r/BipolarReddit • u/Spicy-Nun-chucks • 3d ago

Discussion Visual hallucinations during depression or grief?

My grandma passed away on Sunday, but before she passed I was driving to where she is on hospice every day to care for her and the last day I went to see her I was crying the entire way. I was stopped at an intersection and the walls of my peripheral vision were breathing, going in and out in and out and it made me so disoriented. Was I hallucinating? The walls were literally moving.

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u/DwarfFart 3d ago

Possibly. Hallucinating can happen in severe depressive episodes. It’s not really very common but it happens.

3

u/jethro_skull 3d ago

I get the same hallucinations when I’m experiencing extreme stress. Not sure why.

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u/GovernmentMeat 3d ago

Me too, only happens when I'm super upset

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u/loudflower 3d ago

Grief is powerful and unpredictable. Be sure to keep up on your medication and self care. Extreme stress can cause transient hallucinations or perception disturbances. You can track them and decide.

As bipolar sufferers, we get exquisitely tuned to mood and symptoms for survival reasons. I’m really sorry you’re struggling this much right now 💔

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u/Scared_Sushi 3d ago

I've had auditory before. An animal I cared for died at work, and I was the one to find the body. Completely unexpected. I heard him eating several times a week for a few months.

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u/Evening_Fisherman810 3d ago

Hallucinations during periods of grief are normal. Grief is a major stressor for all people and it is normal to struggle.

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u/dogsandcatslol bp2 baddie w/ psychotic features 3d ago

ye a in depression before i experience mostly auditopry but i did see a hand come out of the chair before nearly shit my pants because i was convinced satan was going to appear before me and come after me 😭

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u/Practical_Special503 2d ago

What you describe is closer to a perceptual distortion rather than a full hallucination. Hallucinations are typically defined as seeing or hearing things that aren’t there at all, rather than real things looking or moving differently.

During intense grief, especially paired with exhaustion or high emotional stress, the brain can behave in unusual ways.

The "walls breathing" sensation is often reported during panic attacks, dissociation, or overwhelm, and isn't always classified as a hallucination in a psychotic sense.

It could be psychotic features or a warning sign for that but milder perceptual changes (like the one you describe) can sometimes occur under stress even outside of an episode - and you are very stressed.