Hallucinations, what are they and how are they caused?
First let me say anyone can have these, your not crazy, and you don’t have to have a mental disorder
A hallucination is the brain's electrical system shorting out an one area. This means that the person having a hallucination is experiencing an event through one of their senses that is not occurring in the real world. This is where voices are hear with an auditory hallucination, listening to lots of music before bed can cause this type of hallucination. A short circuit can have us hearing our own thoughts but will seem to come from the outside. A mild form of hallucination is known as a disturbance, and can occur in any of the senses above. These may be things like seeing movement in peripheral vision, or hearing faint noises and/or voices.
Who can have hallucinations? Anyone can have them if exposed to chemical or electrical or even auditory pollution. Though they are more prevalent in those with schizophrenia or bi-polar diagnosis’s. Hypnagogic hallucinations and hypnopompic hallucinations are considered normal . Hypnagogic hallucinations can occur as one is falling asleep and hypnopompic hallucinations occur when one is waking up. Now these can seem real and the person may believe they really happened. Anyone who has experienced sleep paralysis understands how real they can be.
Now lets look at visual hallucinations, who can have them? Anyone can experience these, once again its when our brain signals get crossed. These are when you see something that isn’t there, a ghost, a shadow man, once again our brains cause this by filling in missing information so a tiny misfire in the brain can cause us to see things that aren’t there. The people who experience these more may have a psychotic disorder to dementia to migraines, but they don’t have to have anything.
Tactile hallucinations are when we feel like we are touched, someone crawling on you, an animal jumping on you, even bugs crawling on you. Now this type of hallucination is usually associated with drug use but doesn’t have to be.
Peduncular hallucinosis usually happens in the evening and your fully awake. These are caused when we have a short circuit near the brain stem.
Now there are many other types of hallucinations I haven’t touched on as I am looking at it more for a paranormal perspective.
Now we have touched on one more possible cause of paranormal. This one is the most complex because its coming from within.
Does reported paranormal activity increase in the winter months? Most people claim it does, so lets look at why and some possible causes.
Ok winter comes we are indoors more, our homes closed up and we start to experience hearing and seeing things, we get feelings of being watched. So does this mean paranormal activity increases? Lets look at what has changed, the home is now closed up so its quieter. Ok lets look at that first the home is quieter so sounds we normally might not of heard we now hear. We are in the house more so that would give you a greater opportunity to experience something. Now lets look at some other things we may take for granted. We are indoors more so we are exposed to things in the home more.
Furnaces are up and running and some are producing carbon monoxide, now this has been linked to producing paranormal type feelings and hallucinations. So as an investigator your equipment should include a couple of carbon monoxide detectors.
Examples:
Carbon monoxide has been proven to cause paranormal and
its been known since 1921. The American Journal of Ophthalmology published a
case study involving a couple who moved into a house and promptly began to
suffer headaches, listlessness and strange auditory and visual hallucinations
(footsteps, mysterious figures, strange sensations, etc.). Their symptoms were
finally traced to a faulty furnace. Could the fact paranormal activity rises in
the winter months be tied to carbon monoxide poisoning?
A more recent case in 2005 involved a woman who was found delirious and
hyperventilating after seeing a “ghost” while taking a shower; respondents
discovered a new gas water heater had been improperly installed, flooding her
house with carbon monoxide. Look at the home to see if they have an attached
garage and if they warm their cars up, this can leak into the home as well.
So now we have to look at this as a possible cause of paranormal feelings. But does it explain it all?
Mold in your home can be dangerous as well but when the house isn’t closed up we get away from high doses. When we close the home up we are exposed to mold and breath it in more. Some mold has been linked to people experiencing paranormal.
Toxins in and around your home, can and have caused people to experience paranormal activity. So are you storing toxins in your home? Do you live by a factory or mine that has been cited for polluting air or water? If yes then you may have just discovered what causes your paranormal activity.
Prescription drugs and street drugs can and do have side effects where the person taking them thinks they are experiencing paranormal. Different people react differently to these drugs so side effects can vary. Some of these side effects, paranoia, abnormal dreams, day dreams, and hallucinations. So make sure you ask when you do an investigation if anyone is on medication.
