4 ms·

I agree. I'm not sure some people understand the distinction. Hallucinations are really just the input, in this case a faulty input. Delusions are faulty conclu

I agree. I'm not sure some people understand the distinction. Hallucinations are really just the input, in this case a faulty input. Delusions are faulty conclusions. You can have delusions without hallucinations, and hallucinations can come without delusions.

hosh 8y ago
Yup. And the scary thing about delusions is that often times, people under delusions are not aware of them. I'm trying to recall this long article someone wrote. Her mother had moved her and her family to Canada for witness protection. It turned out though, the mother was under the influence of someone who was deluded into thinking they were out to get her. It took years before the author came across evidence to the contrary. Her father and her aunts were not dead after all. At which point, the person who was deluded said, oh, that's cause they had been replaced by clones. I make a distinction here in that, I think the mother here was herself not delusional. She was influenced, and perhaps, could herself reason herself away from it given time. The person who was delusional, however, will continue to generate new explanations to fit the evidence around that delusion ... and is probably not even aware of it. According to the author, he was otherwise rational in everything else but his delusion.
- eponeponepon 8y ago
  I think this is the story you were after: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-42951788 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-42951788 (apologies if that's one of the BBC's randomly unavailable-outside-the-UK pages...)
  - hosh 8y ago
    That's the one!
- dsego 8y ago
  I have a family member currently hospitalized again. It's very amusing to observe (and really really frustrating). He explains how he is the messiah, but that he pretends to only have the messianic complex to the shrink. No amount of reasoning can change his mind. We have to wait for the anti-psychotics to kick in.
  - hosh 8y ago
    Do you think anti-psychotics actually help with delusions? (I don't know if they do or do not so I am curious to know).
    - dsego 8y ago
      Yes, they do. I've witnessed it two times so far. It takes time (weeks to months) but the delusions start slowly dissipating and the person gets less and less convinced and they slowly return back to reality. You can also notice how they start thinking more clearly and speech gets more structured and coherent.
      - dsego 8y ago
        Not anymore. This time he's not coming back, the meds aren't working anymore...
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  > often times, people under delusions are not aware of them Isn't that the required quality for it to be a delusion? The moment you realise that a thought or a perception is a delusion, it is no longer one. Also, this is the story you're thinking of: https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42951788 https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42951788
  - hosh 8y ago
    That sounds reasonable. What would you call persistent beliefs that you know are erroneous, and yet you cannot somehow shake?
    - toomanybeersies 8y ago
      I guess I'd call that cognitive dissonance.

hosh 8y ago

Yup. And the scary thing about delusions is that often times, people under delusions are not aware of them. I'm trying to recall this long article someone wrote. Her mother had moved her and her family to Canada for witness protection. It turned out though, the mother was under the influence of someone who was deluded into thinking they were out to get her. It took years before the author came across evidence to the contrary. Her father and her aunts were not dead after all. At which point, the person who was deluded said, oh, that's cause they had been replaced by clones. I make a distinction here in that, I think the mother here was herself not delusional. She was influenced, and perhaps, could herself reason herself away from it given time. The person who was delusional, however, will continue to generate new explanations to fit the evidence around that delusion ... and is probably not even aware of it. According to the author, he was otherwise rational in everything else but his delusion.

eponeponepon 8y ago
I think this is the story you were after: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-42951788 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-42951788 (apologies if that's one of the BBC's randomly unavailable-outside-the-UK pages...)
- hosh 8y ago
  That's the one!
dsego 8y ago
I have a family member currently hospitalized again. It's very amusing to observe (and really really frustrating). He explains how he is the messiah, but that he pretends to only have the messianic complex to the shrink. No amount of reasoning can change his mind. We have to wait for the anti-psychotics to kick in.
- hosh 8y ago
  Do you think anti-psychotics actually help with delusions? (I don't know if they do or do not so I am curious to know).
  - dsego 8y ago
    Yes, they do. I've witnessed it two times so far. It takes time (weeks to months) but the delusions start slowly dissipating and the person gets less and less convinced and they slowly return back to reality. You can also notice how they start thinking more clearly and speech gets more structured and coherent.
    - dsego 8y ago
      Not anymore. This time he's not coming back, the meds aren't working anymore...
toomanybeersies 8y ago
> often times, people under delusions are not aware of them Isn't that the required quality for it to be a delusion? The moment you realise that a thought or a perception is a delusion, it is no longer one. Also, this is the story you're thinking of: https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42951788 https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-42951788
- hosh 8y ago
  That sounds reasonable. What would you call persistent beliefs that you know are erroneous, and yet you cannot somehow shake?
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    I guess I'd call that cognitive dissonance.