Tag Archives: mental-health

Psychopathological Hallucinations, an explanation:

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Psychopathological hallucinations could be perceptions that occur without an external stimulus and might be associated with mental or neurological disorders. The person experiences them as real sensory events even though nothing in the environment is producing them.

In clinical psychology and psychiatry, hallucinations could be considered a disturbance in perception rather than imagination or fantasy.

Key Characteristics

Psychopathological hallucinations typically might have several features:

  1. No external stimulus
    The perception occurs without a real sensory trigger.
  2. Experienced as real
    The person usually believes the perception is genuine.
  3. Involuntary
    They cannot be easily controlled or stopped.
  4. Often linked to mental or neurological conditions

Types of Psychopathological Hallucinations

1. Auditory Hallucinations

The most common form.

Examples:

  • Hearing voices talking
  • Voices commenting on behavior
  • Voices giving commands

Possibly associated with

  • Schizophrenia
  • severe mood disorders

2. Visual Hallucinations

Seeing things that are not present.

Examples:

  • people
  • animals
  • lights or shapes

It could be associated with:

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  • Delirium
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • neurological damage

3. Tactile Hallucinations

Feeling sensations on the body without cause.

Examples:

  • insects crawling on the skin
  • burning sensations

Could be linked to:

  • Substance Use Disorder
  • withdrawal states

4. Olfactory Hallucinations

Smelling odors that are not present.

Examples:

  • burning smells
  • rotting odors

Sometimes associated with:

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  • Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
  • brain tumors

5. Gustatory Hallucinations

Tasting something when nothing is in the mouth.

Examples:

  • metallic taste
  • poison-like taste

These are rare but may occur with neurological conditions.

Causes

Psychopathological hallucinations can arise from several mechanisms:

Psychiatric disorders

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  • Schizophrenia
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Major Depressive Disorder (with psychotic features)

Neurological conditions

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  • Epilepsy
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • brain injury

Substances

  • drugs (LSD, stimulants)
  • alcohol withdrawal

Extreme stress or sleep deprivation might cause it?

Psychopathology vs Other Hallucination Types

 In Parapsychology and anomalous experiences, it’s important to note the distinction researchers often make.

Clinical psychology usually interprets hallucinations as symptoms of pathology.

However, parapsychology researchers studying bereavement visions or anomalous experiences sometimes debate whether all such experiences are pathological.

For example:

  • Parapsychology researchers may examine veridical perceptions in certain cases.
  • Clinical psychiatry generally explains them through psychopathology.
  • CONSULT WITH a PSYCHITRIST and a NEUROLOGIST

 In short:
Psychopathological hallucinations are sensory experiences without external stimuli caused by psychological or neurological disorders.

Shervan K Shahhian

Telepathic Hallucinations, explained:

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Telepathic hallucinations is a term sometimes used in clinical psychology and psychiatry to describe an experience in which a person believes they are receiving thoughts, messages, or communications telepathically, but the experience is interpreted clinically as a hallucinatory or delusional perception rather than actual telepathy.

It sits at the intersection of hallucinations, delusional beliefs, and anomalous experiences.

1. Clinical Psychology Definition

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In mainstream psychiatry, telepathic hallucinations usually fall under auditory or thought-related hallucinations combined with delusions of telepathy.

Typical features include:

  • Believing someone is sending thoughts into one’s mind
  • Feeling that others can hear or read one’s thoughts
  • Perceiving silent messages without sensory input
  • Interpreting internal thoughts as coming from another person

These experiences can occur in disorders such as:

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  • Schizophrenia
  • Schizoaffective Disorder
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Severe stress or trauma

Psychiatrists often classify them under passivity experiences or thought interference. CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST

2. Types of Telepathic-Like Experiences in Psychiatry

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Thought Insertion

The person believes thoughts are placed into their mind by someone else.

Thought Broadcasting

The belief that one’s thoughts are being transmitted to others.

Thought Withdrawal

The feeling that someone is removing thoughts from the mind.

3. Psychological Mechanism (Clinical Explanation)

Psychologists explain these experiences through disruptions in self-monitoring of thoughts.

