so, I wanna address something.
I feel like a lot of people arenât sure how to deal with people who are psychotic who experience delusions and hallucinations, and donât know that those delusions or hallucinations arenât real.
so hereâs what I, a psychotic, find most helpful when Iâm having a psychotic episode. note that this is geared towards delusions or hallucinations that are frightening the person, not delusions of grandeur and the like.
donât tell me itâs not real. telling me itâs not real isnât helpfulâmy mind is utterly convinced that this hallucination or delusion is real. telling me itâs not will result in, best case scenario, a lot of frustration for you, and in worst case scenario, me freaking out even more and potentially trying to hurt myself.
donât reinforce the delusions. agreeing thereâs a demon in the house or telling me what I need to do to get rid of it is reinforcing the delusion and giving it power, not helping it to go away. donât play into the delusion eitherâdonât insert yourself and insist you have magical powers to vanquish the demon, for instance. this will not help. it is my delusion or hallucination, and you do not control it, and trying to is not going to help in the slightest.
ask me what I need to do to feel better. âwhat would help you to feel better right now?â if I know, Iâll tell you. it might be something ridiculous thatâs going to take a lot of cleanup, like pouring salt on the carpet in front of my doorway. let me do it anyway. I need to do it in order to make myself feel better and safe, which is the primary goal in helping someone whoâs undergoing a psychotic episode.
if I donât know what will help, try and just tell me that Iâm safe, and that nothing can hurt me while youâre with me. this usually works for me. it may not work for others, but itâs always worth a shot. if you have permission, try touching the person or holding their hand, as this can be a way of grounding them to reality.
if you can and are willing, help me do the thing I think is necessary to stop the monster or whatever from getting me. if I need to salt every doorway in the house, grab some salt and start pouring. yes, itâs going to take a while to clean up, but itâs better than me hurting myself or being paranoid and upset for hours on end.
thatâs all that I can really suggest right now. if anyone wants to reblog and add to this, ways that theyâve helped psychotic friends or things that theyâve been told by a psychotic person will help, or things that you as a psychotic person find helpful, please feel free.
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