My Top 10 Delusions

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My first psychotic break, I thought I was secretly being filmed and everyone knew who I was. Like the Truman Show. My second break, in December, I thought I was the second coming of Jesus and there was a world war being fought between Angels and Demons and the hospital I was locked up in was actually a military base where I was being protected from evil forces.

I really connect with some of these as someone with OCD. It's really frustrating knowing that something is untrue but "feeling" like it's "definitely true."🙄

I had to giggle at the “everyone finds me attractive” delusion 🙂. I have a very common delusion that I’m about to get arrested and that I’m actually a criminal. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ It can actually give me tremendous anxiety. I’m bipolar.

I'm so touched to see so many people with OCD here and validating each other. While it's not schizophrenia, a lot of schizophrenic symptoms overlap with severe OCD. To those with schizophrenia, thank you for sharing your stories and connecting with others struggling with their mental health.

Hello Lauren and Rob, My delusion was that I was super special and that I was playing a key role in world affairs. I believed that I was connected globally through my TV. This happened to me in 1987, 1988 and 2007 but I haven't had anymore psychotic episodes since 2007 fingers crossed and so long as I continue to take the prescribed tablet Dolmatil(sulpiride) I should be fine but hoping I will not get Parkinson's as a side effect of this drug. I'm 68. I therefore highly recommend Dolmatil(sulpiride) to anyone who has schizophrenia or bipolar. My next door neighbour with a doctorate in computer science aged in her 50's has now been free of psychotic episodes for several years since she began taking Dolmatil. All the best and many thanks, Peter Nolan. Ph.D.(physics). Dublin. Ireland.

The worst thing is having a delusion that turns out to be true. An irrational belief, not grounded in reality, which turns out to actually have merit. Makes it extremely difficult to dismiss that same emotion next time it happens. For me it's mostly just people talking about me. I end up isolating a lot, because the subjective experience of being the focus of everybody else is very unpleasant. It's a bit easier to bear when there's nobody else around. It definitely doesn't feel "delusional" when it happens, but when I look at myself in retrospect, I often have to concede that I wasn't being rational at the time. I also noticed that it's usually accompanied by strong emotion of some kind, that's how I can tell it's starting to happen. Usually I have flattened affect.

As someone with OCD - I can relate to so many of these. I wish there was more research on the connection between OCD and schizophrenia/psychotic illnesses because the symptoms really can feel so similar. The simulation delusion & thought broadcasting are two huge ones with me. Thanks for this video Lauren!

I am 110% persecutory delusions and even on meds and regular therapy I haven't been able to fully escape them. It's exhausting and feels incredibly lonely when you truly believe everyone around you, friends, family and coworkers combined, absolutely hate you are using information they know about you to ruin your chance at life. Those thoughts have costed me countless relationships with people, especially when you believe their only core motive is to hurt you and not help you. Imagine the lack of trust that comes along with those thoughts, how scared we feel, and how lonely we truly are in those moments 😓

I get the embarrassment that some delusions cause. The delusion that got me diagnosed was that I believed that fictional characters were watching me when I engaged in their media and fandom content so I would never say a characters name out loud or if I watched their show or looked at fanart I would hide under my blankets so they wouldn’t see. Completely irrational but I truly believed it. Thankfully I’m on meds now and I can actually watch stuff comfortably

“Do I really have schizophrenia?” Is a huge one for me! Same with thinking I’m psychic and that I have parasites

I had many similar delusions during a major manic episode I had years ago. I have deep respect for anyone who goes through delusions and/or psychosis. It’s intense

Your self awareness is nothing short of astounding. I experience a few of those delusions. Erotomania was the first one I realized (with help from my psychiatrist / therapist), and I have that under control. I also continue to have this delusion that I'm a young teenager. This is due in part to sexual abuse which can 'freeze' a victim's development at the age of abuse. No lie, my voice as a male continued to break into my 30's as if I were still 13 / 14. Thanks for your courage in discussing this. It helps me re-examine my own experiences.

I have OCD, and what you’ve described is very similar to my experience. For me, it’s the “what if it’s true” questions that spiral into a rabbit hole. It’s torture truly feeling like something may be true that simply makes no sense, and it’s difficult to explain to people who don’t have the same/similar conditions. I’m really glad that I found your channel, as it really resonates with me

The thing is...when we share the things that embarrass us, we bring the darkness to the light. They no longer have control over us. Yes, the symptoms may persist, but something is freed inside us when it's no longer a secret. (We also tend to find out there are many others experiencing it as well. Therefore, we're not alone.) I love and appreciate your honesty, openness and vulnerability. You are breaking down barriers to mental health issues on this channel. Applause and Hugs❣️

Thank you for bringing awareness to schizophrenia and related illnesses. Greetings from 46 year old, diagnosed in 2000.

Yes, I've experienced every one of these delusions too. Also: People being replaced by clones. I've died and am in an alternate reality. Others personalitys are trying to merge with me. I'm immortal I've uploaded insanity and emotions in others. Out of body experiences. Time manipulation Karma and energy stealing Speaking with inanimate objects Speaking to nature, animals and paranormal. Character immersion First person perspective from other perspectives. Portals that are tied to any source of energy. Omnicentricisim and omnipotence Manifestations of all kinds. Multiple personalities I caused covid (sorry) Etc. Etc. Etc. (Help never helps) ^^ lol

I went through what your talking about while I was in a coma. I had a brain aneurysm rupture in 2020. And was on life support and in a coma for 19days. I was alive in another world during that time. The slipping back and forth from the other world back into this one where I was on life support, was horrific. When I finnaly went home I had severe PTSD from it. I still have a hard time with the feeling that I'm stuck in a simulation. And that every one and everything is just apart of my simulation.

The day after my 26th birthday I was at work and I zoned out and then I saw the number 36 on a package and it triggered a delusion I never had before where I thought I had completely disasociated 10 years of my life, and I had a panic attack and almost passed out.

I see a couple other people with OCD have commented noticing similarities between your delusions and OCD. As yet another person with OCD, I was thinking the same thing!