Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I think that almost by definition, "delusional" is a judgement that can only be offered by a third party. If you yourself know that your dreams are unrealistic, then they are not delusions, and, on the other hand, if you don't know that they are delusions, then you couldn't apply the term to yourself.
|
Yes, thank you, Harry. THAT. That was part of what I was trying to say.
My note was instigated by the fact that I have a relative who's married to a bipolar gentleman. He does have delusions, when his meds go wrong, etc. When he's having them, he thinks they're real. When he's medicated, he knows that his delusion of <insert something wild here> was, indeed, a delusion. But he certainly doesn't know,
at the time, that he's having delusions.
The same is true, however, with delusions of grandeur. You certainly don't know if you're non-medically "deluded" in this case, EITHER. If you have someone you know that, at the age of 40-something, still thinks that he's going to be the Next Big Thing in Rock-n-Roll, or she's going to be the Next Big Debutante in movies...they don't think those dreams are deluded, EITHER.
That line just doesn't make sense to me, in either sense of the word. The whole point of "delusions" is either medically, you don't know you have them, or colloquially, you don't know that you're having delusions of grandeur,
either. And the concept that you'd hook up with someone, so s/he would "help you" with your delusions seems
utterly contraindicated. The last thing someone in either state wants is "help" with their delusions--they want to keep them, not lose them (generally, especially if the delusion is a long-held
fantastical dream).
Given that the protagonist appears not to even be trained in dance, either scenario here could be right, but as it's so far out of whack, it seems to be medical in nature. Schizophrenic-level delusions--an untrained person dancing at the Royal Ballet. It's bizarreness, as opposed to delusions of grandeur. So...I keep circling back to...it doesn't make any sense, medically or common-sense-wise, for her to be seeking "help" (from a stranger, no less) with her delusions.
Thanks, Harry, for the clarity in what was bugging me.
Hitch