Alcohol Withdrawal Hallucinations

Alcohol withdrawal hallucinations occur in about 25% of alcoholics.  They are usually auditory and visual but, can be tactile.  So the person suffering from this may see or hear things.  They may also feel like bugs are crawling all over them.  Additionally, they may misinterpret or misperceive their environment. 

For them these things are real and they will react accordingly.

These hallucinations are almost always negative.  They are threatening or demeaning. They may also create a lot of guilt in the person. These aren't the pleasant trips of the 1960's flower children.  People having these hallucinations need to be watched to insure they don't hurt themselves or anyone else. People in this condition will likely experience very vivid dreams.  Again, they will most likely be negative.  Most people report having terrible nightmares.  The increased dreaming is due to the fact that alcohol suppresses REM sleep (that's when we dream), when it is removed we swing the other way and have more dreams.  It's the body's way of regaining equilibrium. All of these symptoms should decrease after 3 or 4 days but, may take up to a week to completely stop.  If they don't stop medical advice is warranted.

Raging Alcoholic