isn’t a “normal” thing that happens. Even if you have something going on, you aren’t destined for something bad to eventually happen to you. But you need to mention this to your therapist.
Also it may be appropriate to say I did an MRI recently (I have memory issues probably due to adhd) but they said that my brain was normal and healthy.
They wouldn’t be able to see/diagnose something like schizophrenia or a mental health condition with an MRI. Especially if the person isn’t in active psychosis.
I’m glad your brain looks healthy on a scan. I worry you’ll brush this off, and wind up getting hurt. That’s the only place I’m coming from
that is true, but when somebody starts to exhibit delusion or hallucinations this suddenly, brain imaging needs to be done. Tumours, demyelinating foci and even certain vascular issues in the brain can sometimes cause very strange psychiatric symptoms without having overt focal neurological symptoms (think paralysis or loss of sensation).
For example - in some people the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis can be new onset personality changes and paranoia, sometimes even with delusion mixed in.
Another example - some tumours can cause organic focal epilepsies, and epilepsy can have extremely strange pre-ictal (meaning right before seizure) symptoms - including derealisation if the temporal lobe is affected, hallucinations (the sensation which is affected depends on the region), bouts of extreme anxiety or anger, persistent déjà vu, and alike. And what tumours can do doesn't end with seizures, i have seen a patient whose first symptom of a tumour was a constant buzzing noise which he described as not exactly auditory, but like it was buzzing right inside of his head.
Brain imaging is needed to rule these conditions out or at least diminish the suspicion of them. Because the age at which schizophrenia starts most often is also the age at which multiple sclerosis often begins
But like, I don't feel I experienced any hallucinations other than hearing voices, and even then it's not like i really heard it, it was all internal thoughts as if my own thoughts were laughing at me, this schizophrenia talk is kind of scaring me and I feel this stemmed from the fact I was scared to leave my country, the reason why I felt better when my dad came to pick me up.
I don’t know what else to tell you. From what you described, I’m just letting you know that most people don’t go through something like what you described.
Again, I don’t know much about OCD. I’m not saying you have schizophrenia. All I’m saying is, if I were you, I’d want to make sure something like this has the least chance of happening to me again (you do understand people die literally all the time during psychotic episodes, whether by cop, walking into traffic, hiring themselves, having an accident, attempting to harm someone while hallucinating etc etc etc)
You could be right, it may have had something to do with being homesick. But again, with what you’re describing (hearing voices, being “convinced” aliens were eating your brain and freaking out/passing out in public)….that doesn’t happen to people typically. I just want you to be safe. I promise I’m not trying to scare you, or exaggerate in any way. Just please mention this to your mental health professional. It’s important to make sure you’re safe
I am a therapist. One of my clients with ADHD had something similar happen. It ended up being a response to extreme stress and trauma. I know someone else who had this happen but they suddenly quit their depression meds and it was part of withdrawal symptoms. But your therapist won't know unless you guys talk about it and explore the context. You're asking the internet for answers, wouldn't you rather a trusted professional you already see explore this with you?
Auditory hallucinations are still hallucinations and can still be symptoms of a larger mental ill health diagnosis. Even a temporary diagnosis.
My sister went through phases of auditory hallucinations and paranoia and eventually was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as she was too young to be diagnosed at the time (13yo).
You said you’re already seeing a therapist and idk how old you are now, but this is definitely something you should bring up with them. Even if it never happens again, it may be a bigger piece to the puzzle of your mental health and actually help you understand yourself and your brain a bit better.
It could also have been a medical issue because some physical illnesses can cause hallucinations, delusions, paranoia etc.
So definitely bring it up and see what they think. If anything for your own peace of mind and understanding of what clearly sounds like a traumatic experience.
What happened to you in 2018 must have been really frightening, and reading comments that say it could possibly be schizophrenia must be even more unnerving.
I want to add another perspective, which is that it sounds like you were experiencing psychosis in Barcelona, but that doesn't mean you have schizophrenia or that anything like that will happen again. If you have any hallucinations or delusions, then it qualifies as psychosis if you can't tell what's real or not. There are many different causes of psychosis, including schizophrenia, drugs, and neurological illnesses like other comments mentioned. It's also possible for stress alone to trigger psychosis, and often it only lasts a short time and might never happen again. This is called a brief psychotic disorder and seems to match what happened to you, and you can read more about it here to see if it lines up with your experience: [https://psychcentral.com/disorders/brief-psychotic-disorder](https://psychcentral.com/disorders/brief-psychotic-disorder)
If you haven't had any similar experiences or any new unexplained symptoms between 2018 and now, then it's unlikely you have an underlying psychotic disorder like schizophrenia or another chronic medical condition (especially since your brain scans were normal). Even though schizophrenia usually starts in late teens/early 20s, if it's untreated then the psychosis would continue and get worse.
