Flicka57

I'm the one still struggling to determine if the behavior of my ex was related to drinking and if it shows he had either an addiction or abuse of alcohol or if all the crazy making behavior was actually plotted out by him because he was emotionally abusive. So my question to all of you who have always been so great in answering my questions is: On several occasions he would tell me he would wake up in the middle of the night and see ghosts walking through the hallway outside the bedroom door & describe them yet he knew they were not real. Is this common? I read that when an alcoholic goes long periods of withdrawal they can hallucinate. Can just going 8 hours during sleep cause a withdrawal that would have brought this on? Just curious if anyone else saw this.

soberhawk

I do not think it is common – but I think it is very individual how people react.

Did the ghosts make him abusive?

GracieLou

Yes. People can have hallucinations from alcohol. I have never had them but I have read on this board about people having them.

amy55

Guess it could be. I don't want to give a definite answer here, I am not a doctor. My ex did many weird things. I questioned his mental health. I was convinced he had bi polar. I don't know if I was right or wrong. He is my ex now. You stated that he was abusive, does it really matter why? That was what I had to give up, the trying to find out why. It didn't matter. He wasn't about to do anything about that. I tried to give excuses to his behavior for over 25 years. But, it just didn't matter. He was an alcoholic, he was abusive. 2 different issues. Whether or not he also had a mental illness, didn't matter. He wasn't going to get help. That was all that mattered.

MattyBoy

He could've developed alcoholic hallucinosis. Also hallucinations from withdrawal or DTs are usually more pronounced at night. If he's not having these hallucinations during the day time and he is aware that they are not real, then I would suspect they could be withdrawal related. Speak to a doc if concerned though..

funkynassau

The alkie in my life told me he could make himself invisible! No I didnt believe him. He said he'd become invisible and sit somewhere quietly while people went about their routines and chores. I think alcohol has addled this guy's brain.

digdug

I have had hallucinations from withdrawal/DTs. They started about 10 hours after last consumption. They were during the day.

Everyone is different. Though active alcoholics do lie and exaggerate.

Flicka57

Wow, thank you all for your great answers but I guess only the A himself knows if they were from withdrawal or made up lies. I just ask these questions because I still do not know if my ex was addicted and if not maybe I should stop reading and posting here because I surely don't want to respond to someone and perhaps give them my version which may be wrong if I was not dealing with an A. But you have all been so patient and great about giving me your experiences & I thank you all again.

Sunshine888

My AH has hallucinations when he goes through withdrawals/DTs. However, he never ever remembers it. If I hadn't witnessed it myself, he would have never known it had happened. He actually thinks that I made it up. Whenever he has hallucinations, he believes that he is just sleeping. It is actually quite scary to witness and has led to him seizing on more than one occasion.

GoingAlone2

Could he have had another mental illness like schizophrenia? Many people drink to try to self medicate undiagnosed mental illnesses.

amy55

Flicka. Do you feel comfortable posting here? Tell you the truth for a while there I didn't. I really wasn't sure if my ex was an A or not. Still don't know for sure, but what I found here was that people are here to help, they understand, and they will be with you.

I know with me, I can't really give that much ESH with alcoholism, I know I can do a lot better with the abuse part of it. I didn't leave my ex because of alcoholism, I left because of the abuse.

Need to say, I have always felt very welcomed here. I for one, really do appreciate your posts.

Hammer

That was where I was going to go on this, too.

Flicka57

To Amy55: Yes, sometimes I feel awkward posting because I did not go through some of the horrendous drinking issues that so many here have & I feel out of place. I guess because of that I am searching for the answers because I have had 2 marriages and both men were abusive and during the marriage both cheated and both moved on with the other woman and never did one item of abuse to them so I thought it could be related to the drinking of the alcohol and they stopped. Otherwise then I have to blame myself. Both times it was emotional abuse and making up horrendous lies about me. The last one with his sister purposely spread a lie about me at my place of employment where I have worked 16 years and it almost cost me my job until they finally realized it was a rumor. So I am struggling to figure out what in holy name I do that causes so many in my life to do this to me & the last one I thought was alcohol but not so sure. But thank you for letting me know that I'm still welcome to post.

meback

XAB told me how he had found his jewellery box opened and was convinced that he hadn't opened it but it must have been a ghost or an alien...... ??????

ladyscribbler

Maybe another mental illness, but honestly it sounds like alkie bs to me. My mom suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and a big feature of that illness is the inability to distinguish their hallucinations (whether visual, auditory, olfactory or sensory) from reality. If he knew the 'ghosts' weren't real chances are he isn't schizophrenic.

soberhawk

I do agree, I do not know what it is - but I doubt schizophrenia .

jacrazz

One evening i was studying for my final exam and all of a sudden my XABF get up said "ill be right back" and left. then after an hour i got a call from him (he was back home 45 minutes away) saying that i mumbled "you disgust me" under my breath, so he left! All i was doing was studying and saying nothing!! Im still scratching my head over that one, although i have read that they do hear things....Is it true? I'm curious to hear anyone have this happen to them?

dixiecup

We used to live with roommates and supposedly one of the roommates had a ghost. My AH was drinking one night then out of nowhere he starts yelling at someone who wasn't there. He started saying yeah I can see you f***** and all this other stuff. He tells me to go in our room so I wouldn't get hurt. It was a scary experience. Another time not too recently I get a call at work from him saying there was something in the bathroom and our animals were scared to go pass the bathroom. He ends up hitting the bathroom door with a broom and puts holes in it. That same day I get another phone call and he was crying asking if I was okay. He said he had this dream that I was on a bus and someone killed me so he called the cops. I told him to calm down and that I was at work and I was okay. It was really scary because he actually thought it happened.

meback

Dixiecup,that sounds awful. Maybe he should go see a doctor. Take care!!!!!!