30 Delusional And Completely Out-Of-Touch Things People Heard Others Say (New Answers)

As much fun as it is to read these ignorant beliefs, it can be concerning to realize how many people are going about their lives with a warped sense of reality. This made me start to wonder whether reality is relative or if people are just prone to their perceptions becoming indistinguishable from reality.

In a Psychology Today piece titled “Perception Is Not Reality”, Dr. Jim Taylor discussed how perceptions will never be equated to reality, no matter how real they “feel”. He starts by defining the two to clearly state the differences. Perception is “the way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression”, while reality is “the world or the state of things as they actually exist… existence that is absolute, self-sufficient, or objective, and not subject to human decisions or conventions”.

We reached out to Dr. Jim Taylor to ask why humans can be so confident in wrong ideas, and he told us, “Human beings are wired through evolution to seek safety, comfort, and certainty. To change one's beliefs, even in the face of clearly contradictory evidence, disrupts that those three attributes. Additionally, psychologically and emotionally, it is threatening to our self-identity (e.g., as a competent person) and our self-esteem (e.g., how we feel about ourselves) to have to admit that we are wrong about something, particularly beliefs that we hold dear (e.g., religion, politics)."

We also asked him if everyone experiences reality differently. He told us, “Actually, humans experience reality much the same because we are all very much alike in terms of our brain structures and functions. However, we perceive reality through the lenses of past experiences, attitudes, beliefs, needs, goals, and social feedback. That is where so-called reality can differ.”

Next, we asked Dr. Taylor why it’s important to keep our perceptions as close to reality as possible, and he told us, “There is actually evidence that so-called positive illusion (i.e., perceptions of ourselves that are slightly more optimistic than our reality) can help us to strive toward and achieve bigger goals). At the same time, if the difference between perception and reality becomes too great, there is a shift from helpful illusion to delusion when a disconnect develops between perception and reality. This is what happens with serious mental illness, for example, and it prevents us from effectively dealing with our shared reality.”

Lastly, Dr. Taylor wanted to add that changing others’ perceptions can be a difficult task. “Aligning perception with contradictory, though accurate, reality can't be accomplished with the presentation of facts, data, and info because the perceptions we hold aren't rational or logical. Research has shown that beliefs can only be changed when threat is removed and people are able to experience the reality that differs from their perceptions and they come to see that their perceptions aren't accurate and are willing to change them (e.g., a person with racial prejudices meets those of other races that don't conform to their beliefs).”

As much as we love the internet, it does allow misinformation to run rampant. Donald Trump famously whined about how “fake news” was hurting him during his campaign and presidency, but it is an issue worth addressing. 52% of Americans say that they regularly encounter fake news online, but what’s even more concerning is that 10% of Americans have knowingly shared fake news. The effects of misinformation spread offline as well. 83% of people believe fake news has negatively impacted politics in their country. Certain websites, such as Facebook, are beginning to crack down on misinformation by removing as many fake claims as possible, but readers must always be wary of what they find online.  

Warped senses of reality can range from innocently believing misconceptions to being consumed by dangerous delusions of grandeur. One particularly dangerous subset of delusional individuals is cult leaders. In 2002, the American Psychological Association formed a “task force to investigate mind control among destructive cults” and to help protect people from falling victim to cults in the future. When it comes to the delusions of the leaders themselves, Stephen J. Morgan told APA that “cult leaders are usually psychopaths with a desire for power and often take ideas from politics, religion and psychology to fulfill their purpose”. “Through mind control, they are able to filter their thoughts and behaviors into ‘fanatical faith and belief’ among followers.”

Once they’ve been sucked into a cult, members develop a skewed perception of reality as well. Mind control, or brainwashing, is a tactic “used by cults to recruit and maintain followers”. This can include behavior modification, “such as thought-stopping techniques and instilling an ‘us-versus-them’ mindset, former cult member Steve Hassan told APA. “With thought-stopping techniques, members are taught to stop doubts from entering their consciousness about the cult, often with a key phrase they repeat. Phobia indoctrination is also used, where cults play on a person's irrational fears, with threats such as the person will develop cancer or go insane if he ever leaves or questions the group.”

Sometimes people even try to capitalize on their delusions. In another harmful example of people spreading false claims, let me introduce you to Belle Gibson. Belle, a now 30-year-old Australian woman, was a popular wellness blogger with over 300,000 Instagram followers. Her claim to fame was that after being given only four months to live, Belle miraculously “cured” her terminal brain cancer through healthy eating. She even went on to publish a recipe book called The Whole Pantry, detailing her “journey of self-education to treat herself through nutrition”, and create an app under the same name. Belle claimed that a portion of the proceeds from the book and app were going to charity.

Everything came crashing down in Belle’s world in 2015, when she was exposed for faking the entire story and lying about donating to charity. She never had cancer, but she had manipulated millions into believing her claims. She remained in denial, however, even after the house of cards had crumbled. In her 2015 interview with 60 minutes, Belle maintained that having cancer was “her reality” and refused to give a straight answer to any questions, including how old she was. In September of 2017, the Australian government found Belle guilty of five breaches of consumer law and fined her $322,000, but nothing can make up for the precious time and energy those battling wasted trying to miraculously cure themselves through Belle’s methods.