When someone deals with Schizophrenia, it can be very challenging to distinguish reality from fantasy. I know for myself personally I have a tendency to confuse the two frequently. This is why I have had to come up with some ways to help me distinguish what is real and what is unreal. Hallucinations and delusions can feel very real and in this blog I shall give you some tips that will help you distinguish between the two. After reading this blog, I hope that you will walk away having a better understanding of how you can see reality. These five tips are not meant to be comprehensive and they are not the only things you can do either. Everyone is different and so every one will find their own ways to deal with their hallucinations and delusions. I am merely telling you what has helped me in the Hopes that they will help you too and if you can think of more tips please feel free to let me know what you do in the comments. These five tips that I incorporate when I deal with hallucinations and delusions are the following:
1) Ask Someone To Verify
2) Take A Picture With My Phone
3) Consult The Word of God
4) Remove Myself From Situation
5) Call A Friend or Talk To My Wife
I will now elaborate on these five points.
Ask Someone To Verify
Whenever I see animal that I am not used to seeing or that does not seem to belong, I will ask either my wife or someone around me if they see that animal too. The reason I do this is because obviously if my wife or the other person sees the animal too then it is apparently real. This may feel uncomfortable to do at first so I would recommend doing this with someone you trust first.
Take A Picture With My Phone
I have found that when I am hallucinating and I cannot ask someone to verify if it's real then it helps me to take a picture of the hallucination with my camera phone. The reason I do this is because a hallucination will not appear in a picture so if I see the object in the picture then it must be real. This is a very helpful tool to utilize when you're alone.
Consult The Word of God
The word of God defines reality so anything that contradicts the Bible is obviously false. Since I realize this, I know that when my voices tell me things that are contrary to the Word then I must reject what they are saying. Obviously, this would require one to be grounded in studying Scripture daily.
Remove Myself From The Situation
Sometimes the hallucinations and delusions can be so overwhelming that I must physically remove myself from a certain area that is triggering them. Usually whenever I do this the hallucinations and delusions calm down.
Call A Friend or Talk To My Wife
I have found that when I am experiencing a strong delusion or hallucination, it helps me to talk to someone about them. This is something we must exercise with caution because not all our friends can be trusted with this information. Also, we must make sure we talk to someone who will not attempt to argue with us about our hallucinations and delusions.
I hope that these tips help you and I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
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