I’m the only one here.
A silent movie, and a ticket for one.
When I say my reality is augmented,
what I mean is I have uninvited strangers in my house.
They leave without saying goodbye.
My sight is a phantom limb.
Twitching; it flexes its wasted muscles,
grasping at nothing.
Except maybe my imagination.
Charles Bonnet syndrome
Charles Bonnet syndrome develops when a person is losing or has lost their vision. Over time, the brain invents imagery because it no longer receives stimulation from the eyes. It is more common in people whose vision loss is affecting both eyes.
The hallucinations are visual and silent and consist of two main types.
Some people see repeated patterns, whereas others will experience more complex halucinations, including images of people, objects, and landscapes.
Often, the images are completely new and are not related to what people have seen or experienced in the past.
The hallucinations may improve with time on their own. Though in some cases, doctors prescribe medications used in Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and dementia to ease symptoms.
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I first encountered reading about this condition while at university, where I studied neuroscience and again when I read Oliver Sack’s book Hallucinations.