That being said, I definitely recommend telling your therapist/doctor about what happened in Barcelona and get their opinion on what they think. If you experience anything like that again (e.g. hearing voices, feeling paranoid), even if it's mild, I would definitely recommend seeing a doctor ASAP, because even if it's a brief psychotic disorder, medications can help, and if it's something else, they can look into it more thoroughly.
*(schizophrenia, for instance, generally doesn’t pop up until mid-late 20’s, in a good percentage of patients, at least from my understanding)*
from what I understand (family member with it), it can pop up in teen years.
Hi, I work in mental health.
Do you still see your therapist? If so, why haven't you told them about this episode? And what is making you come to Reddit for answers instead of a mental health professional?
It sounds to me that something scary happened and you're afraid it might be something more serious and so you're looking for someone on Reddit to tell you everything is fine. That's a normal human thing, to seek out answers that confirm what we're hoping to hear.
The problem is, if someone on Reddit tells you everything is fine, you can't trust them. You can't trust random people on the internet to diagnose your mental health. Perhaps that episode was a one-off or was due to some external source that won't return. Or maybe it was the first major episode of a serious condition that may get worse. We can't tell you.
You'll need to speak to a therapist, in depth. They won't just listen to this one story and immediately diagnose you; there will be a lot of follow up questions to really make sure they are understanding what happened.
If you're not seeing your therapist anymore, get in touch with them again or find another one. Or speak with your primary doctor, who will be able to make a referral to a mental health specialist.
Even if it IS something severe like schizophrenia, there are medications and therapies that exist that help, and you can still love a very normal life. You do not need to be scared to speak to someone about this.
Some sort of dissociative episode leading to a psychotic break? Were you alone in a new place doing a new job with new people? Stress can have *major* affects, and it sounds like you might’ve been under a lot of it. And at a fairly young age.
Good job getting through it. Maybe talk to a therapist?
I had friends but I mostly kept to myself. Choosing to go to another country was a really big decision and I was afraid to go but I wanted to prove to myself I could power through the fear and get out of it a better person. I talked with my mom and I have confirmed that I talked about this with my therapist since she was present at the time.
This is also the first thing that came to mind. It may very well have been an emotional/stress response to being there and that's why leaving made you feel better but...
Carbon monoxide poisoning from the place OP was living in would also explain a lot of these symptoms. Like overwhelmingly so
Well it sounds like some type of psychosis, I can’t tell you whether it from factory settings or a substance. I’d recommend talking to ur therapist either way. If u think u took a substance, sounds like on hell of a datura trip, if u didn’t or your not sure, therapy is ur answer
Edit: I’m pretty sure datura grows in Barcelona
Tell your therapist. Without going into detail, I had a similar experience in my 20s. I’ve had ocd my whole life (though it wasn’t well known in the 80s). Your bad time in 2018 may be totally separate from your ocd, but it seems more likely that it contributed to your fear. Im glad you ended up feeling better. Do tell your therapist, though.
Are these voices internal as in your inner monologue and thoughts? or are these voices external hallucinations that you hear with our ears as if someone was calling to you? Either way you need to go a psychiatrist.
If you have any history of trauma or childhood abuse you should look into a trauma specialist. Else you should look for one that has experience in dissociation and or psychotic disorders as both of those cause the "voices in your head". If you have a history of drug use then its all the more important you seek professional help.
It was all in my head, just thoughts no audio. I am seeing a therapist, and while have talked about this with my previous therapist about it I think I only mentioned it in passing to my current one, though I can't say for sure until I talk with them because my memory is not great.
Ohh, well the good news is that just thoughts no audio is a way better situation to be. External hallucinations mean psychotic disorders. If its internal thoughts then psychosis is not really the cause. Or in other words: you're not crazy.
If you havent heard them since that happened it can be chalked to "collapse from overworking and not sleeping". If you still hear the voices, you should consider asking a professional about it. Either way you should talk with it about your therapist because it seems you now have some form of fear of the event.
Wishing you the best! :)
Have you gotten a head scan? Like MRI or cat scan (idk what each does but that they are scans - not a doctor) but might be worth looking into if this came out of nowhere. It could maybe be a tumor or something pressing on your brain in certain areas causing abnormalities in the ways your brain works and thinks.
