Auditory hallucinations during meditation

[ulab]

Hi All,

I started meditating some 6 months back when I had severe insomnia due to obsessive thought (I used to take 3 pills to get sleep before ). After my constant effort in meditation I was able to drop 2 pills and was able to control my thoughts (80 % I would say). Due to side effects my doctor asked me stop last pill as well which was anti psychotic.

It's been a month since I stopped it. To cope up with insomnia I increased my meditation time (3 to 5 hours). My observation is any day if meditate for more than 20 mins that day sleep went bad. And recently I started hallucinating but only when iam about to enter into deep state.

Last night was pretty bad and rough.. hallucinations like someone taking loud.. Lady laughing loud.. Crying etc kind of hallucinations. Just wondering if it was due to my meditation..I did 4 hours of meditation day before and 4 hours yesterday.. Did I over do it.. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Thanisaro85]

To be clear, you had insomnia prior to meditation right?

Are you taking any other medicine beside sleeping pill?

[ulab]

Hi Thanisaro85,

first of all thanks

after stopping my medication initially i used to get some sleep for 2 to 3 hours on daily basis and then i used to take trazadone 12.5(very small dosage of  anti depressant) to get some more sleep..some time in july when i had similar situation i did 6 to 8 hours of meditation for 4 days  which worked well and  since then i was following regular schedule for 1 to 2 hours of meditation daily(may be 3 to 4 hours at times)

to give you better picture -- i spent some 370 hours in meditation since June(avg 50 hours permonth)so i tried the same again.


i observed these hallucinations for the past one week after increasing my meditation time and iam not even getting those 3 hours initial sleep now .to your question yes iam using anti depressant (trazadone 12.5/25)

need to add bit more to the story-- i had episodes of anxiety as well but meditation helped me tremendously with those,severe anxiety would calm down after 30 mins of meditation\observation-- i thought those were due to withdrawal ..

thanks

[dharma bum]

Hi Ulab, does your doctor have some experience in meditation? I'm just wondering if this requires advice from a professional.

[ulab]

It was my psychiatrist who asked me drop it..he was the one who prescribed this some 3 years back.

[Thanisaro85]

Hi Thanisaro85,





i observed these hallucinations for the past one week after increasing my meditation time and iam not even getting those 3 hours initial sleep now .to your question yes iam using anti depressant (trazadone 12.5/25)

need to add bit more to the story-- i had episodes of anxiety as well but meditation helped me tremendously with those,severe anxiety would calm down after 30 mins of meditation\observation-- i thought those were due to withdrawal ..

thanks

Thanks for the details as i had suspected other medication may had caused the hallucination parts. I had some of these medicines for anxiety and depression before(very short period as the effect is quite scary for myself).

I am not sure how serious is your condition but as an adult( with understanding of yourself), do you think you can slowly taper them and practice meditation without using them? My concerns is the medicine can interfere with your meditation as it give false impression of your tranquility. Dont throw them away, just keep it safely and only use it if you think you cant handle the mental roller coastal any further?

Noted on your duration of meditation practices. Your discipline is admirable. Keep it that way.

Everyone is different and can experiences different thing in meditation, but in your case you had experienced hallucinations i hope to see that the medicines is the culprit, so that if we removed it you can have better practises to achieve the real peace of mind.

Please be very careful regarding my suggestions, you need to access your situation if you could do away the medications. Always Do some simple stretching exercise like yoga to allow good blood circulations for a healthier body.

[ulab]

@Thanisaro85-- thanks for your suggestions.

i started these medications only after dropping my last pill.i bought these for the worst case scenario.Last two days i had full blown anxiety and obsessive thoughts(new year and great start .. ).

i had to take anxiety medication which resolved my hallucinations  and looks like hallucinations are from withdrawal .

Will see if i can use that medication and continue my meditation. i was told that i may get into anxiety trap due to withdrawal i was thinking that i would not need anxiety medication because of mediation practice and i was wrong.i think i may take a while to get out of the withdrawal symptoms

[Thanisaro85]

Since i have not much in depth knowledges on those medicine except some dreadful experiences myself. I shall refrain from advising further.

But just to let you know that there is this vitamin call "inositol" that are quite good for anxiety purpose,  you may want to look into it too, but do note there is some bad effect like stomach bloating and diahrrea if overdose. But still it is much safer for long term consumption.

May you met benefactors from all directions to help you effectively to overcome all illness.

May you free from mental and physically suffering.

Mangala sutta

Phutthassa loka-dhammehi cittam yassa na kampati.
Asokam virajam khemam etam mangalamuttamam.

A mind unshaken when touched by the ways of the world, sorrowless,  dustless ,secure: this is the highest good blessing.

May you have that!

