I go for coffee each morning. A fellow comes in on a regular basis and sits at an empty table and talks to the empty seats across from him. Laughs at their jokes, and answers their questions. I was going to ask once, who he was talking to, but I controlled myself, as I wondered "Is he talking to imaginary friends (and thus mentally ill), or am I mentally ill, and just cannot see the people who are really there?" I never had the nerve to ask.
I don't think that can be determined by yourself. If you have a mental illness and are on medication and have a psychiatrist. There should be a plan in place for when the mentally ill person has an episode. If you had a physical ailment how would you determine if it is something to be concerned with or not? You go to a professional. They would then determine what is real or not. What to be concerned with or not.
This post was edited by dragonfly46 at April 25, 2017 5:53 PM MDT
Mental illness often affects one's perception. If we aren't talking about hallucinations (those are easier to distinguish, as you can ask someone else if they see/hear/smell what you're seeing/hearing/smelling), but thoughts, it's much more difficult to know if something is real or not.
For example, many people with certain disorders might think that someone is talking about them, or is angry with them, etc., when that may not be the case at all. This is something that a therapist can help with.
As others have suggested, people without mental illness cannot always determine what's real and what isn't. When a person's thoughts are altered due to a disorder, it definitely makes it more difficult. When you know that you have an imbalance that affects how you think, it's quite hard to trust yourself. Again, therapy (and often medication) are key to being more functional.
It depends what sort of mental illness. Depression is a mental illness affecting many people but it doesn't stop the person from understanding what's real and what isn't.
