Khaberni - Psychotic disorders affect millions of people around the world, and hallucinations are one of the symptoms that can severely impact daily life, leading to isolation, psychological distress, and decreased quality of life.
A new Australian study has found an important link between exposure to sexual trauma and experiencing visual hallucinations in individuals with psychotic disorders.
Professor Susan Russell from Swinburne University, who participated in the study, says: “We all know that auditory hallucinations are most common among psychosis patients, and their association with trauma has been known for some time. What is new in our study is that visual hallucinations have specifically been linked to sexual trauma.”
What is most striking is that this link becomes stronger in individuals who have experienced repeated sexual trauma, whether in childhood or adulthood. These victims reported more severe and intense visual hallucination symptoms.
These findings raise important questions about how psychiatry handles psychosis patients. Traditional psychological assessments usually focus on childhood trauma and auditory hallucinations, but the current study indicates the need to broaden this focus to include traumas in adulthood and other types of hallucinations.
Professor Russell describes the findings as “encouraging but also thought-provoking.” She explains that they are encouraging because they open the door to more tailored treatments for patients, taking into account their personal history and the type of hallucinations they suffer from. And thought-provoking because they reveal how repeated traumas can leave deep scars that reflect in the form of complex psychological symptoms.
But the question remains open: Why are sexual traumas specifically linked to visual hallucinations and not other types? This is what research teams hope to discover through larger studies that include brain imaging and analysis of memory mechanisms and psychological divergence.
Professor Russell hopes these findings will inspire doctors to change their routine practices to include assessments of all types of hallucinations, not just auditory, and to consider trauma history across different life stages, not just in childhood. She adds: “I hope we can develop trauma-focused treatments specifically designed for visual symptoms. This could make a significant difference in the lives of people who feel desperate.”