Magnetic fields can and do alter your thinking in the front temporal lobe making you think your experiencing paranormal . Now are these magnetic fields in the home? Yes lots of them are, from your wiring to a clock radio next to your bed. So make sure these are explored if you think your experiencing paranormal.
Now we have looked at possible cause of paranormal activity, once we rule out all the manmade causes then we can concentrate on finding what is paranormal.
Paranormal Study from 5-2007 to 7-2009
The following is from a 2 year study involving a 25 paranormal claim sample size. The age range was 15-65 years of age, the average age range was 30-35 years old.
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100% claimed some type of paranormal activity.
80% claimed high stress levels.
40% male 60% female M/F Ratio.
80% Is the number treated for or diagnosed with a mental condition either current or at one point in their lives consistent with attention deficit disorder, anxiety, depression, bi-polar, schizophrenia.
32% claimed to have either been attacked or experienced some kind of Demon contact.
100% of those claiming to have experienced a Demon had been treated for a mental issue.
60% claim to have some type of sensitive ranging to psychic ability.
87.5 percent of those claiming to be sensitive to psychic experienced some type of demon activity.
60% percent of the sample size claimed to be religious
75% of the people to have had some type of trouble with a Demon were religious.
62.5% of those claiming to have had some type of trouble with a Demon were female.
4% of paranormal activity were known street drug users.
72% When shown cemetery pictures showed some type of pareidolia.
4% consumed large amounts of hard liquors.
52% of those claiming to be sensitive to psychic were religious.
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This is just a start as I would like to expand the sample size to 100. While I have been studying how claimed demon activity is related to mental illness I was surprised at the 100% result this study has shown. I was also surprised at the 75% of the people claiming demon contact being religious, I thought this number would be higher. I was also surprised at the number of people who claimed to be sensitive to psychic. 60% this was higher then I had expected. Collecting this data can involve multiple contacts for people to reveal some of the details.
This is a small sample of what we need to do in the paranormal field so we can pattern results. I plan on expanding the information to include much more in the future.
Study by Debunk Paranormal
High EMF’s and Toxins Create Your Paranormal
The work of Michael Persinger and Anne Silk. The effects of being exposed to high levels of EMF on the human brain and physiology are known. They range from hallucinations, blackout, skin rash and burns, joint pain, to dizziness and altered state of consciousness. In essence, Budden’s argument is that EMF are the material cause of close encounters, but the repertoire of images and notions we have in our mind fills the actual content of the experience. In other words, for Budden UFO close encounters are essentially a form of dream caused by an external, but natural, force. There is no non-human entities involved. This also triggers people to experience paranormal, seeing ghosts and demons. Its found when the front temporal lobe is exposed to an electrical or chemical change people can be made to see anything from aliens to ghosts, to God. Psychics and sensitive’s exposed to emf’s can think they are experiencing paranormal when its actually the brain creating these feelings.
The Government
A US government publication on electricity use and safety states that :
“Electric and magnetic fields are found throughout nature and all living things. They hold matter together. They are necessary for the operation of the nervous system.”
We may look to the cloning experiments for some indication of the sensitivity of living systems to electrical or chemical stimulus. Cloning experiments, of necessity, require the application of electricity or a chemical in order to ‘kick start ‘ or initiate the life process of the reprogrammed single cell that will under suitable conditions, become a fully functioning living system.
ELECTRO HYPERSENSITIVITY (EHS)
The phenomenon of EHS is not as yet fully recognized by health professionals, though this attitude is slowly changing. This change must be accelerated to properly treat mental illnesses and a host of other neurological conditions.
MENTAL HEALTH AND EMR
Involuntary exposure to environmental contaminants such as EMR and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can trigger neuropsychiatric conditions. It may be speculated that they also provoke neurological reactions that mimic neuropsychiatric disorders.
Unfortunately there are disturbing reports that people are being misdiagnosed with mental illness when EMR or chemical contamination is implicated. Due to the nature of the symptoms, these people are often hospitalized against their will and treated with mind altering drugs that may have the effect of worsening their condition , where allergies and sensitivities are present, though undetected.