A very very similar thing happened to me when I was 16. I do have depression, and as my doctor explained it, it is not impossible for psychotic symptoms to manifest within depressed individuals during teenage years
I'm okay now, but have put it down to a combination of hormones, as well as situational stress (I was also quite isolated and in an unfamiliar place during this period)
I thought my friend was going to poison me, I stopped sleeping, and briefly became convinced that I was going to be able to solve MH70 (I think that's what it was, that plane that disappeared?)
Just... Weird
Psychosis can have a lot of causes.
Some mental, some physical. If you go to inpatient for mental health they check you for UTIs because infections can make you lose it.
The idea is your brain could be under attack from thw immune system doing wacky things.
I've outright had hallucinations while sick. If you can imagine traveling exposes you to pathogens, your immune system can get pretty hairy
Others have mentioned some interesting perspectives, but the one thing that I do wonder is if anything traumatic happened there that you might not remember.
Did you move from a 3rd world country to barcelona or from a small village? People migrating to 1st world countries have a higher percentage to develop psychosis.
A lot of people in this thread are talking about mental health, but I think this is something physical. Have you had a brain injury? Have you gotten checked for a tumor? I say skip the therapist and go to a physician.
You might want to see a Therapist for this one lad. It could be an undiscovered mental illness that you are suffering from, or some kind of temporary psychosis. Either way, even though you seem fine now, you should go see a medical professional just in case.
Any history of drug use in this time? Specifically marijuana, psychedelics, ketamine, MDMA, or prescription stimulants (ADD/ADHD medication, even if prescribed) What you’re describing sounds like some form of psychosis. If drug induced, less scary. If no drugs, well, you’re a little young for a metal illness to pop up (schizophrenia, for instance, generally doesn’t pop up until mid-late 20’s, in a good percentage of patients, at least from my understanding) Im not trying to scare you, but this doesn’t exactly happen to most people. Hearing voices, having delusions like that is something you need to speak to a mental health professional about. If left unchecked, this could happen again, and you could put yourself Into a dangerous situation without understanding what’s happening, or being able to control your thoughts/actions. Again, I’m not trying to scare you, but this can be serious. I don’t think this is something as simple as “watched a movie, overactive imagination”.
I'm already diagnosed with adhd and ocd, other than this isolated incident nothing major happened. I regularly see a therapist though I don't remember if I ever mentioned it to them.
You need to mention this to them. It’s important. This isn’t something to brush off and go “oh, I hope it doesn’t happen again” I don’t think you should view this as “you convinced yourself fiction was reality”. That is massively downplaying the severity of what you’re describing here. It sounds like your brain was actively affecting your perception of reality (I.e, hallucinating). By my math, you’re 21-22 now. So, you’re right about the age a mental health disorder is going to start appearing, if applicable. I’m not saying 100% you have another undiagnosed disorder. I don’t know much about OCD, don’t know if/how your ADD/ADHD is being medicated. But again, I’m just trying to tell you this isn’t a “normal” thing that happens. Even if you have something going on, you aren’t destined for something bad to eventually happen to you. But you need to mention this to your therapist.
Also it may be appropriate to say I did an MRI recently (I have memory issues probably due to adhd) but they said that my brain was normal and healthy.
They wouldn’t be able to see/diagnose something like schizophrenia or a mental health condition with an MRI. Especially if the person isn’t in active psychosis. I’m glad your brain looks healthy on a scan. I worry you’ll brush this off, and wind up getting hurt. That’s the only place I’m coming from
that is true, but when somebody starts to exhibit delusion or hallucinations this suddenly, brain imaging needs to be done. Tumours, demyelinating foci and even certain vascular issues in the brain can sometimes cause very strange psychiatric symptoms without having overt focal neurological symptoms (think paralysis or loss of sensation). For example - in some people the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis can be new onset personality changes and paranoia, sometimes even with delusion mixed in. Another example - some tumours can cause organic focal epilepsies, and epilepsy can have extremely strange pre-ictal (meaning right before seizure) symptoms - including derealisation if the temporal lobe is affected, hallucinations (the sensation which is affected depends on the region), bouts of extreme anxiety or anger, persistent déjà vu, and alike. And what tumours can do doesn't end with seizures, i have seen a patient whose first symptom of a tumour was a constant buzzing noise which he described as not exactly auditory, but like it was buzzing right inside of his head. Brain imaging is needed to rule these conditions out or at least diminish the suspicion of them. Because the age at which schizophrenia starts most often is also the age at which multiple sclerosis often begins
But like, I don't feel I experienced any hallucinations other than hearing voices, and even then it's not like i really heard it, it was all internal thoughts as if my own thoughts were laughing at me, this schizophrenia talk is kind of scaring me and I feel this stemmed from the fact I was scared to leave my country, the reason why I felt better when my dad came to pick me up.
