# why do I believe other people aren't real?



## catlover8712 (Aug 26, 2014)

I'm diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and I suffer from low mood and anxiety, including social anxiety. I think I'm depressed yes, but I feel a lot of my problems are more the way other people treat me. I feel I am the only real human on this world, and everyone else are robots in disguise, and everyone knows who I am and everyone plots against me. No-one has actually admitted it to me, most people deny it when I confront them, but they are denying it to trick me. I haven't always realised this...it's something I've figured out over time. Even you people reading this know who I am, but I'm not supposed to know that. I also experience hearing voices, and I know people are spying on me at all times, I've even seen it for myself...people dissappearing into thin air. Also, a psychiatrist said to me I'm not psychotic and I've never been diagnosed with schizophrenia, so my "thoughts and beliefs" actually are true! I come across as intelligent and "fine" to others, but I keep a lot into myself. Because everyone else and pretend and actively working against me, the world seems like a lonely place and I have tried to kill myself on many occasions, but I have been hospalised against my own will for my suicide attempts, because people want to keep me alive for as long as possible so they can carry on tormenting. I feel a lot of people want me DEAD. I feel like certain people are 3-in-1, like 3 people are possessed by 1 person.


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## Lazarusx (Apr 14, 2013)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism



> Solipsism (Listeni/ˈsɒlɨpsɪzəm/; from Latin solus, meaning "alone", and ipse, meaning "self") is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known, and might not exist outside the mind. As a metaphysical position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist.


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## Saius (Jun 13, 2014)

Solopsism can be a wonderful or a terrible existence. The terrible thing about it is that it can be bitterly lonely... The wonderful thing about it though, is that if all of existance is in your head then whatever you truly believe is what exists. Before you mope around. If your thoughts are all negative then so is everything that exists, but if all your thoughts are positive then so is everything that exists. 

The basic rule of solopsism is that everything that exists is self created. Be the change you wish to see in the world. Thoughts are powerful, remember that.


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## SouthernTom (Jul 19, 2014)

Do you believe this every second of every day, or only when you are not on medication?

If you really believe it, why did you join this forum if we are all robots plotting against you? I'm very curious about this second question. There must be some doubt in your mind for you even to register, and to then make this post if we are all aware of what is happening already.


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## WanderingMind001 (May 4, 2014)

Hun, that sounds like victim mentality. Like the responder above me, I would say take into consideration if we on SAS are "robots out to get you". All people including you and I will have their lows and highs in life, and unless you are a criminal, it's not likely everyone is out to get you. Now, i can tell you no one's out to get you until I'm blue in the face. And i'm telling the truth btw. But I know that you need to find that out for yourself.


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## WanderingMind001 (May 4, 2014)

Oh well if its more like ppl don't exist rather than ppl are robots then, that's different.


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## SockThrower (Aug 3, 2014)

So strange. This was one theory I had when I was a kid..


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## timothy (Nov 25, 2010)

Hi catlover its too late to go into it now but i've had similar thoughts to what you're going through and I've got to tell you it does sound like psychosis.I'd get a second opinion if i was you.Don't worry about it,it is treatable.I came out of it but had to be on meds for a while.If it comes to that try to get on respiridal rather then olanzopine as the second one causes weight gain.

Hope things work out


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## sad vlad (Nov 9, 2013)

Probably derealization/depersonalization.

Ok, now that I read your post entirely(not just the title and the fact you are diagnosed with borderline), you seem to suffer from paranoia as part of your bigger issues or a comorbid disorder.

The simple fact someone told you that you do not suffer from schizophrenia doesn't mean your thoughts or beliefs are correct. Any disorder has irrational thoughts and beliefs.


