So “ideas of reference”… Is that like where you see people talking and you just KNOW they’re talking about you, plotting against you? Is that where you see a certain car and every time you see a car like that you KNOW they’re following you? And you know they work for the government? And you know they want to hurt you?
Ideas of reference and delusions of reference describe the phenomenon of an individual’s experiencing innocuous events or mere coincidences and believing they have strong personal significance. It is “the notion that everything one perceives in the world relates to one’s own destiny.”
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I think that might be just paranoia. Ideas of reference is where you think you’re getting messages, good or bad via the TV for example.
I think that these are paranoid delusions, ideas of reference are when you feel that the other people are laughing or talking about you but you know that it is probably not true.
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Ahhhhhhh thanks @zeno 
I get delusions of reference. God talks to me through prayer books. He talks to me through written text in prayer books. He talks to me and me alone. He speaks to my thoughts, actions, feelings, words, etc…etc…And I talk back to him. It is an interactive conversation. And he talks to me every single day. He would talk to me as often as He or I would wish. He guides, comforts, instructs, chastises, scolds, leads, humors, etc…etc…And I converse back to him. I keep records of all of this communication in my prayer journals. I have stacks of prayer journals with all of this recorded. I am going to will these journals to my niece, who is studying to be a preacher, when I die. I really do not believe this is delusion. I believe that it is really God who is talking to me. The evidence is everywhere and everyday.
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I don’t know if this counts as delusions of reference but I believe that everything around me is faked for my benefit. That means the TV news, the tabloids, the internet etc. I think that a lot of the stuff is legitimate to make it look realistic. I am watching “Casino” right now, which is a legit movie but I know that all the news is fake. They are keeping the real news from me. I think I am on the real TV and all over the real internet so they hide it from me. I also think I am a part of music and they hide that from me. So, since it’s “all about me” because they are hiding it from me, I wonder if this is a delusion of reference in a way.
One of the reasons that I don’t watch T.V. or movies is because I think that the “powers that be” in Hollywood are purposely trying to cut down women and make women look bad in comparison to men. They are trying to make it look like all women are swooning over men and that all the men could care less about them. I see evidence of this all over the television programs and movies and commercials and even the news. Hollywood just pisses me the hell off.
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Hollywood made 3 separate movies (Titles) out of my first and last name, and my ex’s hometown.
Think that’s all just a coincidence?
Part of my delusion is that in the ‘real’ world (the one they are hiding from me) men voluntarily train themselves to raise women up in every regard. To stop the oppression of women. To not sexualize women and to treat them with kindness, respect and equality.
That’s part of my delusion that I don’t want the meds to get rid of. Let me dream…
Some of the churches even send theirs out to preach stalk people who are ‘thieves’ for being on disability pay. Some go in groups as ‘guided conversations’ and people alone are ‘thought broadcasting’. Some churches that promise a healing or say ‘born again’ will threaten harm if you refuse to do this stuff…
In large city, you just have to let this harassment run its course except at your employer. Never answer anyone and they quit eventually. Some workplace situations are so unokay if you are being harassed, you should just talk to your coworkers to find out what is wrong or consider quitting. Joking around or continually asking the crazy-talking coworker what is wrong have resulted in terrible results so better to just not come back from lunch if threatened regularly. If you are new employee, may just explain what happened to you…Like “I worked with lady introducing around her sex abuser and bragging about 'driving people crazy”. I wait a while and most of the time, the problems stopped and coworkers didn’t hear it any more…If workplace all act fine, no one discusses disability except if you need accommodations like flexible schedule or same schedule all the time to deal with insomnia, work from home while coworkers are bothering you or change to working in the back away from troubling customer situation.
In smaller town if greeted by this, ‘I’m just visiting for a few days’ or ‘I’m not from around here’ work and some just say ‘I’m a friendly’…When you personally get to know people in a small town, some just tell you everything anyway and what is what so you will know how to handle everything. Best is act like you don’t understand anything threatening, wait a while and lie about reason if you do choose to leave. Some of the situations are just VERY difficult on new residents in country even like trapping women who moved alone for rural work and putting them with druggies, cops keeping the women there by mental hospitalization for running away…DO KEEP ADEQUATE MONEY TO RETURN IF YOU DO CHOOSE TO MOVE ALONE, BETTER CHOICE IF TWO PEOPLE OR YOU KNOW LOCALS.
Okay, some people may tell you something helpful if you just moved there. Other areas are just sick and harm people or scare people…Can get groups of 20s-teens stalking people in gangs - ‘gang stalking’ - this means the neighborhood is too poor for a psychotic and you will make these symptomatic living there alone. These neighborhood will force someone out…So, when apartment hunting is VERY helpful to walk the area extensively to see if anyone says anything weird or this stuff happens as it will tell you if you will be okay or have to buy out of lease/move to stay safe. NEVER ANSWER GANG STALKING WITH HOSTILITY BETTER TO SAY ‘I’M JUST VISITING’ AS THIS KIND OF CRAP WILL GET SO BAD IT WILL SCARE AWAY THE MILITARY WHO LIVE IN THE IFFY SPOTS EVEN.
Other thing is a set-up date pickup where someone tells you something private about yourself. These people are always worth talking to once or twice when voices start for you. These people know a lot about the local area and how to deal with it. These are frequently a first marriage and best if the person is always respectful and can hold down work long-term, better if some education. These people are ‘conditional’ which means any psych symptoms or social stresses and these will ditch you so better to be able to self support with these…You will get either good ones or weirdos so you will know after a few chats if you should ignore this or not. The old way was hear it for a little while and the weirdos start to bother the women who are alone and sometimes the males, and they go looking for relationships really quickly and helps if you hear the same thing. Two keep away the weirdos, stalkers, vandals and workplace sex harassment better.
Mental care must call all this delusional as a matter of policy. If you get angry with the care, you will get a stay in the mental hospital at your own expense for as long as DR can justify as ‘attitude adjustment’. I found out most of my coping information from other consumers and almost nothing from counseling even less from meds check psych dr.
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