False Dreaming

The patient will experience bouts of acute audio-visual hallucinations which can last from seconds to several minutes in extreme cases.

— Syndromes

False dreaming is a condition strongly linked with sleep-deprivation drugs that is known to cause vivid audio-visual hallucinations.

Transmission & Vectors

"You really have nobody to blame for this but yourself."

— Zāmān Aduyūh upon treating an unruly patient

Patients afflicted with false dreaming are not able to pass the condition on to others.

Causes

The condition is thought to be caused by prolonged ingestion of Glory Dust and other mind-altering drugs which cause impaired sleep. Doctors believe that the mind is forcing the body to 'make up' for the missed dreams from when the patient was kept awake from the drug, but this theory does not account for the fact that those who suffer from natural insomnia or go extended periods of sleep without the aid of drugs do not suffer the condition.

Symptoms

False Dreamers will experience audio and visual hallucinations during their waking life which the patient may be unable to distinguish from reality. This leads many to diagnose the patients as insane and many are confined to asylums where isolation can lead them to become further divorced from reality, becoming reduced to drooling fools.

Treatment

In the early stages of the condition, patients can be treated by keeping the instigating drugs out of their system and enforcing bed rest of at least 9 hours a night. Many doctors also recommend the patient refrain from strenuous physical activity and take frequent naps as to allow the dreams to work their way out of the mind.

Prevention

Avoiding drugs which keep the consumer from sleeping properly seems to be the only sure-fire way of preventing false dreaming.

Type

Mental

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Uncommon

Affected Species

• Elf
• Human