Hallucinations can be part of the Parkinson’s experience. For me, they have included seeing people, animals, or other things that were not actually there. Sometimes I could know intellectually that what I was seeing was not real while still seeing it clearly in front of me.
You might recognize it as: seeing a person or animal that is not there, catching sight of something that disappears, seeing shapes or figures, or knowing something is not real even though you can still see it.
What This Feels Like to Me
One of the strangest parts of my hallucinations has been the gap between what I know and what I see. I can sometimes recognize that an image cannot be real, yet that knowledge does not necessarily make the image disappear. The experience can range from something I recognize quickly to something far more intense and difficult to sort through.
What I Wish Other People Understood
Saying that I know a hallucination is not real does not mean I am pretending to see it or that it looks imaginary to me. Something can appear visually real while another part of me is trying to make sense of what I am seeing.
My Experiences With Hallucinations
I Knew the Cat Wasn’t Real. I Could Still See It.
My firsthand Experience with seeing something I knew should not be there and discovering that knowing it was not real did not necessarily stop me from seeing it.
Related Treatments & Devices
Hallucinations can intersect with different parts of a Parkinson’s journey. As PD Through My Eyes grows, this section will connect to firsthand Experiences involving treatments or devices when they are relevant to my own hallucinations.
Learn More About Hallucinations in Parkinson’s
PD Through My Eyes is about my lived experience, not medical expertise. For medical information about hallucinations in Parkinson’s, visit the Parkinson’s Foundation — Hallucinations & Delusions or discuss hallucinations or other changes in perception with an appropriate healthcare professional.