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Old Jul 15, 2007, 06:23 PM
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spiritual_emergency spiritual_emergency is offline
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Firebird: I have around 12 delusions... How do I deal with it? It is scary as hell! I don't like being paranoid. But for some reason it is getting worse as time goes on instead of better with medicine.

Sometimes I think delusions aren't delusions so much as they're a method of communication that isn't immediately apparent. For example, you provide two examples of being powerful enough to cause great harm to the natural world and people within it (#1 and #3.) I'm wondering if this power comes with a burden of responsibility -- for example, do you also feel that it's your fault that the world is in the state it is? Do you find yourself identifying with the state of suffering and pain in the world? Apparently this can be quite common in individuals going through psychosis.

I (personally) attribute it to a lack of ego barriers -- it can be difficult to figure out where you end or someone else begins during or in the aftermath of psychosis. As a result, there can be some confusion as to whose pain is whose, or whose thoughts belong to who. People can feel very vulnerable and open when they're in this kind of space. Sometimes they can be amazingly intuitive too! It might be helpful for you to know that. What you're feeling and experiencing right now might seem weird and unusual, but it's not so weird and unusual when it's placed within context. Other people going through experiences similar to yours have similar responses; within context, it's "normal under the circumstances". What can help is to restore the ego structure and the natural boundaries that come with it, but this takes time.

2. The aliens are after me. Can't figure out why though. I have their thoughts in my head and they tell me what to do all day long. Sometimes they tell me to "walk slow" or "go catatonic" but other times its far more dangerous like "jump in front of traffic" or "cut or kill yourself."

An "alien" is an "outsider" that has come "in" -- it can be compared to an invading force. Is it possible this is your mind's way of saying that you feel invaded and overwhelmed by this experience? A lot of people use metaphorical language to describe the experience of psychosis. This article might have some more insights for you: The Role of Metaphor

6. I am a psychologist- This one is a delusion and I only say this because I actually know more than some of the psychologists that I've been to and they admitted it!

Ha! That one doesn't count as a delusion because you know you're not really a psychologist -- it's more like you're cracking a joke and there's nothing wrong with a little humor. It's also a means of expressing that you believe you're intelligent. In other words, it's a means of expressing your sense of self-esteem.

12. There is also a personality who believes she's God.

Well... you know, a lot of religions tell us that we're part of something much larger whether they call it God, or the Tao or Buddha Mind or Christ Consciousness or something else. If you identify a part of yourself as being the equivalent of something divine and that's supposed to mean that you're delusional, you have to admit -- a lot of people share that delusion with you. Of course, the other possibility is maybe we do each have some divine aspect to our nature. Some form of religious experience is also a fairly common component of psychosis. Many people find this kind of "delusion" to actually be comforting or inspiring.

All of the above are just some different ways of examining what your "delusions" might actually be expressing about who you are and this experience you're going through. Some people don't like the idea of having "delusions" -- they want to make them go away. Other people find it helpful to explore them and find their meaning. You'll have to decide for yourself which method might work best for you.


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