To believe my DS when he says he's seeing things

[LifesTooShortForMatchingSocks]

DS has had issues this past year with dizzy spells and seeing shapes/figures.
We have had all the necessary checks, eye checks a CT scan and full referral to a paediatrician. He is still awaiting an MRI but all seems to be ok physically.
He says when he blinks he sometimes sees shapes or figures and when he blinks again they're gone. He's not mentioned it for a while but tonight he came in and said he had seen me laying down in the bath like a mummy like I was dead and when he blinked I was gone. He's only 5. Dh thinks I'm over reacting thinking there's something wrong and it's just his 'imagination'.
I feel worried sick.

No ideas, sorry but for you

Thank you blond

The mother of a friend of mine has been having dreadful hallucinations, has spent some time in hospital. In a (non clinical) nutshell, the problem does arise from a physical illness, there is retinal damage, amongst other things, which gives confusing messages to the brain, these are then mis-interpreted - but for Mum, it seems much worse than it actually is.
Hopefully the MRI scan will answer your questions, there will be a reason for this. Maybe physical, maybe imagination.

My son sometimes sees things. I told the Health Visitor all his symptoms (He's 4) and she referred to paediatrician and CAMHS. Still no answers but if there is some mental illness it can be treated,so the earlier it is discovered,the better.
Does it happen in the night? Apparently it is quite common for part of the brain not to "wake up" as quickly, so he will wake up but still be dreaming at the same time. I have had this before, woken up and seen one of the children or something, but then waved my hand at it or turned the light on and It's gone.
It is really worrying for a Mum but you are right to believe him and seek help. X x

Hi Jam. How did CAMHS go? Did they give you any idea of what could be going on? Mental health problems run in the family which is why I'm quite concerned. What kind of things does your ds see? Not at night no just now and again during the day completely at random.

Bumping for the morning crowd

YADNBU for believing him. I don’t think it’s a case of whether he’s telling the truth or not, just how he’s interpreting what’s going on with his eyes, or even, his mind’s eye. I can certainly see this as a plausible phenomenon, it’s just a case of finding out the cause. As with many eye/brain things (other than highly serious ones of course), sometimes lack of sleep and dehydration can have an effect. I can see things very clearly in my mind’s eye, and have very clear dreams - there was a good thread on here months ago about peoples visual memories - but when I’m exhausted and run down, things can cross over. Sometimes, if I’m absolutely shattered, I’ll start to sort of dream while awake. If I concentrate hard enough and cling onto it as it’s happening, then I can keep the two things going. Very rarely, but still! The point I guess I’m trying to make is, things that you’ve seen at some stage are perhaps able to be brought in front of you visually, and/or perhaps you can see things and have visions as if dreaming even when you aren’t. I’m the most sceptical person ever and I’ve seen ghosts, but would be totally prepared to believe that they are some sort of memory imprint or something. I strongly believe that your eyes can play tricks on you in many circumstances, and for a child of that age there’s a lot for the eyes and brain to take on and just as the imagination and sense of self is really developing too. I would continue with ruling out anything serious, and see if some sort of calming routine, more sleep etc has any impact. I can hallucinate if I lose a few hours sleep for a couple of days in a row, and my son gets terrible eye twitches if he goes to be late over the weekend or holidays.

Bed late*

Thank you WarOnPeace that is very interesting. He's going through quite a big shift of his dad coming him after working away for a really long time too so it could be a bit of a mix of over tiredness and the big change in his life/routine. Have got an upcoming MRI and have also contacted CAMHS for a bit of advice.

Coming home*