There is a whole range of neuropsychiatric disorders, known to be influenced by environmental factors. Changes in intensity of various environmental cues such as light, temperature and magnetic fields act as triggers for the expressions of these disorders. The following list of environmentally triggered disorders : mania, depression, panic attacks, bulimia, anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, suicide, cocaine addiction, Tourette’s syndrome, schizophrenia, epilepsy. Paradoxically, bright light therapy has been found effective in treating depression and is being considered as a treatment for some of the other listed disorders.
Other dangers
Exposure to toxins and emf’s has lead to the increase in violent crimes and the explosion of road rage, domestic abuse and a host of other crimes.
What you can do
Search your house and store toxins in a garage or shed, get them out from under the sink or the basement near your furnace. Pick up a cheap EMF meter an check your bed room and rearrange so you aren’t exposed, move clock radios and stereo’s across the room. When your setting in front of your computer put the case away from your head, on the floor or on the opposite side of your desk.
Paranormal Photography
I see hundreds of pictures of supposed paranormal every month and what I see in 99% is the wrong camera settings, pareidolia, matrixing and apophenia.
For night time investigations (unless your shooting off a tripod ) set your ISO to 400 to 800. If your shooting under 9 mega pixel stay around a 400 ISO above that raise it to an 800 ISO.
Camera straps should be removed unless your using a large camera and have on a neck strap. Then by all means use it but keep it on your neck.
Auto focus, if your camera is on auto focus and is constantly trying to focus at night then switch to manual focus. Set it on manual and adjust it for the room sizes your shooting. This will work for most investigations.
Shutter speeds, you can’t
expect great shots when your shutter is open 2 seconds or longer.
1/8000 will stop any motion
1/4000 high enough speed to take pictures while walking
1/2000 will stop most motion
1/1000 will stop bicyclists and runners
1/500 will freeze a person jumping in the air
1/250 will stop some motion
1/125 to avoid camera shake
Speeds that blur motion. Use a tripod for these speeds.
1/60 slight blurring of motion
1/30 very good speed to show a bit of blur when photographing dancers
1/15 the blurring of motion becomes clearly evident
1/8 the blurring motion becomes more pronounced
1/4 the blurring of motion becomes extreme
1/2 high speed motion begins to become invisible
This is when you start seeing
see-thru figures
1 medium speed motion begins to become invisible
2 all motion begins to become invisible
4 more motion begins to become invisible
8 motion develops a fog like quality
B this one allows you to keep the shutter open as long as you want
Camera movement, this is a huge problem with paranormal photographers. At night when your camera is set wrong you must listen closely to make sure your shutter opens and closes. Just because the flash goes off doesn’t mean the picture is done. Your shutter may remain open and when you move you add shadows and strange blurs to your shot.
Dust or moisture, when dust or moisture is present expect to capture orbs. These aren’t paranormal and have been shown you can eliminate them by moving your flash further from your lens. Or by adding a shroud around the outside of your lens.
EXIF Information, digital cameras have what is called EXIF information on every picture. If you have pictures not turning out then check your EXIF this will give you the settings you are using. Experiment with your camera and when you find EXIF settings that are perfect write them down and use them all the time.
By following a few small suggestions you can take better paranormal shots. Also now if you catch something then we will be more apt to believe it when you have the correct settings.
Does paranormal exist or do we create it in our minds. The human mind is an amazing part of all of us. Exploration and study of the human mind is ongoing, yet still in its infancy. The human mind is broken down into sectors and we have ideas what the basics are for each section.
Sounds: We now know that sound waves are pitched so low that the human ear can't hear them. But some experiments have shown that they can be perceived in some subconscious way and cause feelings of nervousness and sensed presences. In one recorded case, a fan in an apparently haunted house was found to be producing a low frequency sound wave. After the fan was fixed, the experiences of haunting disappeared.
Chemicals in your brain: As far as brain chemistry goes, they correlate with some chemical changes like increase in a hormone called CRF. Remarkably, there's also a well established link to slight alterations in global geomagnetic activity. The association has been reported since the 1930s, and increased geomagnetic activity can even be used, quite accurately as a predictor of sleep disruption and paranormal experiences. Unsurprisingly perhaps, there is also an increase in the incidence of epileptic seizures. The shifts in magnetic field strength may decrease night time levels of a sleep hormone called melatonin, and increase CRF, all of which may help set the stage for seizures or paranormal experiences in people with sensitive temporal lobes. Some researchers have measured unusually strong or fluctuating magnetic fields in places that are said to be haunted, and this has been proposed as a rational explanation for ghosts.