Normally the brain tags thoughts as self-generated.
In certain conditions, this mechanism fails, leading to:

  • Internal thoughts perceived as external
  • Inner speech mistaken for communication
  • Misattribution of mental events

Brain regions involved often include: CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST

  • the temporal lobes
  • the default mode network
  • language areas involved in inner speech

4. Parapsychology Perspective

Researchers distinguish between:

1. Psychopathological hallucinations

Mental health conditions producing telepathic beliefs.

2. Misinterpreted anomalous cognition

A genuine psi experience interpreted incorrectly.

3. Psi-mediated information

Some parapsychologists propose that telepathic impressions may occur but be filtered through imagination or dreams.

Researchers suggest that some experiences labeled hallucinations could involve psi processes mixed with normal cognition.

This idea overlaps with the Super-Psi model you asked about earlier.

5. Distinguishing Telepathic Hallucinations from Other Experiences

FeaturePsychiatric HallucinationAnomalous Experience (Parapsychology)
ControlUncontrollableOften spontaneous but meaningful
Emotional toneDistressing or intrusiveNeutral or meaningful
ConsistencyDisorganizedSometimes coherent
FunctioningOften impairedUsually preserved

However, most clinicians default to the psychiatric explanation unless strong evidence suggests otherwise. CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST

In summary:
Telepathic hallucinations refer to perceived mental communications that feel telepathic but are interpreted clinically as hallucinations or delusional beliefs, often due to misattribution of internal thoughts.

Shervan K Shahhian

Bereavement Visions in Parapsychology Research, explained:

Bereavement visions are one of the studied forms of after-death related anomalous experiences in parapsychology. Researchers examine them as possible perceptual experiences of the deceased occurring after death, usually reported by grieving individuals.

1. What Bereavement Visions Are

In parapsychology, bereavement visions are experiences in which a grieving person perceives the deceased as present. These perceptions can include:

  • Visual apparitions (seeing the deceased person)
  • Auditory experiences (hearing their voice)
  • Tactile sensations (feeling a touch or embrace)
  • Sense of presence
  • Dream encounters with vivid realism

These are often grouped under After‑Death Communications (ADCs).

Typical characteristics reported in research:

  • Occur spontaneously
  • Usually happen within the first year after death
  • Are often comforting rather than frightening
  • Individuals usually remain psychologically stable

2. Classic Parapsychology Research

One of the earliest major investigations came from the Society for Psychical Research (SPR).

Findings:

  • Thousands of reports of apparitions and crisis experiences were collected.
  • Some reports occurred close to the time of death of the person seen.
  • Researchers proposed the possibility of telepathic hallucinations.

3. Modern Bereavement Vision Research

Modern parapsychology approaches the phenomenon more systematically.

Many have Researched

Some of the research has documented thousands of cases.

Findings:

  • ADCs occur across cultures and religions
  • Most experiencers report psychological comfort
  • Many experiences involve clear sensory perception

4. Bereavement Vision Research in Psychology

Psychological researchers also studied these experiences without assuming a paranormal explanation.

A study was conducted that:

Some studied widows and widowers and found:

  • Some reported sensing or seeing the deceased spouse
  • Most participants did not consider themselves mentally ill

This suggested bereavement visions are relatively common in normal grief.

5. How Parapsychology Interprets Bereavement Visions

Parapsychologists generally consider four explanatory models.

1. Survival Model

The experience is interpreted as actual communication from the deceased.

2. Psi or Super-Psi Model

Related to the Super-Psi Theory:

  • The living person unconsciously gathers information via telepathy or clairvoyance
  • The mind constructs the experience.

3. Psychological Model

The experience arises from grief-related cognitive and emotional processes.

4. Hybrid Model

Some researchers think multiple mechanisms may operate simultaneously.

6. Typical Characteristics of Bereavement Visions

Parapsychological case collections consistently report:

  • Occur during quiet states or transitions (sleep/waking)
  • The apparition often appears healthy and peaceful
  • Messages are usually brief and reassuring
  • The experience ends abruptly

These features differentiate them from clinical hallucinations associated with psychiatric disorders.

7. Why Bereavement Visions Interest Parapsychologists

They are important because they potentially relate to the survival of consciousness hypothesis.

