Inside My Paranoia: Ideas of Reference
During my non-sober period, in the days leading up to my 2021 sobriety date and my first (and only) stint in rehab, I experienced a drug-induced Brief Psychotic Episode, triggered in large part by the effects of stimulants on a brain further addled by subacute sleep deprivation. My symptoms included acute paranoia, mood-congruent delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, and illusions. As in the majority of cases, although my symptoms were self-limiting and completely resolved after a few days of bedrest, the paranoia comprised ideas of reference. This video explores the concept of persecutory paranoia (there is another type) and the defense mechanism of projection, and gives a first-person account of how the brain sees what it thinks it must be seeing.