Example of qualitative responses by survey item
| Survey item | Quote description (sex and age range) |
| Have you accessed any support services to help cope with hallucinations during lockdown? | ‘I contacted my GP, I’m now on a waiting list for counselling.’ (Female, 30s) |
| Has there been any change in your feelings of loneliness during lockdown? | ‘I’ve never felt as alone as what I have been feeling during lockdown.’ (Female, 70s) ‘I have found it difficult to talk to family members about the increased hallucinations as not to worry or upset them. I have found I have had to deal with the increased intensity alone.’ (Female, 30s) |
| Has there been a change in your emotional response to the hallucinations during lockdown? | ‘I am now becoming more agitated about seeing them.’ (Male, 80s) ‘I’m more angry with them recently.' (Female, 80s) ‘I have more anxiety about them. The food hallucinations are very disturbing.' (Female, 80s) |
| Has the nature of your hallucinations changed during lockdown? | ‘The hallucinations have become more real and I now argue with my wife that what I see is authentic. I feel I am living in a different house and the people I see are everywhere.’ (Male, 70s) ‘The intensity of the colours and bright lights happens more often, and I see more frightening zombie like faces with blood dripping from the eyes, although all caricature.’ (Female, 30s) ‘They’ve become much more vivid and intense, and they are bigger and move more than before. They are 10× worse and have introduced more abnormal features including people with two heads.’ (Female, 80s) |
| Has the frequency of your hallucinations increased during lockdown? | ‘They used to be 1–2 times a month, they’re now 3–4 days a week.’ (Male, 50s) ‘I’ve found during lockdown my CBS has been around 4 to 5 times per week, when previously it was around 2 to 3 times per week.’ (Male, 30s) |
| Do you think watching and reading the news during lockdown has impacted your hallucinations? | ‘I cut down the amount of times I would tune into the news because in my experience it creates anxiety which triggers more frequent hallucinations.’ (Female, 70s) ‘The news reports over the past months have been stressful and depressing; they’ve caused me significant stress which could correlate with the more frequent than usual hallucinations.' (Male, 30s) |
| Do you think reduced accessibility of healthcare during lockdown has impacted your hallucinations? | ‘I have feelings of anxiety regarding whether or not I will get my injection appointment on time to prevent further damage to my eye.’ (Female, 80s) |
| Do you think reduced ability to engage in physical exercise during lockdown has impacted your hallucinations? | ‘I’m spending more time just sitting, which is when more hallucinations occur.’ (Male, 70s) ‘I’m used to a busy lifestyle. Some days I’m out for up to 12 hours. I think all of a sudden being told to stay at home and only leaving the house for limited reasons played a big factor in more frequent CBS experiences.’ (Male, 30s) |
CBS, Charles Bonnet syndrome; GP, general practitioner.