I know when I was psychotic my delusions were abusive (they were delusions of grandeur and of reference). I didn’t have paranoid delusions, but I know a lot of people who are psychotic do.
Does anyone have positive, happy delusions and thought disorders with psychosis? Does anyone have delusions that they cured world hunger as a delusion of grandeur, or that they can feel gods love come through the radio as a delusion of reference, or anything like that?
If not, has anyone studied why psychotic delusions tend to be traumatic at worst and neutral (delusions the TV is talking to you about nothing special) at best?
My aunt was schizophrenic but it seemed mostly to manifest itself with her incredibly strong delusions of a boyfriend who was about to marry her.
Anecdotal, because I don’t know the people involved very well.
The sister of a friend thought Elvis talked to her through the toaster. She seemed happy about it. I don’t think her meds ever got rid of Elvis, but, once her docs found the right meds, she was quite stable.
A friend of an acquaintance refused to take his meds because he liked the voices he heard. He was diagnosed both schizophrenic and bipolar, and he would spiral out of control and be hospitalized during a manic phase. But never was bother by the voices, or so he said. I don’t know how his life has progressed, since I moved away from that town.
As a paramedic, I once picked up a happily delusional woman who was smiting people with her Sandal Of God, saving them from an afterlife of hell. The people around her were not so happy about it.
Her husband said she refused her schizophrenia medicines because they were instruments of Satan.
Yeah, we always hear about “the voices” telling the psychotic to kill people. It seems like somebody must hear voices with other messages.
“Maaaake your bed…Cleean uuuuup the yaaaaaaard…Pay your taaaaaaaaxes…”
There is a psychological condition called Pronoia which is the opposite of paranoia. When under this affliction you believe that everyone is secretly trying to help you.
My schizophrenic Aunt felt like she was the center of a vast conflict between good and evil that stretched beyond this plane of existence. When she began taking anti-psychotics, losing that feeling of cosmic importance was a huge blow to her.
Relevant comic strip I just came across today…
My girlfriend recently spent almost 2 months in ICU. For some reason she developed what they call ICY phychosis. She was seeing very pleasant things such as animals at play or people doing harmless but entertaining things. It lasted about 10 days.
I once met a psychotic guy who’d giggle occasionally, because the voices would tell him jokes.
Maybe all the happy people ARE the delusional ones…