Researchers view them as valuable because they:

  • occur spontaneously
  • often involve ordinary individuals
  • can sometimes contain veridical information

 In summary:
Bereavement visions are reported experiences in which the bereaved perceive the deceased. Parapsychology studies them as possible after-death communications, psi phenomena, or grief-related experiences, while psychology often interprets them as normal features of the grieving process.

Shervan K Shahhian

Stress-Induced Dissociated Behavior, explained:

Stress-Induced Dissociated Behavior might refer to dissociative symptoms or behaviors that emerge when a person is overwhelmed by acute or chronic stress.

The nervous system could shift into a protective survival mode when fight-or-flight isn’t enough.

What Is Dissociation?

Dissociation is a disruption in the normal integration of:

  • Awareness
  • Memory
  • Identity
  • Emotion
  • Perception
  • Body sensation

It could exist on a spectrum, from mild spacing out to more severe fragmentation.

How Stress Triggers Dissociation

When stress becomes overwhelming, especially if it feels inescapable, unpredictable, or threatening — the nervous system may shift from:

  • Fight-or-flight: sympathetic activation to
  • Freeze / shutdown: parasympathetic dorsal vagal dominance

This shutdown response could produce dissociative phenomena.

From a trauma framework dissociation could be understood as a survival adaptation when active defense fails.

Common Stress-Induced Dissociative Behaviors

1. Depersonalization

Feeling detached from oneself

  • “I feel like I’m watching myself.”
  • Emotional numbness
  • Robotic functioning

2. Derealization

Feeling detached from surroundings

  • World feels unreal, foggy, dreamlike
  • Sensory distortions

3. Dissociative Amnesia

  • Memory gaps during stressful events
  • “I don’t remember parts of what happened.”

4. Behavioral Auto-Pilot

  • Functioning competently but with reduced awareness
  • Emotional disconnection while performing tasks

5. Identity Shifts Under Stress

  • Sudden personality changes
  • Childlike states under overwhelm
  • Regression patterns

Neurobiological View

Under extreme stress:

  • Amygdala: hyperactivation, CONSULT A NEUROLOGIST
  • Prefrontal cortex: reduced regulation, CONSULT A NEUROLOGIST
  • Hippocampus: memory fragmentation, CONSULT A NEUROLOGIST
  • Opioid system: emotional numbing, CONSULT A NEUROLOGIST

This creates a protective analgesic state, emotional and sometimes physical.

Acute vs. Chronic Patterns

Acute stress dissociation

  • During accidents
  • During conflict
  • During panic episodes

Chronic stress dissociation

  • Trauma history
  • Attachment disruptions
  • Prolonged relational threat
  • Complex trauma patterns

Chronic forms may evolve into clinical conditions such as:

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Dissociative Identity Disorder
  • Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder

Why the System Does This

Dissociation is adaptive when:

  • The threat cannot be escaped
  • The person cannot fight
  • Emotional pain is overwhelming

It might reduce subjective suffering, but long term it impairs integration and embodied presence.

Clinical Markers to Watch For

  • Flat affect during intense material
  • Sudden cognitive fog
  • Rapid shifts in eye focus
  • Voice tone change
  • Time distortion reports
  • Memory inconsistencies

Treatment Considerations

  1. Nervous system regulation (bottom-up) CONSULT A NEUROLOGIST
  2. Somatic grounding
  3. Trauma processing (carefully titrated)
  4. Attachment repair
  5. Strengthening executive functioning before deep trauma work

Premature trauma exposure without stabilization might increases dissociation.

Shervan K Shahhian

Bereavement Psychology, explained:

Bereavement psychology is the branch of psychology that studies how people mentally, emotionally, and behaviorally respond to the death of a loved one. It focuses on the processes of grief, mourning, and adaptation after loss.

1. What “Bereavement” Means

  • Bereavement: the objective condition of having lost someone through death.
  • Grief: the internal emotional response to that loss.
  • Mourning: the outward expression of grief (rituals, crying, funerals, cultural practices).