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## Malek (Oct 4, 2012)

Yeah, I guess The Truman Show was an interesting movie. When I often feel depressed and cynical, feeling as if the whole world is against me, or there are just too many coincidences for my comfort, I'll sometimes toy with this thought. Hell it can even be applied here on this forum, that everyone is a figment of your imagination, mere characters constructed in order to convince or trick you aren't actually the last human on earth that was. Extraterrestrials have gone through great lengths to acquire your DNA and have grown you in a test tube. You're plugged into essentially a matrix like false reality for their extended research on the thought to be extinct "intelligent" life of this now barren wasteland of a planet...

Huh?... :sus


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## louiselouisa (Jul 12, 2012)

Well, I used to when I was a kid, dunno how to explain, it was just simply a feeling that other people weren't real and that it was weird that people were moving. Not related to depression at all. Have already outgrown it.



sad vlad said:


> Probably derealization/depersonalization.
> 
> Ok, now that I read your post entirely(not just the title and the fact you are diagnosed with borderline), you seem to suffer from paranoia as part of your bigger issues or a comorbid disorder.
> 
> The simple fact someone told you that you do not suffer from schizophrenia doesn't mean your thoughts or beliefs are correct. Any disorder has irrational thoughts and beliefs.


this is probably what's happening, just be honest with your therapist and get help asap.


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## catlover8712 (Aug 26, 2014)

SouthernTom said:


> Do you believe this ebecause mcond of every day, when you are not on medication?
> 
> If you really believe it, why did you join this forum if we are all robots plotting against you? I'm very curious about this second question. There must be some doubt in your mind for you even to register, and to then make this post if we are all aware of what is happening already.


What does me joining this site have anything to do with this? Just because other people are against me and not real, I still have the right to rome the earth and do what I please! 
And I want to get people to admit the truth to me, because most people i have confronted deny it! 
I have been put on 2 different anti-psychotics...Abilify 10mg and now quetiapine 400mg, and neither have made me "stop believing", so obviously it is true!


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## SouthernTom (Jul 19, 2014)

catlover8712 said:


> What does me joining this site have anything to do with this? Just because other people are against me and not real, I still have the right to rome the earth and do what I please!
> And I want to get people to admit the truth to me, because most people i have confronted deny it!
> I have been put on 2 different anti-psychotics...Abilify 10mg and now quetiapine 400mg, and neither have made me "stop believing", so obviously it is true!


Hi

I have no problem with you joining the site. In fact I hope it will be of some help to you.

My point was, if you truly believe that the rest of the world are are not real, and are against you, what is your reasoning in joining and posting this thread when you are convinced that we already know everything about you, and that all the responses to your thread will be from computer programmes? There must be some self doubt for you to even make this post.

I am not having a go at you by any means, I am just genuinely interested in your way of thinking.

Another question I wonder is: do you feel empathy or sorrow for other people? For example if, say, a family member was hit by a car, or you encountered a child being assaulted, would you feel any upset, sorrow, or anger? If you were 100% sure that you were the only real person in the universe, then I imagine you would have none of these feelings. Is this correct?


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## catlover8712 (Aug 26, 2014)

SouthernTom said:


> Hi
> 
> I have no problem with you joining the site. In fact I hope it will be of some help to you.
> 
> ...


Because as I said I want people to admit, sick of people lying and tricking me. And yeah totally, if something bad happens to someone, I don't feel anything for them as they're not real. I also can't love my family.


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## SisterGoldenHair (Apr 30, 2014)

Have you always felt this way? Did the feeling of derealization start at any specific point in your life?


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## Ja91 (Aug 29, 2014)

Hi catlover , I totally undestand you I have GAD ( I don´t truly believe that mental issues can be labeled but any way) and when I´m having a panic attack I think in that so often and It scares me the **** out me so much, I think it´s called derealisation , so you should probably talk with your psych to get the problem solved


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## catlover8712 (Aug 26, 2014)

SisterGoldenHair said:


> Have you always felt this way? Did the feeling of derealization start at any specific point in your life?


I don't think it's derealization I think it actually is real.i figured this out about a year or so ago.


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## purechaos (Dec 18, 2013)

..........


