I’ve been seeing things again, and the delusions are back. Despite being on abilify for 8 months. I think it’s starting to wear off.
My pdoc recognizes my psychosis but I don’t have a diagnosis of anything except Bipolar I. I know bipolar can cause hallucinations but my mania is currently very well managed with meds and effort… so I’m just stumped as to what could be causing it? I’m not asking for a diagnosis as I know none of you can or will do that based off of an internet post. I’m just asking for some brainstorming, things to maybe present to my pdoc when I see them next week?
Kind of random question if you don’t mind me asking- are your delusions at all about fake entities trying to pass themselves off as real ones? Is there an aspect of control somewhere in there, like a bigger/faceless entity trying to exert control or dominance over a more innocent or simpler person/thing?
No, I don’t think so haha. My delusions revolve around me being something more than human, or being the only human, which conflicts I know… But delusions don’t make sense haha! Thanks for responding.
Thanks for replying. So like you are super human? What happened to the other people?
Sorry for all the questions, please feel free to ignore. My wife recently developed sz and has several control type delusions but then again she also had an “unusual” introduction to the concept of control/domination as a child. I suspect they are related, however I’m by no means an expert so just trying to see if anyone else has similar themes in their thoughts.
Nono you’re fine! I’m a very open person (probably too open at times) so I’m willing to help out! For me, it’s a delusion that I’m a god. I’ve actually made a post about that on here back in 2016… and now It’s that I’m an angel, which I don’t think is a delusion but others might think so. Humans are still around in my delusion, I’m not the only one truly here or something. In fact, as a god, I was a bit of a protector of those who were unfortunate.
I don’t think I have the same situation going on as your wife. I would make a post about it in the correct forum (I think they have a family thread?) and see if anyone else has that specific delusion issue going on.
@engineerguy I’d like to encourage you to join our forum for Family and Caregivers that can be found at:
While this is a peer support forum for people with schizophrenia and other closely related psychotic disorders, the Family forum is specifically for people like yourself, who have a loved one they are concerned about.
Also, please let your loved one know about this forum as they may find it helpful.
Thanks for the explanation. We had the angel and god delusions in the early phase of sz taking hold, there is a term for that but I forget it right now. It got intertwined with past life stuff and she ‘was’ an angel or god type figure in a previous life. Unfortunately I might have started some of this because I genuinely have very specific previous life information from the 1950s and I went on a binge-watching youtube adventure about the same time to find how many others have similar things. (Quite a lot it seems.) I’m pretty sure my wife took some of my interest/obsession at the time and it kind of morphed into things that weren’t real. I have aspergers so tend to get a bit [aka very] obsessive at times…
What is interesting is that you can talk about your delusions and know they are not absolutely real. My wife could not separate herself from them for several months. Now is much better that it has settled down and they have largely stopped apart from the dreams and anything connected to control which is like a trigger event for her. She denies that there is anything wrong although now can recall a delusional dream and recognise that it is just a dream, where she got caught up in it earlier and acted on some of the things.
Did you have much make-believe as a child? I mean normal healthy stuff as all children do, inventing stories and so on.
Moonbeam- thank you, I am on that forum too. It is a big learning process for me right now. I can’t get any support for my wife as she is not a danger to herself or others and is for the most part in complete denial that there is anything wrong. I know that left unchecked this ‘thing’ causes long term issues like brain wasting so I’m very keen to find a way out of our present situation that doesn’t involve involuntary anything. There is a solution here, I just don’t know what it is yet.
Do you keep a journal of what is going on @psymutt? That can be really helpful for psychiatrists.
Write down the date, the time, what you saw, what else was happening as far as delusions go, write down what you were doing at the time it happened and rate your anxiety over the situation out of ten.
@engineerguy, what moonbeam was saying is that we try to keep these forums separate, Since you are a family member of someone with schizophrenia, you belong on the family forum. Please leave this forum for members who have a psychotic disorder. There was a time when we let the two forums mix, but it led to a lot of problems, so we now have them divided.
@psymutt, I second what turtle said about keeping a journal. Write down what your symptoms are, and when they are occurring. Over time, you’ll be able to recognize specific triggers, and plan ahead. I now know that my triggers are too much coffee, doing paperwork, talking on the phone, and doing a new task for the first time. Now, whenever I have to do those activities, I always take some time beforehand to prepare myself, and I take as many breaks as I need. It is much easier to be successful when you know what makes your symptoms flare up.
I’m trying to learn as much as I can about how sz affects others and the family forum is all about disasters, drugs and involuntary hospitalization. If you’d prefer I stay ignorant of what it is like for others to have sz then so be it. I guess I can take being unqualified for a mi forum as a positive.
It’s nothing personal. A lot of members here get very upset and uncomfortable when family members visit this forum. We are just trying to keep this site a welcoming place for the people who actually need it. Thanks for your understanding.