Some psychologists might study how these processes affect:

  • emotions
  • cognition
  • behavior
  • identity
  • relationships

2. Some Typical Psychological Reactions to Bereavement

Common reactions could include:

Emotional

  • sadness
  • longing or yearning
  • anger
  • guilt
  • loneliness

Cognitive

  • intrusive memories
  • thinking about the deceased constantly
  • difficulty concentrating
  • temporary disbelief

Physical

  • fatigue
  • sleep disturbances
  • appetite changes

Behavioral

  • social withdrawal
  • visiting meaningful places
  • maintaining symbolic bonds with the deceased

These reactions could be normal adaptive responses, not mental illness.

3. Some Major Psychological Models of Bereavement

1. Stage Model of Grief

Five commonly described reactions:

  1. Denial
  2. Anger
  3. Bargaining
  4. Depression
  5. Acceptance

Modern psychology might emphasize that people do not experience these in a fixed order.

2. Attachment Model

Grief could be seen as a response to the loss of an attachment bond.

Typical phases:

  1. Shock and numbness
  2. Yearning and searching
  3. Disorganization
  4. Reorganization

This might model explain why grief might feel like separation distress.

3. Dual Process Model

Grieving people oscillate between two coping modes:

Loss-oriented

  • crying
  • remembering
  • longing

Restoration-oriented

  • rebuilding life
  • adapting to new roles
  • focusing on daily functioning

Healthy grieving could involve in moving back and forth between these modes.

4. Continuing Bonds Theory

Instead of “letting go,” some people might often maintain a continuing psychological relationship with the deceased through:

  • memories
  • dreams
  • symbolic communication
  • feeling their presence

Modern grief psychology could consider this normal and healthy.

4. Bereavement Hallucinations or “Grief Visions”

Some bereaved individuals might report experiences such as:

  • sensing the presence of the deceased
  • hearing their voice
  • seeing them briefly in dreams or waking states

Psychology typically could interpret these as:

Some research might suggest that some widowed people experience something like this.

  • normal grief phenomena
  • attachment-related imagery
  • memory activation during emotional stress

Parapsychology might study them as possible anomalous experiences.

5. When Grief Becomes Clinical

Most grief gradually softens.
But sometimes it becomes persistent and impairing.

This condition is called:

  • Prolonged Grief Disorder

Symptoms may include:

  • intense yearning lasting over a year
  • inability to accept the death
  • identity disruption
  • severe functional impairment

Treatment may involve grief therapy or specialized psychotherapy.

6. Goals of Bereavement Adaptation

Healthy adjustment does not mean forgetting the person.

Psychologically, the goals could be:

  • accepting the reality of the loss
  • integrating the memory of the deceased
  • rebuilding meaning in life
  • forming a continuing bond without disabling distress

There can also a fascinating overlap between bereavement psychology and anomalous experiences (after-death communications, grief apparitions, crisis visions).

Shervan K Shahhian

Tactile Hallucinations, explained:

Tactile hallucinations (also called haptic hallucinations) are false sensations of touch that occur without any external physical stimulus. A person genuinely feels something on or under their skin even though nothing is actually there.

In clinical psychology and psychiatry, tactile hallucinations might be classified as a type of somatic sensory hallucination.

Common Types of Tactile Hallucinations

People may report sensations such as:

• Bugs crawling on the skin (called formication)
• Something touching or tapping the body
• Burning or electric sensations
• Pressure or being grabbed
• Feeling something moving under the skin
• Water dripping or wind blowing on the skin

The experience can feel extremely real because the brain’s sensory cortex is producing the perception.

Conditions Associated With Tactile Hallucinations

In clinical contexts they may appear in several conditions:

1. Psychiatric Disorders

Common in:

  • Schizophrenia
  • Delusional Parasitosis
  • Severe Major Depressive Disorder with psychotic features

2. Substance Use or Withdrawal

Tactile hallucinations might occur during intoxication or withdrawal from substances such as:

  • Cocaine
  • Methamphetamine
  • Alcohol (especially during withdrawal or delirium tremens)

3. Neurological Conditions

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They might also occur in neurological disorders

Psychological vs Neurological Mechanism

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From a neuroscience perspective, CONSULT WITH A NEUROLOGIST, tactile hallucinations are thought to involve abnormal activation of the somatosensory cortex, the brain area responsible for touch perception.