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## irandom97 (Jan 28, 2012)

sad vlad said:


> Probably derealization/depersonalization.
> 
> Ok, now that I read your post entirely(not just the title and the fact you are diagnosed with borderline), you seem to suffer from paranoia as part of your bigger issues or a comorbid disorder.
> 
> The simple fact someone told you that you do not suffer from schizophrenia doesn't mean your thoughts or beliefs are correct. Any disorder has irrational thoughts and beliefs.


Hey catlover, I'm sorry you are stuck with thinking like this, it can't be a peaceful way to live... 
I agreed with sad vlad, you definitely have a lot of paranoia and derealization, but as the first commenter said, Solipsism seems to be exactly the case. As people have said on here, be* honest *with your therapist. Tell her the things that are on your mind a lot. Show her what you wrote on this thread. Just because she says you don't have schizophrenia or psychosis doesn't mean you don't have it. I'm almost 100% sure if you tell her about you seeing people disappearing and hearing voices, she will tell you its schizophrenia because that's what it sounds like when you explain it like that.

Have you ever thought that maybe when people tell you that they aren't out to get you, they mean it? And maybe it's just yourself that thinks that? In my opinion, I don't think people are out to get you. Solipsism can't be something easy to deal with and you should most definitely mention it to your doctor. I hope you have some trust with your doctor by the way, because they are getting paid to help you. You need to trust her if you want to get rid of those delusional thoughts and feelings. The thoughts that scare you and don't make you feel well.

Again, i'm really sorry you're going through this. From one human being to another, I understand how hard it can be to be a single soul living in the world with a billion other souls. Things will work out the way they are suppose to work out. And I hope you trust these people that are commenting, this forum is a really nice place to go to when feeling lost and upset, all these people want to do is help make you feel better by relating to you or just being interested in you. Some people can be really nice in this world.


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## sad vlad (Nov 9, 2013)

Lazarusx said:


> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/*Solipsism*





Saius said:


> *Solipsism* can be a wonderful or a terrible existence.





irandom97 said:


> *Solipsism* seems to be exactly the case.


From my knowledge, solipsism is a philosophical concept, not a medical or a psychological condition. Dissociation through derealization/depersonalization, is.

Telling someone that was diagnosed with borderline and clearly suffering from paranoia and most likely dissociation, that are only having a small philosophical dillema is like telling them they are perfectly fine. If they start believing that, why would they be motivated to seek help?

Mixing things up doesn't do anyone a favour. Philosophical concepts should stay solely in philosophical debates.


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## sad vlad (Nov 9, 2013)

timothy said:


> I'd get a second opinion if i was you


This is always a good idea if there is any doubt about the previous diagnosis.


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## sad vlad (Nov 9, 2013)

catlover8712 said:


> I have been put on 2 different *anti-psychotics*...Abilify 10mg and now quetiapine 400mg, and *neither have made me "stop believing", so obviously it is true*!


There is the same kind of distortion in the logic presented, like in the previous claim(''Someone told me I don't have schizophrenia so my beliefs can only be right''). The fact you are still believing may simply mean they still haven't found the right medication for your case, or the right dosage. Unfortunately, it's a trial and error process many times.

Anyway, a professional should have this discussion with you. I imagine resorting to rational arguments is not going to help on this one. However, I am more convinced you should try to get a second opinion and this time, tell them your exact thoughts(if you haven't done it the first time). Good luck.


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## twitchy666 (Apr 21, 2013)

*My response:*

They are *on* _their_ phone

or on TV

and oversmiling & giggling


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## irandom97 (Jan 28, 2012)

sad vlad said:


> From my knowledge, solipsism is a philosophical concept, not a medical or a psychological condition. Dissociation through derealization/depersonalization, is.
> 
> Telling someone that was diagnosed with borderline and clearly suffering from paranoia and most likely dissociation, that are only having a small philosophical dillema is like telling them they are perfectly fine. If they start believing that, why would they be motivated to seek help?
> 
> Mixing things up doesn't do anyone a favour. Philosophical concepts should stay solely in philosophical debates.