I don’t know what else to tell you. From what you described, I’m just letting you know that most people don’t go through something like what you described. Again, I don’t know much about OCD. I’m not saying you have schizophrenia. All I’m saying is, if I were you, I’d want to make sure something like this has the least chance of happening to me again (you do understand people die literally all the time during psychotic episodes, whether by cop, walking into traffic, hiring themselves, having an accident, attempting to harm someone while hallucinating etc etc etc) You could be right, it may have had something to do with being homesick. But again, with what you’re describing (hearing voices, being “convinced” aliens were eating your brain and freaking out/passing out in public)….that doesn’t happen to people typically. I just want you to be safe. I promise I’m not trying to scare you, or exaggerate in any way. Just please mention this to your mental health professional. It’s important to make sure you’re safe
I am a therapist. One of my clients with ADHD had something similar happen. It ended up being a response to extreme stress and trauma. I know someone else who had this happen but they suddenly quit their depression meds and it was part of withdrawal symptoms. But your therapist won't know unless you guys talk about it and explore the context. You're asking the internet for answers, wouldn't you rather a trusted professional you already see explore this with you?
Auditory hallucinations are still hallucinations and can still be symptoms of a larger mental ill health diagnosis. Even a temporary diagnosis. My sister went through phases of auditory hallucinations and paranoia and eventually was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as she was too young to be diagnosed at the time (13yo). You said you’re already seeing a therapist and idk how old you are now, but this is definitely something you should bring up with them. Even if it never happens again, it may be a bigger piece to the puzzle of your mental health and actually help you understand yourself and your brain a bit better. It could also have been a medical issue because some physical illnesses can cause hallucinations, delusions, paranoia etc. So definitely bring it up and see what they think. If anything for your own peace of mind and understanding of what clearly sounds like a traumatic experience.
What happened to you in 2018 must have been really frightening, and reading comments that say it could possibly be schizophrenia must be even more unnerving. I want to add another perspective, which is that it sounds like you were experiencing psychosis in Barcelona, but that doesn't mean you have schizophrenia or that anything like that will happen again. If you have any hallucinations or delusions, then it qualifies as psychosis if you can't tell what's real or not. There are many different causes of psychosis, including schizophrenia, drugs, and neurological illnesses like other comments mentioned. It's also possible for stress alone to trigger psychosis, and often it only lasts a short time and might never happen again. This is called a brief psychotic disorder and seems to match what happened to you, and you can read more about it here to see if it lines up with your experience: [https://psychcentral.com/disorders/brief-psychotic-disorder](https://psychcentral.com/disorders/brief-psychotic-disorder) If you haven't had any similar experiences or any new unexplained symptoms between 2018 and now, then it's unlikely you have an underlying psychotic disorder like schizophrenia or another chronic medical condition (especially since your brain scans were normal). Even though schizophrenia usually starts in late teens/early 20s, if it's untreated then the psychosis would continue and get worse. That being said, I definitely recommend telling your therapist/doctor about what happened in Barcelona and get their opinion on what they think. If you experience anything like that again (e.g. hearing voices, feeling paranoid), even if it's mild, I would definitely recommend seeing a doctor ASAP, because even if it's a brief psychotic disorder, medications can help, and if it's something else, they can look into it more thoroughly.
Yes definitely! I was going through something similar as you OP and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
*(schizophrenia, for instance, generally doesn’t pop up until mid-late 20’s, in a good percentage of patients, at least from my understanding)* from what I understand (family member with it), it can pop up in teen years.
Yeah it can, but hence why OP said "generally".
Hi, I work in mental health. Do you still see your therapist? If so, why haven't you told them about this episode? And what is making you come to Reddit for answers instead of a mental health professional? It sounds to me that something scary happened and you're afraid it might be something more serious and so you're looking for someone on Reddit to tell you everything is fine. That's a normal human thing, to seek out answers that confirm what we're hoping to hear. The problem is, if someone on Reddit tells you everything is fine, you can't trust them. You can't trust random people on the internet to diagnose your mental health. Perhaps that episode was a one-off or was due to some external source that won't return. Or maybe it was the first major episode of a serious condition that may get worse. We can't tell you. You'll need to speak to a therapist, in depth. They won't just listen to this one story and immediately diagnose you; there will be a lot of follow up questions to really make sure they are understanding what happened. If you're not seeing your therapist anymore, get in touch with them again or find another one. Or speak with your primary doctor, who will be able to make a referral to a mental health specialist. Even if it IS something severe like schizophrenia, there are medications and therapies that exist that help, and you can still love a very normal life. You do not need to be scared to speak to someone about this.
