[gina_re]

How would you explain these? Do they always have to be grandiose, or can they be more of a distortion of reality?

[st0psign]

I've had cotard delusions before where you think you're dead. that was a pretty dark mixed state moment

[cmorales]

I have a long history of mostly paranoid delusions (thought broadcasting, people going through my trash to steal my ideas, government stealing my hair from the barber shop, space aliens coming for me in my sleep, etc.). The only time I can remember having a grandiose delusion is when I thought I could predict the future and would stay up nights writing my predictions down. I seriously thought I would be the next Nostradamus, lol. So, no, they don't have to be grandiose.

I don't know if these count as "delusions", but there was one time I was convinced that everybody hated me. I thought every person I knew and every person I saw on the street was talking about me behind my back. I thought they were all making fun of me or saying how disgusted they were with me. At the same time, I thought everyone was conspiring against me -- like, they were all out to get me. I thought they were talking behind my back to make secret plans to do something to me, but I didn't know what that "something" was. My goal was then to figure out what they were going to do to me.

[leejt1986]

my delusions were paranoia, convinced everyone was going to hurt me.

[GoldenSnitch]

Mine have also been pretty much exclusively paranoid. I had them for many years without realizing that something was wrong with me it was really scary.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Victoria'smom]

Mine are paranoid.

[gina_re]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

I don't know if these count as "delusions", but there was one time I was convinced that everybody hated me. I thought every person I knew and every person I saw on the street was talking about me behind my back. I thought they were all making fun of me or saying how disgusted they were with me. At the same time, I thought everyone was conspiring against me -- like, they were all out to get me. I thought they were talking behind my back to make secret plans to do something to me, but I didn't know what that "something" was. My goal was then to figure out what they were going to do to me.

See, this is what I am leaning towards and I'm not quite sure if this is delusional. I stopped talking to everyone for no real reason. The only reason I keep my phone on right now is because my sister is due within the next week, and I wanna be there to see my new nephew. But people have stopped texting me or talking to me and I feel like I can longer trust them because they hate me or they are trying to plot something against me. I just feel like I can not trust anyone and I would rather be alone. Especially my neighbor on the other side of my cubicle at work. I seriously think every time he gets up to go somewhere he is looking at me and what I am doing to plot something against me or tell my boss I'm just playing around while I'm here. My cubicle is also in a high traffic area and so many people walk behind me, and the copier is behind me. I think everybody is looking over my shoulder to see what I'm doing and I get paranoid. When I hear footsteps I close windows and become nervous that they're going to tell my supervisor something. The test will be tomorrow when more people will be in the office and how I will react. I'm fine with emails, but I'm scared. I set my messenger to away because I don't want anyone to message me, but that it still shows that I am online. My anxiety has been really high over the past couple days I'm thinking its because of this.

Originally Posted by gina_re

See, this is what I am leaning towards and I'm not quite sure if this is delusional. I stopped talking to everyone for no real reason. The only reason I keep my phone on right now is because my sister is due within the next week, and I wanna be there to see my new nephew. But people have stopped texting me or talking to me and I feel like I can longer trust them because they hate me or they are trying to plot something against me. I just feel like I can not trust anyone and I would rather be alone. Especially my neighbor on the other side of my cubicle at work. I seriously think every time he gets up to go somewhere he is looking at me and what I am doing to plot something against me or tell my boss I'm just playing around while I'm here. My cubicle is also in a high traffic area and so many people walk behind me, and the copier is behind me. I think everybody is looking over my shoulder to see what I'm doing and I get paranoid. When I hear footsteps I close windows and become nervous that they're going to tell my supervisor something. The test will be tomorrow when more people will be in the office and how I will react. I'm fine with emails, but I'm scared. I set my messenger to away because I don't want anyone to message me, but that it still shows that I am online. My anxiety has been really high over the past couple days I'm thinking its because of this.

It's interesting. By definition, you have to be delusional in order to be paranoid: Paranoia | Define Paranoia at Dictionary.com

That means you're automatically delusional if you're paranoid. So, the phrase "paranoid delusions" doesn't make much sense when you think about it. I think psychiatry should have better word choices.

Personally, I think "paranoid delusions" is used to refer to severe cases of paranoia. For example, the government is out to get you because you have secret, dangerous information about President Obama that could be used by terrorists.

By contrast, "mild" paranoia may manifest itself as "everybody at work hates me and they're trying to sabotage my career". Regular anxiety would just be "I'm afraid everyone at work hates me."

In my opinion, paranoia exists on a spectrum. There's no black-and-white definition of "mild", "moderate", and "severe" paranoia, and it's not clear what is actually meant by "paranoid delusions".