Normally:

Stimulus: skin receptors: brain: touch perception, CONSULT WITH A NEUROLOGIST

In hallucinations:

Brain activity: perceived touch without stimulus, CONSULT WITH A NEUROLOGIST

Parapsychology Perspective

Some researchers have suggested other interpretations in certain anomalous experiences.

Some investigators discussed the possibility that certain tactile sensations in spontaneous cases might involve psychokinetic or psi-related processes, although this remains controversial and not widely accepted in mainstream science.

In the Super-Psi / Living Agent Psi model, unusual physical sensations might theoretically be produced unconsciously by psi processes rather than external spirits.

 Key Point:
Tactile hallucinations are perceptions of touch without a physical cause, and they can arise from psychiatric, neurological, substance-related, or occasionally anomalous experiential contexts.

Shervan K Shahhian

Biopsychosocial Model, explained:

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The Biopsychosocial Model is a framework used in medicine, psychology, and behavioral science to understand health, illness, and human behavior as the result of three interacting systems: biological, psychological, and social factors.

Core Idea

The model proposes that no illness or psychological condition has a single cause. Instead, it emerges from the interaction of multiple layers of influence.

1. Biological Factors

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Physical and physiological processes in the body.

Examples:

  • Genetics
  • Brain chemistry and neurobiology
  • Hormones
  • Physical injury or disease
  • Sleep and nutrition

Example:
Depression may involve serotonin imbalance, genetics, or inflammation.

2. Psychological Factors

Mental and emotional processes that influence behavior and health.

Examples:

  • Thoughts and beliefs
  • Personality traits
  • Coping skills
  • Trauma history
  • Stress perception

Example:
Two people with the same illness may respond very differently depending on their beliefs, coping style, or resilience.

3. Social Factors

Environmental and cultural influences affecting a person.

Examples:

  • Family relationships
  • Culture and religion
  • Socioeconomic status
  • Social support
  • Life events

Example:
Strong social support can improve recovery from illness, while isolation can worsen outcomes.

Simple Example

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Consider chronic pain:

DimensionExample
BiologicalNerve injury or inflammation
PsychologicalCatastrophic thinking about pain
SocialWork stress or lack of support

All three together shape the severity and persistence of pain.

Why It Is Important

The model changed modern healthcare by encouraging holistic treatment.

Instead of only medication, treatment may include:

  • Medical care, CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST
  • Psychotherapy
  • Lifestyle changes
  • Social support interventions

This model could be strongly influenced fields like:

  • Health Psychology
  • Behavioral Medicine, CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST
  • Psychosomatic Medicine, CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST

Some Example in Grief and Anomalous Experiences

For example:

LevelPossible Influence
BiologicalSleep disruption, stress hormones
PsychologicalAttachment to the deceased
SocialCultural beliefs about the afterlife

Clinical psychology might explain these experiences through grief-related cognition, while parapsychology might, sometimes explores survival or psi hypotheses.

 In short:
The biopsychosocial model might see human experience as the product of body, mind, and society interacting together, rather than being caused by only one factor. CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST

Shervan K Shahhian

Demonic Psychosis, explained:

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“Demonic psychosis” is not a clinical diagnosis in psychiatry or psychology. It is a cultural, religious, or spiritual interpretation of a psychotic state, most often used in faith-based contexts to explain experiences that clinicians would classify as psychosis.

Below is a clear, layered explanation that distinguishes belief language from clinical reality.

1. How the term is used (non-clinical)

In religious or spiritual frameworks, “demonic psychosis” typically refers to a state in which a person is believed to be:

  • Influenced, oppressed, or possessed by a demonic entity
  • Hearing voices attributed to demons
  • Experiencing intrusive thoughts perceived as external evil forces
  • Exhibiting drastic personality, moral, or behavioral changes
  • Showing intense fear, paranoia, or religious preoccupation

This language appears in:

  • Certain Christian, etc. , and some folk-religious traditions
  • Deliverance or exorcism ministries
  • Cultural explanatory models where spirits explain illness

2. Clinical understanding (what psychology actually diagnoses)

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From a psychiatric standpoint, the experiences labeled “demonic psychosis” could be most commonly explained as psychotic disorders or states, such as:

