The Ongoing Debate on God has Ended

[confused2]

A lot probably depends on whether you think of yourself as being on the inside or the outside of the squirrel enclosure.

[Magical Realist]

Steps for Working With Delusions
1. Establish a trusting, interpersonal relationship
https://www.bcss.org/support/how-do-i-ge...delusions/

MR's strategy stops right there, accomplishing nothing. I accept that there's a limit to how much trust can be built solely online:

Working with delusions is similar to hallucinations, except that more non-verbal techniques are required. You will need to sit in silence longer and with more patience, as delusions do not tend to go away, ever.

Knowing that, I move on to:

2. Identify the content and/or type of delusion
Do not confirm or feed into the delusion by asking questions about it when the person is not in psychosis.

And:

3. Investigate how the delusion is affecting the person's life
Assess if and how the delusions are interfering with a person’s life. For example, are they are no longer able to function or participate in regular everyday life?

Why are you seeing a psychiatrist in the first place? Most people who are well-adjusted don't even think to do so. So what is causing you distress or negatively affecting your life?

You can't even get past step one. Contempt and ridicule form no part of the treatment regimen.

[Syne]

You can't even get past step one. Contempt and ridicule form no part of the treatment regimen.

Again, "No one's mental disorders are going to be cured over the internet, without professional intervention."
If you think you're aiding treatment, you're delusional, which is why you feel the need to enable the delusions of others.

I'm not interested in being anyone's psychiatrist. The best I can do is not enable further delusion while contributing what little I can in the direction of actual help...as opposed to your efforts only working to further the delusion. Again, since you try to do step #1 by explicitly violating steps #2 & #3, you're doing net harm. But it selfishly makes you feel better about yourself (or is a mutual justification for your delusions), which is really all you care about.

[confused2]

The advice may be good and even well intentioned. But.

I'm not interested in being anyone's psychiatrist.

But it [whatever] selfishly makes you feel better about yourself

I am also not interested in being anyone's psychiatrist.

[Syne]

I can see why you'd be confused. MR does net harm to help him feel like a good person. I do net good because my ego isn't involved. The appearance of good is often a more powerful perception than actual good. Actual good is often hard to do and sounds harsh to suggest.

[Magical Realist]

You can't even get past step one. Contempt and ridicule form no part of the treatment regimen.

Again, "No one's mental disorders are going to be cured over the internet, without professional intervention."
If you think you're aiding treatment, you're delusional, which is why you feel the need to enable the delusions of others.

I'm not interested in being anyone's psychiatrist. The best I can do is not enable further delusion while contributing what little I can in the direction of actual help...as opposed to your efforts only working to further the delusion. Again, since you try to do step #1 by explicitly violating steps #2 & #3, you're doing net harm. But it selfishly makes you feel better about yourself (or is a mutual justification for your delusions), which is really all you care about.

“Reasoning will never make a man correct an ill opinion, which by reasoning he never acquired.” --Jonathan Swift

[Syne]

Again, "No one's mental disorders are going to be cured over the internet, without professional intervention."
If you think you're aiding treatment, you're delusional, which is why you feel the need to enable the delusions of others.

I'm not interested in being anyone's psychiatrist. The best I can do is not enable further delusion while contributing what little I can in the direction of actual help...as opposed to your efforts only working to further the delusion. Again, since you try to do step #1 by explicitly violating steps #2 & #3, you're doing net harm. But it selfishly makes you feel better about yourself (or is a mutual justification for your delusions), which is really all you care about.

“Reasoning will never make a man correct an ill opinion, which by reasoning he never acquired.” --Jonathan Swift

So you have no comeback but a thinly-veiled ad hominem under the cover of an appeal to authority.
IOW, you're unable to justify how you being "kind" helps anyone, other than selfishly making you feel better by enabling them to remain delusional.

Self-Absorption: The Root of All (Psychological) Evil?

[Magical Realist]

Treating people kindly and respectfully only builds their self-esteem and sense of worth. It doesn't enable delusion. It enables the confidence and ability of them to see thru the delusion themselves. Your strategy of verbal abuse and moralizing only frustrates them and leaves them clinging more tightly to their delusions. It is toxic and self-serving and does nobody any good.

[Syne]

Treating people kindly and respectfully only builds their self-esteem and sense of worth. It doesn't enable delusion. It enables the ability of them to see thru it themselves. Your strategy of verbal abuse and moralizing only frustrates them and leaves them clinging more tightly to their delusions. It is toxic and self-serving and does nobody any good.

You weren't just treating him kindly. You were agreeing with his delusions. That literally encourages such delusions. That doesn't enable him to overcome anything. I know that platitudes online are useless. You simply can't build therapeutically valid trust that way. You can feed the delusional affirmations all day, but they will still face the reality that their delusions cause them problems in life, even without any criticism at all.
Due to your lack of self-awareness, it's no surprise that you have no real understanding of delusion. Hard to see from the inside. Delusions are only reinforced by agreement, not disagreement. The delusions already exist as a last ditch defense mechanism.

A defense mechanism explains the origin of the motivated delusion and its content. As a defensive reaction, motivated delusions can prevent loss of self-esteem and deal with strong negative emotions. People thus hold certain beliefs (often unconsciously) in part because they attach value to them. To maintain a positive view of themselves, they revise their beliefs in the face of new evidence of good news, but ignore bad news.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/...nal-belief

The delusion is completely unfazed by criticism and strengthened by anything that helps the delusional maintain a positive view of themselves....like your agreement.

Notice, just for a moment, the dearth of any psychological citations in your arguments in favor or your own feelings about what is kind, abuse, etc.. This occurs because you see yourself in Ostro and get defensive, as a projected extension of your own, similar defense mechanisms.

[confused2]

Breaking into a conversation with:

Why am I not surprised that one head case is enabling the delusions of another.

fits my definition of trolling.

If anyone wants to start a thread about psychiatry or psychology then let them go ahead and start it.

@Ostro,
  My apologies for my part in interrupting the the thread you started. Unfortunately I know nothing about the topic but if I did I would be happy to discuss it.
-C2.