How to help a person who has delusions

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A person with delusions does not need help to change, but rather to achieve who they are without causing them suffering. There are various ways to achieve this, little by little, as long as the environment is understanding and loving.

A person who has delusions does not always find enough support – people without them don’t either, but they are usually less vulnerable.. In many cases, care is reduced to diagnosis and prescription of medications.

Meanwhile, those affected by this condition may experience a great level of suffering. He has ideas, perceptions or experiences that are very difficult for others to understand. The feeling of unwanted loneliness that they have to face is usually very great, with few tools to prevent it from generating deep pain.

Currently, There are several alternative approaches to help a person who has delusions. Although they do not replace psychiatric care, they can be an excellent complement to treatment. In fact, they are an essential component that health systems do not always offer.

Those who interact on a daily basis with the person who has delusions often do not know what to do.. They often try to “make them see reason,” because the idea that “reason” is adhering to common beliefs prevails. It is also possible that the other person is simply ignored, or that they “get the idea.”

There are other ways to handle this type of situation and we will talk about them shortly.

“The pioneering idea he presents is that, even if others consider someone to have delusional ideas, the problem is not the unusual beliefs, but the way in which they are treated.”.

-Tamasin Knight-

Unusual beliefs

We could say that in society there are some “crazy things that are allowed” and others that are prohibited. When an erroneous, or even delusional, idea is shared by many, it is considered “normal.”. Meanwhile, an unusual belief or idea is labeled “abnormal.” If, in addition, there is a diagnosis involved, everything remains in the field of the disease.

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Not all mental health professionals see things this way. Among many others, researchers Marius Romme and Sandra Escher have found that hearing voices and unusual beliefs are more common than you think. For some people it is a normal experience and they don’t have to become like everyone else to “be okay.”

From that point of view, The objective is not to ensure that a person stops having these types of experiences and beliefs, but rather that this does not prevent them from continuing with their life., nor does it imply high emotional suffering. There is a lot of literature available on this subject, but for now let’s move on to the central point of this article: how to help a person who has delusions.

Help a person who has delusions

The central premise of helping a person who has delusions is to accept them as they are.. You have ideas, beliefs, or personal experiences that are very unique, but this is part of your identity. The task of the environment is not to make them stop being as they are, thinking as they think or living what they live. This must be respected as a particular experience, on which others do not have to intervene.

The desire, or even the demand, of others for a person who has delusions to change is only a source of distress for them. Far from helping, it increases the feeling of incomprehension, isolation and sadness..

This brings us to something that is very pertinent: listening respectfully. A person who has delusions should be able to talk about their experiences, without being reproached for it. If you want to help her, the best thing to do is to listen to her with respect and without judging her..

Coping strategies

If the goal is to help a person who has delusions, respectful listening is the central strategy. In addition to this, It is possible to deploy other strategies that will help the affected person to have greater well-being.. Some of them are the following:

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Protection strategies. It is important to help the affected person identify which actions or situations allow them to feel safer and more protected. For example, leaving the light on at night, wearing a hat, etc.Change environment. When a person is very distressed due to a delusion, a change in environment can be favorable. A trip or even a short walk helps in these cases.Prepare for difficult situations. It consists of making a coping plan for demanding situations. It is important to identify the threats perceived by the affected person and develop a defined plan so that they can face them.Self-affirmation. A person who has delusions needs to trust more in themselves and what is to come. Saying affirmative phrases to yourself like “I will survive this” or “I will be freed from this situation” is something that can help.

A person who has delusions she needs to stay away from stress, reinforce her self-esteem and feel accepted and loved -universal needs, but in which they usually have greater deficiencies, precisely derived from the significant clinical entity-.

Structured routines help them settle better, as does training in social skills and problem-solving strategies, thereby increasing the sense of control they may have over their environment.