So overall, the neuropsychologists seem to think that the temporal lobe of the brain is a key player in paranormal experiences. Even if you're not epileptic, the more sensitive your temporal lobe is, the more likely you are to experience the paranormal.
Demons or your brain: An individual who appears to be possessed and claims to be a demon may be viewed as suffering from a delusion of grandeur. Family members and friends caring for possessed individuals can become extremely disturbed by the state in which the individuals present themselves and often request an exorcism as a last resort. One might think of this as an example of Folie à Deux, in which one individual develops a delusion while in a close relationship with another person who already has an established delusion; the delusion is of the same content for each individual. It is possible that the possessed individual initially suffers from a delusion and eventually convinces loved ones that the possession is real.
Schizophrenia, or any form
of psychosis, is currently thought to be the result of a malfunctioning
dopaminergic system, either a system which is too active or a system which is
too sensitive. The dopamine system has been implicated in movement and
coordination, emotional response, and the ability to experience pleasure and
pain. It would then seem quite likely that many purported cases of demonic
possession are merely instances of dopamine systems failing to work properly,
given the aforementioned abnormal motor and affect behavior. It also seems
quite plausible that individuals who believe themselves to be possessed are in
a state of severe ahedonia.
Multiple Personality Disorder: Another disorder which has
frequently been misdiagnosed as demonic possession is dissociative identity
disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. The criteria for
this disorder is the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality
states, each with its own way of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about
the environment and the self; at least two of these personalities or identities
recurrently take control of the individual's behavior; and an inability to
recall important personal information that is too extensive to be dismissed as
ordinary forgetfulness. The separate identities involved in this disorder and
the physical changes that denote dissociation could certainly reflect the
abrupt change in personality manifested by those who appear to be victims of
demonic possession.
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Here are some supposed examples of demonic attack or demonic influence.
(This is from a demonologist web site)
Thinking thoughts which are “not like you” or which “seem to come from somewhere else” or which “come out of the blue”.
- Sudden depression. Sometimes the depression is severe, sometimes it is very subtle.
- Feeling like suicide, like life is not worth living or wondering why you are here.
- Having severe arguments with your spouse or friends.
- Feeling like someone or something else is controlling you. You may feel controlled all the time or only some of the time.
- Feeling like someone or something is pressuring you to do certain acts.
- Hearing one or multiple voices in your head that are negative, persuasive, or commanding you to do something. For example, hearing a voice persuade you that a certain friend should be avoided, or asking you to let them “in” to your life in some way.
- Deep personality changes. For example, someone stays at home all the time when they used to be very gregarious.
- Creepy feelings.
- An area of your house or your neighborhood which feels negative or oppressive.
- Feeling attacked when others do not see or experience anything. Sometimes this feeling of being attacked may come with physical pain that is medically inexplicable. Usually it will come with psychological pain of some sort - terror or anguish for example.
- Feelings of hopelessness.
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Schizophrenia: There are several types of schizophrenia, so signs and symptoms vary. In general, schizophrenia symptoms include:
- Beliefs not based on reality (delusions), such as the belief that there's a conspiracy against you
- Seeing or hearing things that don't exist (hallucinations), especially voices
- Incoherent speech
- Neglect of personal hygiene
- Lack of emotions
- Emotions inappropriate to the situation
- Angry outbursts
- Catatonic behavior
- A persistent feeling of being watched
- Trouble functioning at school and work
- Social isolation
- Clumsy, uncoordinated movements
Epilepsy and the Paranormal
A type of epileptic fit called a complex partial seizure occurs as a result of abnormal electrical activity in a brain region called the temporal lobe. It's been known for decades that people who suffer from this type of epilepsy also report paranormal experiences more frequently than most
window.google_render_ad(); Modern researchers have discovered that there are correlations between these century old results and the circadian distribution of reports of sensed presences. So overall, the neuropsychologists seem to think that the temporal lobe of the brain is a key player in paranormal experiences. Even if you're not epileptic, the more sensitive your temporal lobe is, the more likely you are to experience the paranormal. If you've got a lot of electrical activity going on in a part of the temporal lobe called the amygdale, then you're most likely to infuse sensory experience with enhanced meaning.
