How Do You Handle Being Called Delusional?

[arfie]

Context counts for allot in my personal reactions. Inside a calm and supportive dialogue, it helps me evaluate a wide variety of the yaddahs in my psycho-baggage car. Delusions are an actual part of my personal psychopathology. I often believe that my delusions are a natural part of being a wounded dreamer. Whatever the truth of that theory, I really do need to sort my delusions from my realities. Compassionate reality checks help me move ahead with confidence.

In the context of an attempt to manipulate and/or control, I respond with silence whenever I can. I'll get mean, if I need to. However I respond, less is better. Arguing with a fool only proves there are two fools.

And then we get to the chucking and jiving context. . . Different thread?

 

[J'qel]

I don't react well.

For me there's a distinct difference between being told that I'm delusional and being told that I might need to slow down and consider first. The first is an accusation, the second is a gentle reminder that I might be letting my illness take over.

It's really dependant on the person. I grew up in an abusive situation with a parent who, beyond being physically and mentally abusive, also gaslit me (pretty much constantly). She still does-though I'm not certain anymore if it's intentional or if she's got some form of mental illness that recreates false memories in her so she actually believes things occurred the way she says*. It's hard to tell with abusers.

So being told what I think or feel isn't real can send me into a full indignant fury.

Being given a chance to work it through myself with a gentle prodding-that I can handle.

*at more than a few points now my family has had to straight out tell her that the things she's talking about either a-didn't happen or b-didn't happen the way she remembered. Including things like hospital visits and health issues with family members. I'm really not sure how tight her grip on reality really is, especially since she's over sixty and has had this issue as long as I've known her and it only seems to be getting worse as she ages.