delusional disorder – DSM (Defeating Stigma Mindfully)

Your Mind’s Tricks Gone Psychotic

Your mind is not something that you want to turn against you; do not allow it to turn foe. From time to time, your mind will play tricks on you; it’s just what it does, don’t get mad at it. But when you don’t treat you mind right, it turns up the notch a little, increasing the frequency and intensity of its tricks and games. If you lose control of these tricks, starin’ through your rear view is something that you may very well end up doing.

These tricks can manifest in many ways, depending on your personality, way of thinking and viewing the world. When dots are connected when they shouldn’t be, you end up experiencing what is called a “delusion.” Delusions of people coming after you are not uncommon; you’re not the only one starin’ through the rear view.

When you start to believe that a van, truck or random vehicle is following you, then you know that your mind has officially trapped you. But has it? How can you tell the difference between someone actually following you or your mind just playing tricks on you? People who are delusional are convinced that someone is following them, despite the evidence proving otherwise.

No one can prove them otherwise; most of the time, not even a psychiatrist or family member. Even when no one comes out of the vehicle, a delusional person will still believe that the vehicle following them is someone in the government or someone from their past who wants to do them harm.

Actually being chased by your past is one thing, but being falsely chased by your past due to your delusions is a completely different ball game. The former is based on reality, while the latter is your mind’s tricks gone psychotic. What started as innocent play by your mind has turned into a mental mouse trap.

When stuck in this mental mouse trap, it becomes extremely difficult to escape it. How will a delusional person be convinced that the vehicles following him are just random cars not actually following him? In his mind, it’s not the actual vehicle that is part of the delusion, because the same vehicle never actually follows him in reality.

In his mind, it’s the “entity” associated with a certain vehicle that is following him. His mind has convinced him that at this certain time, on this certain day, the “entity” is following him. Today it can be a black Chevy Suburban; tomorrow it can be a red Chevy Cobalt. The vehicle is irrelevant; the “entity” is the manifestation of his mind’s tricks gone psychotic.

How long can a delusional person go on living like this? Could you? If he doesn’t seek help or somehow find a way to eliminate his mind’s tricks, then you better believe it that time becomes extremely limited. And when time becomes limited, well . . . what follows afterwards?

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)

Delusional Disorder Symptoms

Imagine being lost in the depths of an idea that you believe to be true, contrary to any evidence provided to you. No matter how many people tell you the opposite, you are not shaken; your belief persists. This is a delusion.

There are many types of delusions that people experience. It is not known what causes delusions, but they are often very difficult to break, like a glitch in a computer operating system. However, people with delusions often remain functional: they continue working, maintaining relationships and taking care of themselves.

Relationships can become affected when a delusion centers around a specific person. For instance, in erotomania, the delusional person believes that another individual (i.e., often of higher status, like a celebrity) is in love with them, despite having never met that higher status person. In the jealousy type of delusional disorder, a man or woman wholeheartedly believes that his or her spouse is sleeping with someone else, despite no evidence.

A person with a persecutory delusion may believe that someone is out to cause them harm. Paranoia does not always have to be present; the person may be functional and continue working without being delusional at work. But when he or she arrives home, they may start ruminating on their delusion. Persecutory delusions are the most common type experienced.

The difference between delusional disorder and other psychotic disorders is that the former does not greatly impact the person’s life; they often remain productive. On the other hand, schizophrenics have a higher likelihood of becoming nonfunctional due to the nature of their illness: auditory hallucinations, delusions and disorganized speech and behavior.

Delusions are the most difficult symptoms to treat in psychotic patients; auditory hallucinations can easily go away with antipsychotic medications, but delusions make up the structure of a patient’s reality. If the structure collapses, two possible scenarios emerge: the patient obtains a positive realization or becomes depressed when confronted with reality.

Always be careful when confronting someone’s delusion; violence is not uncommon when a delusional person feels threatened or offended. Always use your heart and be empathetic to anyone you talk to, delusional or not!

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)