Shanghai Arch Psychiatry. 2015 Apr 25;27(2):126-9. doi: 10.11919/j.issn.1002-0829.215011.

Case report of visual hallucinations in anxiety.

Ankur S1, Ankit S1, Manish K1.

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Park Street, New Delhi, India.

Abstract

Hallucinations rarely occur in individuals with anxiety disorders. This case report describes a 36-year-old male with Social Phobia and Agoraphobia with Panic Attacks who had prominent visual hallucinations that were both distressing and incapacitating.

....... The report underscores the fact that visual hallucinations are not always indicators of a psychotic disorder, they may be present across a spectrum of mental disorders.

In cases where hallucinations occur in nonpsychotic disorders, treatment of the underlying condition usually simultaneously resolves the associated hallucinations without the need to resort to the use of antipsychotic medication. Detailed analyses of such unusual cases can help improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of psychotic-like symptoms.

KEYWORDS:

India; anxiety disorders; case report; visual hallucinations

PMID:  26120264