  • Schizophrenia spectrum disorders
  • Bipolar disorder with psychotic features
  • Major depressive disorder with psychotic features
  • Brief psychotic disorder
  • Substance-induced psychosis
  • Trauma-related psychosis or dissociative psychosis

Core features of psychosis:

  • Hallucinations (often auditory voices)
  • Delusions (fixed false beliefs, including religious or persecutory themes)
  • Disorganized thinking or speech
  • Impaired reality testing

Importantly:
The content of psychosis is shaped by culture and belief.
A religious person may experience “demons,” while a secular person may experience “surveillance,” “AI,” or “aliens.”

3. Why the “demonic” framing can be harmful

Interpreting psychosis as demonic influence can:

  • Increase fear, shame, and stigma
  • Delay medical or psychological treatment
  • Worsen symptoms through reinforcement of delusions
  • Lead to coercive or abusive practices (e.g., forced exorcisms)

Research shows that how voices or experiences are interpreted strongly affects distress. A threatening supernatural explanation often worsens outcomes.

4. Trauma and dissociation often play a role

Many individuals labeled as “demonically afflicted” have:

  • Significant trauma histories
  • Dissociative symptoms
  • Intrusive inner voices or parts (not entities)
  • High suggestibility or absorption

Trauma can produce externalized inner experiences, which may feel alien, malevolent, or “not me.”

5. A balanced, culturally sensitive view

Modern psychology uses a biopsychosocial model:

  • Biological vulnerability
  • Psychological factors (trauma, stress, cognition)
  • Social and cultural meaning systems

Clinicians might aim to respect spiritual beliefs without validating interpretations that increase harm or impair reality testing.

6. Key takeaway

“Demonic psychosis” is a belief-based label for psychosis, not a medical condition.

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The experiences might be real and distressing.
The explanation of demons is cultural, symbolic, or theological rather than clinical.

Effective treatment might focuses on:

  • Safety
  • Stabilization
  • Trauma-informed care
  • Medication when appropriate CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST
  • Meaning-making that reduces fear rather than amplifies it
  • CONSULT WITH A PSYCHIATRIST
  • Shervan K Shahhian

Religious Hallucinations, explained:

Religious hallucinations could be sensory experiences involving religious or spiritual content that occur without an external stimulus. The person could believe they are hearing, seeing, or feeling a divine or supernatural presence.

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These experiences might occur in psychiatric disorders, extreme stress, bereavement, or sometimes in intense religious states. Because you study psychology and parapsychology, this topic is interesting since the two fields often interpret them very differently.

1. What Religious Hallucinations Look Like

They might involve religious figures, voices, or supernatural entities.

Common examples could include:

Auditory

  • Hearing the voice of God
  • Hearing angels or demons speaking
  • Commands believed to come from a divine source

Visual

  • Seeing Jesus, angels, saints, or demons
  • Visions of heaven, hell, or divine light

Tactile / Somatic

  • Feeling touched by a spiritual being
  • Sensation of possession or spiritual energy entering the body

Olfactory

  • Smelling incense, sulfur, or sacred fragrances without a source

2. Conditions Where They Commonly Occur

In clinical psychology, religious hallucinations might appear in several disorders:

Psychotic Disorders

Might commonly appear in

  • Schizophrenia
  • Schizoaffective Disorder

Some Typical features:

  • Commanding voices
  • Religious delusions (e.g., believing one is a prophet or chosen by God)

Mood Disorders with Psychosis

Such as:

  • Bipolar Disorder (during manic episodes)
  • Major Depressive Disorder with Psychotic Features

Example:

  • Hearing God condemning or judging them.

Neurological Conditions

  • CONSULT WITH A NEOUROLOGIST

Temporal-lobe disturbances are especially associated with intense mystical or religious visions.

3. Cultural and Religious Context

Some psychologists might emphasize that culture strongly shapes hallucination content.

For example:

  • Christians may see Jesus or angels
  • Hindus may see deities

The brain might often use the person’s belief system to interpret unusual sensory experiences.

4. Difference Between Religious Experience and Hallucination

Some Psychologists might usually distinguish them by several criteria.

