Hallucinations for first time with bipolar II

[bootlegrascal]

Hi,

I am 18 and was diagnosed with bipolar type II over a year ago for which I have been on medication for since, which as helped enormously.

However I am worried because last night when I was driving home from work, I saw an entire house engulfed in flames on a hill in front of me, yet there has been no record of this happening on DFES, which there would be, and I drove past the same spot today and I couldn't see any sign of this being real .

I have never hallucinated before and there have been no changes to anything in my life and I am worried that I won't be able to tell the difference between reality and fiction. I often feel sort of dissociated, like I'm watching myself or not fully present in life, but I have learnt to live with that.

Overall I have been doing really well for the last 2 months, but this has me freaking out. I even called the fire department (it's in my call log so I know that is real) but because I didn't know exactly where it was as it was up on the hill, they couldn't do anything.

Some advice on if this is normal and if I should be worried about progression of symptoms from other bipolar II people would be amazing!!

I am quite shaken up and would love some feedback...

cheers

[Here_I_am]

Hi bootlegrascal,

I just wanted to say that this sounds like a very unnerving experience, and one that I imagine would leave anyone quite shaken and a little perturbed.

I personally have no experience of living with Bipolar II, but just wanted to acknowledge your post and say that you're always welcome on the Beyond Blue forums to discuss and explore your Bipolar II or any other aspect of your mental wellness. I am sure someone with some lived experience of Bipolar will be along in time to share their perspective with you.

From a general mental wellness point of view, I would encourage you to mention your experience to your therapist or GP at the next available opportunity. They are best placed to advise and determine what is going on in that space of your mental health, so as far as possible they should be kept well informed of what's happening for you especially in the area of changes or new experiences.

Hope to hear from you soon.

[quirkywords]

Hi bootlegrascal,

I want to welcome you to the forum and well done for reaching out and telling us about your experience.

I have lived with a diagnosis of bipolar for over 40 years.

I can imagine seeing something like you describe would be so scary. I know I dream about things in the news and it feels so vivid real. It wasn't possible that you had a microsleep and dreamt it. Just a thought.

I have not had such hallucinations but I have thought something happened that didn't and I must have dream it.

I know that is very different to what you wrote about it.

I would be talk to my psych about it as there maybe be a reason and an explanation.

I have no medical training just lived experience.

Here is a thread called This bipolar life and you are welcome to join in and read or ask a question.

Feel free to keep discussing here.

Quirky

[bootlegrascal]

Thank you for your reply, I will hopefully speak to my psych soon, I am just hoping it doesn't happen again... It was definitely unnerving and made me doubt my sanity and question whether I am entering some kind of episode...

Thank you for your kind words and welcome 🙂

[bootlegrascal]

Thank you for your reply, I will try to find the thread, however this website is giving me a bit of grief and trouble trying to figure out how to operate it ahhh!

I was quite tired and it was very late but I'm mainly shaken just because nothing like this has ever happened to me before and I am generally otherwise quite dissociated. I have conversations with friends that I don't remember, under no influence of alcohol or drugs. I know I had them but they feel like a dream and like it never happened.

It's okay if it was a one off... I am mainly concerned that it is a sign of worse things to come...

Thank you.

[quirkywords]

Bootlegrascal,

Thnaks for your reply. I can understand that you are worriedbic this was not an isolated incident. Hopefully your psych will be able to work out what happened.

I am sorry that you are having trouble with the website.

Atvthe top of this thread are a few red boxes that talk about the forum and how to navigate it. The forum FAQ has answers to questions others have asked and you can ask your own questions there too.

Also at top right hand section of each page there is a search engine and you can type in This bipolar life or any other topics you want to browse,

If you ever are have a question you can also ask here and I will try to help .

Quirky

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi bootlegrascal,

Thank you for your post. I'm so glad you're getting some great support here. I'm not sure that I can really add to it much, so I thought I'd just link the Bipolar Life thread from Quirky.

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/staying-well/this-bipolar-life/page/143

Best of luck with your next appointment with the psych. I hope that they're able to give you lots of reassurance 🙂

RT