[ulab]

Thakyou so much.. will try inositol .. Is it like just any brand will work?

[Thanisaro85]

Thakyou so much.. will try inositol .. Is it like just any brand will work?

I believe any brand will work, just remember to get those powder form, those that are not mix with other vitamin. Look up Myo inositol powder. And top 10 inositol, it should give you some idea which brand to take.

Note that even vitamins, if taken in excess, can caused problem, more like allergy, bloated stomach and diahrrea.
So pls administer with Patience and care. Note that excessive diahrrea will cause one to be more anxious due to leaking of important minerals from the body, so dont let that happened if possible.

I took 4g for 1st dose, then 1g daily. Anytimes i find myself having diahrrea. I stopped for days till it recover.

Moderators pls delete this thread if it is against the regulation of the forum.

[dharma bum]

Please forgive me if I'm saying something wrong. Please consult your doctor when you change medications because they might have side-effects or conflicts with other medication.

[raushan]

dharma bum is saying correct. Yes, Doctor knows you best. Before doing anything regarding the medication you should consult your doctor. You should tell him that you are planning to do that. You want to leave the medication and try meditation. That will safe for you.


Regards
Raushan

[mobius]

I always hallucinate (visually or auditory) to a certain degree before I go to bed. However this did not start with my meditation, I now realize, I just became more aware of it since (as I've slowly become more aware of a lot of things). I think it happens to many people.

(excuse me as somehow I got rambling on this)

When I read people meditating for longer than 2 hours a day a few questions can't help but rise in my mind:

-What kind of life/job (or lack of job) allows you to have that much free time?
-Why meditate for that long? Aren't there other things in your life (hobbies, responsibilities) you want to attend to? If that's what you want; or enjoy then fine; go for it. But if it's causing problems I say it's too much.

While I now enjoy meditation and I miss it if I ever go a day without doing so, I don't desire to meditate for longer than 20 minutes.
I say this because when I started I was meditating for 20 minutes or longer and when I did this for a few weeks I got into a lot of trouble. I was always feeling like I was entering another dimension, had sleeping problems, severe headaches, hallucinations and anxiety. Now that I don't meditate in that way for that long I feel much better.

Most professionals whether doctoral or religious, I read in regards to this recommend meditating for just 5-15 minutes a day, at least to start. I've been doing just that for many months now and am getting into a pretty good feeling routine but also feel like I'm making progress (albeit slowly, that's fine for me) Progress to what? I don't know yet; but I'm sure I'll know more one day

I look at meditation as a way of improving my life; my mind is the vehicle that traverses this life. Life is the experience to be experienced and enjoy. Reading, learning, art, music, games, sport, relationships etc. If some people want to do nothing but meditate all day long; that's fine, but it's not for me. Sure I'd also love to explore the secrets of this universe but not if it costs me my health.

At least in my experience meditation seems to be similar to drugs in that;
-it can create lasting effects, both when done and when/after quiting.
-the amount, type and duration matters a lot.
-setting/surroundings are important
-your present circumstances (both outside and inside your mind) effect it greatly.

I've also had experience with relatives (not myself) who've struggled for years with regulating their medication and had far worse problems than mine in regards to meditation. So if I had to guess (like the other said I'm no doctor so listen to your doctor first), but I'd say medication is likely causing you problems whether it's not enough, too much or the wrong kind.

It's similar with meditation; different types lead to different results (do you close your eyes or keep them open? etc)

One last question that is rather personal so you don't need to answer it, but it is something to think about;
Is your anxiety a mental problem; or is it caused by your life? In other words 'righteous anxiety'? What I mean by that is; for example if someone's job is extremely stressful this naturally causes anxiety. And the best solution to this problem is not medication or meditation; but to get a different job. If that's not possible then obviously you must deal with it and these other solutions are necessary.
This is a complicated issue and could be discussed for hours. But I've noticed in my short lifetime that the amount of anxiety seems to be ever increasing in my society (America) and in large part seems to be due to people living in ever increasingly poor living conditions. (Demanding jobs, lack of sleep, side effects of chemicals in meds and food; over reacting to problems, the list goes on). DESPITE the fact that actual opportunities have improved (technology, communication, people's emotional capacity, laws and rights etc.)

[dharma bum]

When I meditate, the first 20 minutes are hard, the next 20 minutes are easier, but 45-50 minutes is the optimum. After that, I start looking for my watch. I wish I could meditate once in the morning and once at night, but I have never managed to do it outside of a retreat. I can do it twice in succession if I'm on a bus or train and I have nothing else to do.

Many people manage to meditate for more than 2 hours. I'm not sure there can be harm in it if you can do it. I wish I could meditate for 2 hours during normal life.

You should be guided by your own experience though. What do I know?!