SEVERE TRIGGER WARNING: REALITY CHECKS.


Hello! You've likely been sent this by an IRL or by someone whom would like you to learn more about them. This is written by an IRL, for others who may want to learn about it, or refer others to this rentry! Again, this WILL contain in-depth discussions of reality checking, so if you're sensitive to that, click off now.


• "Okay, so what are IRLs?"


An IRL (also called delusional attachments or d/as which is not a medical term, the correct term would be delusional misidentification.) is when someone genuinely believes they ARE a fictional character, person, or thing. This is a result of psychosis, and is a delusion. They have an unshakable belief of BEING said thing, and typically will have memories of their media, and believe they are wholeheartedly them in the flesh.


• "What's a proper way to treat someone who's an IRL? How can I support someone?"


To put it simply, just treat them with the respect you'd treat anyone else with! Make effort to use their media names (e.g. an IRL of Mizuki Akiyama would likely want to be called Mizuki), as there IS a chance of reality checking them in a manner and causing harmful "reality jolts", which can harm them mentally and physically at times.


• "Wait, isn't it wrong to feed into delusions? Isn't reality checking a good thing?"


You aren't essentially feeding into delusions in a harmful way by treating an IRL like this! Most of the time, being an IRL doesn't harm you severely such as other delusions that require reality checks do, BUT being an IRL still affects/impacts your daily life and functioning, therefore making it a delusion. Reality checking is when one tells an IRL that they aren't said thing (e.g. "You aren't [x], that isn't possible/real and/or it's stupid"), and can cause harmful effects to said person, mentally and physically at times. It can lead to spiraling and panic, as being an IRL is typically a method of escapism and dissociation. It is HIGHLY advised to avoid reality checking when possible, UNLESS the person experiencing the delusion is a danger to themself or others, or asks you to do so somehow. Not all reality checking is bad, but it can harm someone at times. Always respect the person's boundaries ON rcing.


• "So how do I avoid reality checking someone?"


- Avoid using terms like false identity, delusion/delusional, etc. There are some IRLs who aren't sensitive to reality checking, so it's always good to check just in case.
- Make your best effort to refer to them by their media name/media terms. A best example of media terms is a non-human character, such as an object show character. A media name would be the name of their IRL.
- Be mindful of mediashifts and media triggers.


• "Are there any terms that I need to be mindful of?"


- Mediashifts: "Switching" from one IRL to another. Don't call it switching though, it's a system exclusive term to describe when different alters front. Mediashift, or just simply shift is a better alternative.
- Media memories: The memories an IRL may have of their media.
- Media: Where an IRL originates from. For example, an IRL of Kris Dreemurr's media would be Deltarune.
- Mediamates: Two IRLs from the same source. For example, an IRL of N would be a mediamate of an IRL of Uzi.
- Media triggers: Something that severely upsets an IRL that has to do with their media. Said trigger can cause spiraling, being severely harmed mentally, etc. Media triggers may be character death, certain events in the media, certain characters, and more.


• "How does an IRL form? What's psychosis?"


Psychosis causes unshakable beliefs (delusions) such as someone trying to kill them, or being convinced that someone is watching them. Psychosis can also cause visual and auditory hallucinations. Psychosis is NOT a mental disorder, rather it's a symptom, which can be a result of drug abuse, personality disorders, trauma, mental disorders, disabilities, and even sleep deprivation. An IRL can form from one finding themselves to be very alike TO the character, having similar trauma/seeing themself in the character, coping with stressful and traumatic life events, being exposed to them frequently, or simply just being them. IRLs are not related to fictionkins, fictives, copinglinks, etc. Despite all being from sourced media, the aforementioned are part of one's identity, while IRLs encompass delusional beliefs, however the aforementioned may have IRLs as well. IRLs are known as delusions of grandeur, meaning unshakable beliefs that involve believing you are something you're not.


• "How do I know if I'm an IRL?"


As an IRL myself, I'd recommend to ask yourself if you genuinely see yourself as them. If you simply believe you were them in a past life, that's being fictionkin. If you see yourself as them, but are aware that there's a seperation between yourself and the character/person, that's called a copinglink. It gets trickier with fictives and sourced introject alters, but if you already know you're a system, you should be able to figure it out. With IRLs, there is NO seperation between the self and the character/person. You genuinely BECOME them in every sense except physical, and you see yourself as them 100%. You need to experience psychosis to be an IRL, regardless if it's for coping/escapism/trauma-related reasons. It also isn't something you choose to do for fun and it's uncontrollable. An IRL cannot control their media.


Last update: 6/10/2024 || Written by The Entropy System

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Pub: 11 Jul 2024 02:54 UTC

Edit: 11 Jul 2024 02:55 UTC

Views: 920