Geomagnetism and the Paranormal
Bereavement apparitions tend to occur as a disruption to dream sleep about 3 days after the death of a loved one. As far as brain chemistry goes, they correlate with some chemical changes like increase in a hormone called CRF (corticotrophin releasing factor.). Remarkably, there's also a well established link to slight alterations in global geomagnetic activity. The association has been reported since the 1930s, and increased geomagnetic activity can even be used, quite accurately as a predictor of sleep disruption and paranormal experiences. Unsurprisingly perhaps, there is also an increase in the incidence of epileptic seizures. The shifts in magnetic field strength may decrease night time levels of a sleep hormone called melatonin, and increase CRF, all of which may help set the stage for seizures or paranormal experiences in people with sensitive temporal lobes. Some researchers have measured unusually strong or fluctuating magnetic fields in places that are said to be haunted, and this has been proposed as a rational explanation for ghosts.
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So with this said, do we create our own paranormal?
Ectoplasms, once again, wake up and read all the testing that's been done, they are explainable.
Mists and smoke, once again, know where your taking photos, know how exposures, and movement can cause these. I have seen people in below freezing temperatures be amazed they are catching mists. I see someone say I was smoking but I know its not smoke. A good rule is if you need a cigarette take a break, leave the site your investigating, go outside. There is enough contaminated evidence without adding more to it. Certain sprays and chemicals can cause strange pictures, some carpet protectors will cause strange glows. Once gain experiment and see how we create our own paranormal.
EVP's I see check out these great evp's we got, they even tell you what they say. I listen to them and can't make out anything but noise. I listen to another one and see that they reversed it, removed noise slowed it down. Well once again people are only as good as there equipment and knowledge of it. Experiment, record your voice, and childrens voices, now do all the stuff you do with an evp, you can actually change what you say by altering speed and direction and other modifications. I also see someone say I have captured a great evp, well if your by another investigator check there recorder, you may be surprised at what they capture, like maybe one of you talking. Once again the human brain is responsible for what we are hearing, our old friend matrixing gets involved again. The more different sounds are in an evp the more we interpret the sound as speech.
Fairies, this one is actually laughable, I have seen pictures on paranormal team sites that report insects as fairies. I was even called a few choice names when I tried to help them understand it was an insect. While a bug can cause an interesting result, they aren't paranormal.
Matrixing, this one has always amazed me. The human mind is programmed to look for familiar things from birth. But so many paranormal teams present matrixing as paranormal. They take a picture, look at it and the mind matrixes an image, they circle it usually in red or yellow so you can matrix too. This is not paranormal, look at the back ground, is your image made up of the same material? Instead try this, look at the different materials that make up an image. Now circle the different materials separate, circle the grass, circle the branches, circle the gravestones, now your mind can see how its not a demon but explainable background. Look at a cloud or wood grain, do you see faces, yes because of matrixing. I have actually seen teams present a piece of wood as a demon face.
Windows and mirrors, how many pictures do we see where a reflection in a window or tv is presented as paranormal. They are reflections of people, pictures or our friend matrixing.
Once again I will point out that possible paranormal is found in less then 5% of investigations. If your team is finding it more then you need to rethink what your saying is paranormal. Do teams put these explainable pictures on a web site because they aren't finding true paranormal? I say yes. I think its time we as paranormal investigators admit that we don't have very much real proof as paranormal. We need to work together to make the paranormal field more respected. How embarrassing is it when someone looks at some of these teams and see's what they present. If anyone needs help with evidence or experimenting with equipment then just ask, there are lots of people that want the truth presented. Will some of you get upset with this article? I will say yes I will make a lot of people mad. I am here to make the paranormal field more respected and if I have to piss some people off along the way I guess that's what I will do. I love the paranormal field and because of this I want us all on the same page.