Personally, I would say you're paranoid at the very least. It's definitely not anxiety because regular anxiety is usually logical. For example, "I'm afraid my best friend hates me because I accidentally tripped over her dog yesterday". That's very logical. But this is not logical: "I'm afraid my best friend hates me because I'm Michael Jackson's reincarnation and she hates Michael Jackson."

paranoia and grandiosity. It does not matter if I am depressed or hypo/manic to experience the paranoia but I have significant feelings of grandiosity when manic. I usually an convinced I am world class adventurer.

[Miss Laura]

Mine are paranoid....

I thought the police had bugged me and everywhere I went as I thought I had special hidden messages information that they wanted.

Or

My meds were tampered with even though they were still in the packet. I was adamant that they had been injected by something

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

[Anrea]

I think I have been delusional so much in my life that its incorporated into my belief system. I still believe I am not delusional but tapped in. But it effects my life without meds because meds stifle it, and meds help me sleep more. I can't control when I get messages without meds.

Psychic, move clouds, animals - bugs trying to talk to me in, messages from radio/tv/colors, controlling peoples thoughts - emotions, having magic powers, being effected by others more powerful, having spells put on me, being telepathic, clouds giving me messages.

Edit addition: not really part of my delusion, just emotions, but I get way grandiose/self important/ contact congress/Presidents/Daili lama/Doctors/family/ bosses to share insights that are not in my area of responsibility.

[Icare dixit]

Epiphanies start them. The more you fear disbelief, the more you rationalise. They crystallise. Some are dispelled, some can't be.

All have truths stronger, truer, than what is commonly believed. Complete fiction can be truer than (commonly) perceived reality.

It's just rationality, creativity, intuition and belief. The more creative you are, the longer they might last.

Doubting everything helps. Seeing everything as delusional.

Not doubting everything and not being comfortable changing the foundations of your belief system and fear of losing firm ground can lead to more bizarre delusions.

Disorganised schizophrenics or schizomanics are experts at it, I believe. We are willing to, we don't generally fear, changing, "disorganising", very basic assumptions. Much like scientists. Many of us are amateur scientists. It's no coincidence I am.

Mistakes in rationalisations are made. The most common erroneous basic assumption is displacement, sometimes something I call Id-Ego or subconscious-conscious displacement: thinking that some people know what they're doing. They don't. All rationalisations based on those assumptions are of course wrong.

Grandiosity/self-importance is due to people not seeing the truth that you see, I believe, disregarding mistakes in rationality and expression, that leads one to think one is purposely mislead, so it must be important to further expose or use the truth(s).

All of this is delusional: reasoned backwards.

Everyone reasons backwards. Most just aren't enough in touch with their emotions, intuitions, to have many epiphanies.

This is basically how it works. I trust my delusions, strong beliefs.

[Icare dixit]

Persecutory delusions are just a continuation of grandiosity: you are important enough (for your life) to be threatened.

[Icare dixit]

No-one likes to be wrong: kill her/him!

Happened to Jesus, Galilei, Socrates, and many more. Isn't so far-fetched.

If you can first correctly rationalise and verbalise it. Only then might you be in real danger.

Otherwise you are just locked up and put on dumbifiers, antipsychotics.

Life has improved for those that disprove.

Edit:
Just wanted to add that I'd suggest people do take antipsychotics to function. Just know that they shouldn't be necessary. But, alas, so much shouldn't be but is.

Another edit:
John Lennon. Sadly ironically killed by someone who was delusional. Delusions can be dangerous. Ignoring them might be best, in some cases. Doubting them is better still, I think. Ignoring those that have them is something I can understand, but I'd love an explanation.

[Nammu]

It's hard to explain when I'm not having it..but I exist in two periods of time simultaneously. I can walk on third floor of a building and at the same time see what the area looked like a 100 years before it was ever built. I'm walking on air looking down at grass and animals below my feet.

I also get paranoid types where I'm convinced that businesses are poisoning all of us.

[Icare dixit]

Originally Posted by Nammu

It's hard to explain when I'm not having it..but I exist in two periods of time simultaneously. I can walk on third floor of a building and at the same time see what the area looked like a 100 years before it was ever built. I'm walking on air looking down at grass and animals below my feet.

I also get paranoid types where I'm convinced that businesses are poisoning all of us.

Interesting! Are they just delusions, hallucinations and delusions or dissociations, hallucinations and delusions? Are they frightening or peaceful (not the paranoid ones, obviously)? Are they caused by anxiety and do they lessen anxiety?