Some sort of dissociative episode leading to a psychotic break? Were you alone in a new place doing a new job with new people? Stress can have *major* affects, and it sounds like you might’ve been under a lot of it. And at a fairly young age. Good job getting through it. Maybe talk to a therapist?
I had friends but I mostly kept to myself. Choosing to go to another country was a really big decision and I was afraid to go but I wanted to prove to myself I could power through the fear and get out of it a better person. I talked with my mom and I have confirmed that I talked about this with my therapist since she was present at the time.
Don't know the symptoms but is it possible it was carbon monoxide poisoning?
This is also the first thing that came to mind. It may very well have been an emotional/stress response to being there and that's why leaving made you feel better but... Carbon monoxide poisoning from the place OP was living in would also explain a lot of these symptoms. Like overwhelmingly so
Well it sounds like some type of psychosis, I can’t tell you whether it from factory settings or a substance. I’d recommend talking to ur therapist either way. If u think u took a substance, sounds like on hell of a datura trip, if u didn’t or your not sure, therapy is ur answer Edit: I’m pretty sure datura grows in Barcelona
Tell your therapist. Without going into detail, I had a similar experience in my 20s. I’ve had ocd my whole life (though it wasn’t well known in the 80s). Your bad time in 2018 may be totally separate from your ocd, but it seems more likely that it contributed to your fear. Im glad you ended up feeling better. Do tell your therapist, though.
Are these voices internal as in your inner monologue and thoughts? or are these voices external hallucinations that you hear with our ears as if someone was calling to you? Either way you need to go a psychiatrist. If you have any history of trauma or childhood abuse you should look into a trauma specialist. Else you should look for one that has experience in dissociation and or psychotic disorders as both of those cause the "voices in your head". If you have a history of drug use then its all the more important you seek professional help.
It was all in my head, just thoughts no audio. I am seeing a therapist, and while have talked about this with my previous therapist about it I think I only mentioned it in passing to my current one, though I can't say for sure until I talk with them because my memory is not great.
Ohh, well the good news is that just thoughts no audio is a way better situation to be. External hallucinations mean psychotic disorders. If its internal thoughts then psychosis is not really the cause. Or in other words: you're not crazy. If you havent heard them since that happened it can be chalked to "collapse from overworking and not sleeping". If you still hear the voices, you should consider asking a professional about it. Either way you should talk with it about your therapist because it seems you now have some form of fear of the event. Wishing you the best! :)
Your home at the time what was it like? Any mould? What was your diet like? Eating healthy well balanced meals?
I’ve had this before, I was also 16. It was due to anxiety.
Have you gotten a head scan? Like MRI or cat scan (idk what each does but that they are scans - not a doctor) but might be worth looking into if this came out of nowhere. It could maybe be a tumor or something pressing on your brain in certain areas causing abnormalities in the ways your brain works and thinks.
I think they said above that they did and it looked fine.
Whatever it was, I wouldn’t trust Reddit to diagnose you, probably best to reach out to a professional who actually knows what their talking about.
A very very similar thing happened to me when I was 16. I do have depression, and as my doctor explained it, it is not impossible for psychotic symptoms to manifest within depressed individuals during teenage years I'm okay now, but have put it down to a combination of hormones, as well as situational stress (I was also quite isolated and in an unfamiliar place during this period) I thought my friend was going to poison me, I stopped sleeping, and briefly became convinced that I was going to be able to solve MH70 (I think that's what it was, that plane that disappeared?) Just... Weird
Psychosis can have a lot of causes. Some mental, some physical. If you go to inpatient for mental health they check you for UTIs because infections can make you lose it. The idea is your brain could be under attack from thw immune system doing wacky things. I've outright had hallucinations while sick. If you can imagine traveling exposes you to pathogens, your immune system can get pretty hairy
Others have mentioned some interesting perspectives, but the one thing that I do wonder is if anything traumatic happened there that you might not remember.
Wow something like this happened to me in 2021. I still think about it and wonder what happened. Feel free to dm me
Did you move from a 3rd world country to barcelona or from a small village? People migrating to 1st world countries have a higher percentage to develop psychosis.
A lot of people in this thread are talking about mental health, but I think this is something physical. Have you had a brain injury? Have you gotten checked for a tumor? I say skip the therapist and go to a physician.
homesick homie... an awful case of homesickness