- Why do people with psychosis experience hallucinations and delusions? Does this happen to everyone?
- What is the difference between delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia?
- How can they affect a person's life?
- How can I tell if what I see is real or not? Will I ever be able to control it?
- The voices I hear usually cause me a lot of fear and anxiety. Why are they always negative voices?
- They tell me I'll be able to live with the psychosis, but right now I think it's unlikely. Is it possible to live with hallucinations and delusions without suffering?
- How can I prevent a relapse?
- If I've ever had a strange thought or hallucination, does that mean I might have psychosis? When should I worry?
- Now I realize when I start having symptoms. What can I do when I notice them?
- Will the symptoms ever disappear and will I be able to recover?
- Why do the symptoms reappear even though I'm taking medication?
- If I notice that my partner is starting to have symptoms of a psychotic episode, what should I do?
- What can I do if my daughter repeatedly thinks that we want to hurt her and that makes her distrust us?
- Sometimes I think my daughter is a different person since her first psychotic episode. What can I do to accept her and try to help her?
- What can we do when a person speaks rudely to us and triggers psychotic symptoms when we don't agree with them or when they don't get what they want?
How can I tell if what I see is real or not? Will I ever be able to control it?
That's the million-dollar question. I use logic: Are my neighbors interested in my life? What's the point of them spying on me or talking about me? How is it possible that I can hear them criticizing me through the walls? Am I so important that people I pass on the street spy on me and follow me? Out of billions of people on Earth, how is it possible that extraterrestrials chose me?
Visual hallucinations always move with your eyes; that is, if you see them to your right, they will always be to your right, no matter how much you move trying to see them straight on. This is why we have the sensation of seeing shadows, beings, or insects moving from one side to the other, or why, when we go to look for them, they hide, only to startle us later. The more you strain your eyes to "see," the more you will "see" it; conversely, if you relax your eyes, you will help it "vanish." Natural light helps dissipate visual hallucinations, while closed rooms with artificial light and white walls seem to turn into movie screens.
And yes, you will be able to manage it, live with it, and talk about it publicly, with complete naturalness.
There are things that can help. You can ask if anyone else has seen it or try to touch it. You can also close your eyes, breathe, and look again to see if it's still there. And above all, stay calm. Our minds and senses can sometimes play tricks on us.