Now that I read the wikipedia page on Solipsism, I see that it's not a mental illness but just a philosophical concept as you said. I take back when I said Solipsism seems to be the case that catlover has... my bad. But I don't think philosophical concepts should stay purely in philosophical debates because those concepts depend on the persons perception of the world and these concepts could have a major role in identifying a persons mental health. As with Solipsism, it is just a concept but it can be far more than a concept to someone who believes in it all day everyday.


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## sad vlad (Nov 9, 2013)

irandom97 said:


> But I don't think philosophical concepts should stay purely in philosophical debates because those concepts depend on the persons perception of the world
> 
> ....
> 
> it is just a concept but it can be far more than a concept to someone who believes in it all day everyday.


If the person has no mental disorder, then that person can debate whatever philosophical concept she/he wants. As long as the person can make the distinction between reality and pure philosophy. But if the person has a mental disorder(or several), transforming its manifestation into a philosophical concept is just wrong.

As for the second paragraph, people used to believe in all sorts of theories/concepts for centuries or longer. Some of them were incredibly stupid. For example:

* they were certain the Earth was flat and once you get to its end, you'll fall into a never ending abyss or whatever;
* they have assumed the Earth can only be the center of the Universe;
* they thought, for over 2000 years(till the 19th century), that if someone is sick, causing him bleeding, vomiting, diarheea or giving them enemas, will cure them. Needless to say, most of the time, they were just adding to the pacient's sufferance or putting him/her in the ground a lot faster;
* they were convinced nothing heavier than air could ever fly and ridiculed anyone claiming something else;
* they had no doubt that chlamydia and the Black Death were caused by ''bad air'';
* they were believing in witchcraft like it was science fact and ended up torturing to death a huge amount of people because of the mass hysteria;
* it was believed that people suffering from severe mental disorders like schizophrenia, dementia, etc, were in fact possessed by the devil. So, someone suffering from deep psychosis would be ''exorcised'' so his/her soul will be ''saved''(the fact they were sometimes killed in the process, seemed to be less important);
etc.

There is a never ending list of concepts and theories that people strongly believed in, every single day, for hundreds or thousands of years. We now know they were nothing more than evidences of a lack of knowledge, ignorance, stupidity, sometimes doubled by mental issues. So not all concepts/theories/ideas should be transformed into a lifestyle.


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## scorch428 (Sep 2, 2013)

Uh oh, she's onto us!


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## 0blank0 (Sep 22, 2014)

SouthernTom said:


> Hi
> 
> I have no problem with you joining the site. In fact I hope it will be of some help to you.
> 
> ...


What he said


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## monotonous (Feb 1, 2013)

cuz u dont know them and they dont know u


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## Trident44 (Nov 3, 2013)

I get that feeling from time to time. It's a philospohical concept termed solipsism. The bottom line is, you'll never really be able to tell. Ever. 

If too many things are going against me in a period of time, I do, naturally, get frusrated and suspicious that I'm the only real person and someone is playing a cruel joke on me in this "life". But more often than not, I spend far more time worrying about what other people think of me, how I treat people, etc. in other words, I spend more time unconsciously thinking people are real than consciously suspecting that they aren't.

If I truly believe that they weren't real, I'd be the freest person on Earth (or probably dead in a matter of hours, lol). Certainly the last place I'd be would be on a social anxiety forum. I'd be trying to socialize with everyone if I were truly convinced they were just robots.


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## ilovejehovah777 (Apr 16, 2013)

This is kind of interesting because I kind of went through the same thing too. But mines was kind of different I don't want to go into too much detail but it ended up pretty bad to the point where I was admitted.


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## Xander916 (May 30, 2014)

Sounds like a bit of derealization/depersonalization. I'm so sorry you're having to go through this problem. I had depersonalization when I had a bad trip on psychedelic mushrooms and when I took a half gram of mda. The feeling only lasted a week but it was scary. Everything was as if I was viewing it through a movie screen, didn't seem real. My mood was low and nothing made me happy. Once I started eating healthy, stayed hydrated, took my supplements like b12 and got plenty of rest I was back to normal.


