Imperative Hallucination

An imperative hallucination (also known as command hallucination) is a form of auditory or visual hallucination where the individual believes that they are being given specific instructions. These "commands" can range from the benign (a harmless action such as picking flowers) all the way to suicide or homicide. This is usually the mechanism in place when a schizophrenic person, or someone otherwise caught up in a psychotic episode, commits murder or suicide because the "voices" they are hearing in their head overwhelm them. This phenomenon, unfortunately, is little studied, possibly to the underreporting of these symptoms.