delusional thinking

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(spinoff of schizotypal thread)

Has anyone suffered from delusional thinking, whether paranoid or grandiose, such as but not exclusive to thinking your thoughts are being read, or that your thoughts are being monitored by the government, aliens, neighbors, etc., or, that thoughts are being placed in your head, or, that you are being watched/ monitored/ followed, or, that you are a pawn in some massive conspiracy, or that messages are being sent to you via television, radio, etc. (anything delusional)?

Well thank God I've got 2 other crazies with me as of this post . I have suffered from delusional thinking as far back as I can remember. I have had one or two gradiose delusions but the majority of them are persecutory/ paranoid. I was about 17 years old before it dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, I WASN'T being watched through hidden surveilance cameras wherever I went.

I've had a problem with worrying that people could hear my thoughts, or that I would accidentally speak them aloud without knowing it, since I was a preteen. I had already been diagnosed with OCD before I told my psychiatrists about this, and they gave me the diagnosis psychosis (NOS) when I told them. It always "felt" just like my other "OCD" symptoms, but now my psych says that maybe I just have AS, and he got rid of the OCD and ADHD diagnoses. It's rather confusing. Is it common for people with AS to have this sort of delusional thinking?

Maybe it's just that we aspies don't notice how crazy others think we are when we say that, so we don't mind telling people.

For a couple of years I heard theives breaking into my house every night. I even heard them opening doors and drawers and pulling things out. The fact that every morning everything was still in its place didn't mean anythhing to me.
I also thought the school monitored my thoughts, and that there were always people listening outside my house (I had to whisper whenever I said anything I didn't want them to hear).

By the way, I chose "maybe" because I think I got over all that pretty quickly (although the last one still kinda worries me).

I have had thoughts that people would definitely consider delusional.
And I seem to entertain some fantasies occasionally, that can border on delusion.
I'm not sure that is the same thing, though. I mean if I know it's a delusion, then is it really a delusion?

Well considering by definition a delusion is an irrational belief you hold to even in the face of evidence that you are incorrect, yes its still a delusion if you still believe it knowing its a delusion.

Just a thought - why is it 'delusional' or 'grandiose' when it's coming out of an Aspie's mind, and 'the power of positive thinking' or whatever when it's coming from a motivational coach or new age guru?

Yes, I know that some people do experience extremely disconnected and dangerous thoughts for which they need medical intervention, but it seems to me that most of what people have described here is another flavour of what the popular gurus call 'manifesting'. That is, everything starts with a thought, it's only by concentrating on it (also known as obsessing to AS folk!) that we turn it into some sort of reality. Certainly, some of the apparently irrational, new, 'grandiose' schemes I've dreamt up could well have been labelled 'delusional' at the beginning - it was only when they actually produced shedloads of jobs and money for people that they seemed so 'obvious' and 'sane' to others. The moral? Just don't tell people, medics especially, what you're thinking!! LOL

About twenty years ago I became absolutely convinced that all my friends were conspiring against me, and I thought, "That's crazy," so I got some help.

I have delusional thoughts that once 2006 becomes 2007, that I will put the Routemaster on the Back Burner, so to speak, I won't be grieving anymore and I'll take that Big Leap Forward and become a Full-Blown Flower Child. Long Hair, Beads, Tie-Dye, Peace-Signs and all. But I'll still look at my Buses, every day though I won't be buying them, unless it's October or December. (My Birthday or Christmas.)

70% maybe or yes.... veeerrry eeenteresting says Dr. Freud .

I have occasional paranoid thoughts. I go between wondering if my friends secretly hate me, to thinking that everyone who knows me must hate me and want to hurt me, to being convinced that the universe was created for the sole purpose of hurting me. When these thoughts come up I just tell myself not to be ridiculous.

And I've had a few problems with a portal to Hell that may or may not be directly above my bed.

i don't believe in god in the traditional sence, but there's some truth in this saying: howcome when you pray to god thats ok but if god answers back its called schizophrenia?

When I was younger and had no idea what was going on in social situations and why I always ended up isolated, I used to wonder if everyone in the school or church had been told something that was really bad about me, but that I didn't know about. And I would get imaginative about what it might be. For example: he is an alien, he is a robot, his parents are ex-criminals, he has a medical problem which he does not know of(!). When someone would be my friend and then drop the friendship after a while, which happened many times when I was younger, I thought they had been told whatever that was that was so bad. Then I figured out all it was, was that I wasn't 'cool.' Irrational thoughts continued as I tried to figure out what 'cool' meant, but I am getting better. I wouldn't have had all this trouble had NTs not been so darn irrational themselves

Not so much now, I have come a little wizer and more critical with age but in years up till the age of 21 I was guilty of being extremely delusional. I read all sought of stuff about Atlantis to Chariots of the Gods and took that book as gospel.

Paul

I wonder if some of the paranoid delusions stemmed from being socially shunned constantly...? Or if they are part of our wiring?

who_am_I, I also have had ideas of portals, not so much to hell, but where "messages" will come through to me. I.e. a particular location where messages are "left."

85% yes or maybe--- wow, I thought it would be much lower, like around 30%. Of course maybe people who have delusions are the only ones who clicked on the thread... that's the problem with polls that have the name in the subject, you will attract primarily the "yes" people...

I'm very much a hypochondriac; I'm constantly finding "symptoms" and researching possible diseases I might have. I remember a period when my lymph glands were all swollen, and I was convinced I had cancer even though everyone told me it was just my lymph glands. There have been times when I've woken up in the middle of the night with some twinge of pain somewhere and thought that I wouldn't live to see the morning. Turned out ot be indigestion. That might count as a delusion, especially since I'm one of the healthiest people I know and have no major health concerns at all (besides the mental ones).

I can also be very suspicious of my friends, thinking they're only pretending to like me. That could be just because for many years I didn't have any friends. I try to push that feeling away when it shows up.

I also have a vague, very severe fear of my own mind. Sometimes I feel things that I don't understand, and I start to think I might be evil, or posessed, or that some evil spirit is trying to talk to me. I'm not about to call that delusional, because I think there's a possibility it's true.

Anyone else have paranoid delusions directed toward themselves instead of an outside source?