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## xxGODDESSxx (Sep 15, 2014)

Do you touch people often? Hug them, kiss them, etc? I would figure that you do not. But I can tell you from personal experience that if you keep space between *you* and *others* then this feeling will only grow.

Skin-to-skin contact (regular hugging, cuddling, touching) is the best and quickest way to gain more empathy for other people. Once you get close enough to feel their heartbeat on you, feel the warmth, etc.. you will start to relate more to others. You'll start to see that other people aren't as different from you (or anyone else!) like you imagine.

We all have the same basic needs: food, water, shelter, social contact/love/care, something to strive for, etc.. we're not as individual as anyone would ever believe! In fact, we're all very much the same in more ways than not...

You need more hugs and love, more physical and emotional contact.. really. You do. It would change so many of the negative concepts that are playing out in your mind right now... :heart :hug :heart


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## HenDoggy (Jul 26, 2014)

sad vlad said:


> Probably derealization/depersonalization.
> 
> Ok, now that I read your post entirely(not just the title and the fact you are diagnosed with borderline), you seem to suffer from paranoia as part of your bigger issues or a comorbid disorder.
> 
> The simple fact someone told you that you do not suffer from schizophrenia doesn't mean your thoughts or beliefs are correct. Any disorder has irrational thoughts and beliefs.


i agree sounds like derealization/depersonalization to me. I had a mild case of this awhile back. mine went away eventually but if its really bad i suggest talking to your therapist and seeking treatment immediately before it gets worst. best of luck


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## Spungo (Jul 30, 2012)

catlover8712 said:


> I'm diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and I suffer from low mood and anxiety, including social anxiety. I think I'm depressed yes, but I feel a lot of my problems are more the way other people treat me. I feel I am the only real human on this world, and* everyone else are robots in disguise, and everyone knows who I am and everyone plots against me*.


I know that feeling. That's what happens the day after taking too much MDMA. It feels like friends are pretending to be friends, but they're not really friends. That MDMA hangover is apparently caused by severe serotonin depletion and a few other things, and that's the theory for why drug companies did research into SSRI drugs. Sadly, SSRI drugs never worked as well as theory says they should. The problem was approached like it's a light switch that can be on or off, but the real solution is a lot more like a key fitting a lock.
A vaguely similar type of paranoia/distrust can be created by taking extreme dopamine releasing drugs like meth. Serotonin and dopamine seem to cancel each other out to some degree, so too much of one looks similar to not enough of the other. Example: selective serotonin boosting drugs often make people tired, and that tired feeling is similar to the effect cause by dopamine lowering drugs.

Are there any drugs you're naturally attracted to? Do you enjoy tobacco? Do you enjoy weed? Do you enjoy alcohol?


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## WellingtonSears (Apr 15, 2014)

I think that SouthernTom raised a good point, the very fact that you ask the question substantiates that probably, deep down, you know that the behavior isn't normal, and recognize it as an issue. Have you ever been diagnosed with paranoia? Having obtrusive thoughts that others have malicious intentions towards you on their agenda is at the heart and soul of paranoia.

Anyways, to a point, I think that the idea is an exercise in epistemological thinking, and that your seat of reason should be predominant in the thoughts that "no one else is real." I used to entertain the idea, too, it seems to make sense, right? You can't necessarily prove that subjectivity truly exists except from your own perception, in your own experience as a conscious, rational mind. But if you are self-aware, why is no one else, and why does the term of conscious even exist if not just to fool one into thinking that they're not the puppet on the set of some morbid stage. I know that I'm just rambling on with this philosphical claptrap now and don't want to the topic.

Clearly you have an undue amount of these thoughts, so yes, it sounds like textbook paranoia to me, alongside some derealization.


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

Sounds like paranoid schizophrenia to me.


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