Anxiety from a family member.

My sister who is currently 19 suffers from all sorts of mental illness, and to be honest it scares me from time to time. She has violent outrages every so often, talking about how she wants or is going to kill someone. Also saying that she seese things that we can't. However therapists and doctors have said it's not Schizophrenia(probably spelt that wrong.) If anyone else deals or has dealt with a person like this, I could use all the advice I could get. The main issues I know of that she has is Borderline Personality Disorder and Depression. Thanks-LightSezor

[Hidden]

Hi. You did spell it correctly As a therapist myself, most of the people I see who have hallucinatory episodes fit into one of the schizophrenic disorders. However, there are other of course other possibilities if that diagnosis has been ruled out. For example, a type of epilepsy can cause hallucination. There are many possible causes of hallucination - sadly too many to list here. Your doctor should be able to rule out most of the obvious possible causes straight away, leaving just a few to be investigated. Something you can rule out yourself is drug induced hallucination - meaning the misuse of drugs. I would suggest that you keep a record of the hallucinations - time of day, content, circumstances before and after etc in an effort to see if there is any kind of pattern or set of circumstances in which the hallucinations manifest themselves.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

She sees it all day, she says it walks around the hallways, on the walls, and everywhere really. She drew one out for us, it was a tall man in a giant black coat, with a pale face. Thanks for your reply.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

It is unusual to have almost permanent hallucinations. Hallucinations are almost always caused by some mental issue,physical brain issue or drug issue. Obviously, the drug hallucination will disappear as the drug wears off. If a mental issue it can be controlled by medication. I am assuming she has been seen by a psychiatrist, if schizophrenia was ruled out. BPD does not usually produce hallucinations, so I don't think that issue is responsible. In my view it has to be either a mental health issue or a drug related issue. Either way, you have to push your doctor to investigate properly. One other thing - are there any issues with her eyes? That is a possibility.

[EGraceA]

Hi LightSezor. I can kinda relate to your sis and you. I have relatives who do not understand or want to understand my diagnosis of bipolar/depression/explosive outbursts/ptsd/mpd, etc. I have found ways to cope with my stuff plus their denial. My issues are based on childhood abuse. I am the only one in my family in therapy which makes it very difficult. It's been 2 years that you posted, how's things going on now?