Healthy Religious ExperienceReligious Hallucination
Occurs during prayer or meditationOccurs spontaneously
Person retains critical thinkingPerson believes it absolutely
Not distressing or commandingOften commanding or frightening
Does not impair functioningOften disrupts life

5. Parapsychological Interpretations

In parapsychology, some researchers might argue that not all such experiences are pathological.

Two interpretations sometimes maybe discussed:

  1. Psi-mediated perception: (telepathy/clairvoyance)
  2. Super-Psi / Living Agent Psi model: unconscious psychic abilities producing the experience.

This perspective could be discussed by researchers at the
Society for Psychical Research and the
Parapsychological Association.

However, mainstream science still treats most of these cases as psychological or neurological phenomena.

 In summary:
Religious hallucinations are sensory experiences with spiritual content that occur without an external source. Clinically they are often linked to psychosis, neurological disorders, or extreme emotional states, while parapsychology sometimes explores non-ordinary interpretations.

Shervan K Shahhian

After-Death Communications (ADCs), explained:

After-Death Communications (ADCs) could be experiences in which a living person perceives contact or communication from someone who has died. These experiences could be widely reported in grief research and are discussed in both clinical psychology and parapsychology.

1. What an ADC Is

An After-Death Communication is any subjective experience in which a bereaved person feels they receive a message, presence, or contact from the deceased.

They often occur spontaneously, without attempts to summon spirits, and are commonly reported during the early stages of bereavement.

2. Common Types of ADCs

Reports could tend to fall into several categories:

1. Sensed Presence

The bereaved person might strongly feels the deceased nearby.

Examples:

  • Feeling someone sit on the bed
  • Feeling watched or protected
  • A sudden emotional wave of the person’s presence

2. Visual Apparitions

The person briefly sees the deceased.

Features:

  • Often vivid and realistic
  • Usually short (seconds to minutes)
  • The figure may appear peaceful or younger.

3. Auditory Communications

Hearing the deceased’s voice.

Examples:

  • Hearing their name called
  • Hearing comforting words like “I’m okay.”

4. Dream Visitations

Very common ADC type.

Characteristics:

  • Extremely vivid dreams
  • Clear message or emotional closure
  • The deceased appears healthy and calm.

5. Tactile Experiences

Physical sensations such as:

  • A touch on the shoulder
  • Feeling a hug
  • Bed movement

6. Symbolic Signs

People interpret unusual events as communication.

Examples:

  • Objects moving
  • Electronics turning on
  • Meaningful coincidences.

3. How Common Are ADCs?

Some research might suggest they are surprisingly common.

Studies indicate:

  • Some of bereaved people report at least one ADC.
  • They occur across cultures, religions, and belief systems.
  • Many experiencers were not expecting them.

This is why grief researchers consider them a normal aspect of bereavement for many people.

4. Some Psychological Interpretation

In clinical psychology, ADCs could often interpreted as part of the grief adaptation process.

Possible explanations include:

  • Memory activation of the deceased
  • Dream processing
  • Emotional coping mechanisms
  • The brain maintaining a continuing bond with the loved one.

The model might argue that healthy grieving often includes maintaining an inner relationship with the deceased.

5. Parapsychological Interpretation

Some parapsychologists consider several possibilities:

  1. Survival Hypothesis
    The consciousness of the deceased survives death and communicates.
  2. Psi-Mediated Experience (Super-Psi)
    The living person unconsciously uses psi abilities (telepathy, clairvoyance) to create the experience.
  3. Living-Agent Psi Model
    The experience is produced by the mind of the experiencer rather than the deceased.

Some of these models are discussed in modern research organizations such as Parapsychological Association and the Society for Psychical Research.

6. Differences from Psychiatric Hallucinations

Some researchers emphasize that ADCs typically differ from pathological hallucinations.

Common differences:

ADCPsychiatric Hallucination
Usually comfortingOften distressing
Occurs during griefLinked to mental disorder
Rare and briefPersistent or frequent
Person retains insightOften loss of insight

Because of these differences, many psychologists view ADCs as non-pathological grief experiences.

 Key Point:
For some people, ADCs are not considered mental illness but a subjectively meaningful experience during bereavement.

Shervan K Shahhian