Accidental Cult Starting

DX'd - Other
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…so…during this major psychotic episode that I am still in the process of recovering from. I managed to convince a number of individuals that my delusions were reality. I was just sharing my experience. Some people started to actually view me as a goddess incarnated because of that. This of course turned into a negative feedback loop because these people supported and validated my delusions (not maliciously but because they were pulled in by them as well), it continued to perpetuate my psychosis.

One person ended up gathering a group of people who want to form a community around worshipping me. Another person I know and deeply care for thinks he is a god too now. In other words. I accidentally/unintentionally started a small cult following while sick :sob: ever since I pulled a close friend into my delusions in high school I was very worried of that happening. Me accidentally starting a cult while psychotic. And sure enough it happened.

Now that I am starting to come out of my psychosis, I have NO idea what to tell these people who now think I am a goddess or they are gods or various other spirits. I feel mortified. I feel ashamed to have led them astray. I thought I was sharing real truth with people I really cared about. But I was really just sucking them all into my delusions.

…how do I go about disbanding my little cult? :sad_but_relieved_face: I was already open with all of them that I had been diagnosed with schizoaffective and all that. I just believed I was mentally ill and a goddess at the time and they believed the same. I have no idea what to say to them. No really it was all psychosis? What a bizarre problem to have. I feel absolutely horribly embarassed.

Does anyone have any ideas for how I can avoid doing such a thing again in the future?? I guess I can just do my best to stay on my meds and stay stable.

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Wouldn’t bother. If you hadn’t triggered them then something else would have. Just let them sort it out themselves. You trying to fix this just puts you at further risk.

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I was considering just disappearing. I didn’t know if that would be ethical. But you’re right some of them I don’t even know if they will believe me if I tell them it was just my psychosis. :disappointed_face:

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That’s odd… “Accidental cult starting” is trending on Google…

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LMAO :joy: you know I was just wondering if anyone else has had this problem while sick

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I’m with @shutterbug on this one. Like, you might be able to make one blanket post about how it was just a delusion, but then just walk away/ghost. If you stick around and try to explain, they’ll probably just try to convince you that you were right all along. Because if you’re wrong, that means they’re wrong too, about a thing that has become fundamentally important to them. People don’t easily believe/admit to believing that.

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This was actually very helpful advice, thank you. I will do just that.

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I’m with @shutterbug and @Ninjastar

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I would just be honest and tell them; you’ve discovered you’re not a goddess after all.

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