How To Deal With A Delusional Family Member

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It is not uncommon for people to get into the habit of lying to themselves - to a point where they eventually no longer realize that they are lying to themselves, and instead start believing that everything they are telling their brain is truth. This sort of delusional thinking can range from drug and alcohol problems to hateful words to abusive actions to downright laziness, and while there are times when it will be "none of your business" to help the person in question, you will also need to know how to help such a person if they are a family member of yours (or someone else with whom you are extremely close).

When it comes time to approach such a situation, the first thing you will need to realize is that you need to be delicate with the process, as the person in question needs to feel like you are their ally, rather than their enemy. You should also recognize that the first step to recovery in such a situation is for the person in question to admit that they have a problem - and if you cannot lead them to eventually make this admission, they will never be able to choose to take the road to recovery.

Learn how to encourage this person to think for their own self as you start to broach the topic of their "problem"; a person who has reached a delusional state has convinced their own self that nothing is wrong, and no one else will be able to convince them otherwise. Because of this, you need to gradually prod them toward an understanding that a problem exists, by leading them to see things and admit things on their own; after all, if they do not reach a realization on their own, they will never decide to make a change on their own.

It can be a long and arduous task to lead a loved one to start making good decisions without the help of others, but once you reach the end of this road and have helped them to turn things around, the long road will have been well worth it.