Venting Capgras Syndrome

[Life_and_Death]

"Capgras is a mental condition in which you feel that a close friend, spouse, family member or a pet has been replaced by an identical imposter."


"thankfully" for me it mostly seems to effect pets (although i do have questionable moments sometimes).... id probably be completely psychotic if it effected humans. at least i cant understand what animals are saying and i dont have to trust them to care for me.

my first and worst case was when i was early - mid teens (i was more than old enough to know it was stupid).
i lived out in the woods so we had wild animals around. and my brain concocted this stupid moronic idea that.... the coyotes in the woods was holding our dog hostage and would replace her with a look alike. switching them back every now and again so everyone else in the family was suspicious.
i knew it was crazy, so i never said anything until after i moved out away from the dog.

now i deal with my cat. within the first year of getting her i think she had gotten out on me (in town now). she had a collar and nametag on. there is no mistaking my cat even if i did just get her and we werent quite bonded. yet i still wonder if i picked up the wrong cat and my girl is still wandering out there..... (at least it makes more sense then the first one)

its a fucking hell for me though..... i want to own a farm of animals....... now im probably gonna believe someone switched out my chickens for other chickens because......idk......... but its stressful........ to feel like the world is constantly playing games with you..... to know its completely insane, impossible, yet still you think 'maybe'........


whats funny is im not this way with wild animals. i mean yeah like most people i cant tell them apart. i could see the same herd of deer for a week straight and have no idea. but ive been wanting to get better at that so i try to pay attention. so now i can go "i bet youre that same little squirrel. hey little guy" i can trust i know a random animal that is a lot more likely to naturally not be the same one......than my own cat in my house...........



im sick of all these fucking disorders......

 

[timf]

In the pursuit of truth, skepticism can be a useful tool. It can be tricky when your own mind presents you with a conspiracy theory. However, one can still be skeptical. For example. when presented with a conspiratorial possibility (ie. your pet has been replaced), one can ask how this could be done and why it would be done. This process of questioning can help push back against that which is false.

 

[Life_and_Death]

This process of questioning can help push back against that which is false.

if only it was that simple. too bad its been almost 10yrs (6-8, i lost count after her sister passed away) and i still question it yet am more than well aware that its "irrational". not everything has a "fix". you can tell a colour blind person that the sky is blue, and they know youre accurate yet still they dont actually know. i know shes my cat, but you can give me a DNA test before and after, and ill just question the accuracy of the test.

i have been questioning it. you telling me "oh just think about it", tells me you dont know about dealing with the condition and is extremely dismissing.

she had a collar and nametag on. there is no mistaking my cat even if i did just get her and we werent quite bonded.

Unfortunately, there's currently no cure for Capgras syndrome, and even treatment can be challenging.

Currently, there is no prescribed treatment plan for people with CS. More research on the syndrome is needed

and actually questioning it can actually make capgras worse.

this condition isnt well known (more research is needed), and its so much more complex than "just question it". no amount of questioning will help. if anything it will only drive me more insane.
im 'fairly' confident its a chemical issue not a mental one. i can talk myself into eating, i cant talk myself into believing thats my cat.

the doctors dont even know whats wrong or how to fix it. more research is needed, but you know the answer huh?

 

[ForgottenAgain]

I'm really sorry for your predicament. I had a taste of something similar once with people: I started feeling my family had been replaced by artifitial intelligence lookalikes. It was terrifying and there was no way I could question anything, I was too busy being certain that I was right.
I ran to the kitchen to drink water from a bottle we had there. It had no label and when I drank it was actually rum. The shock of that pushed me back to reality, like I was woken up from a nightmare or something.

Last year I was diagnosed with psychotic depression. This episode I mentioned was more than 5 years ago and, looking back now, I think it was depression induced psychosis too but I'm no doctor.

Your case sounds different, more lucid and consistent. Does that happen when you're particularly sad or stressed? Or does it happen randomly as you're going through your day?
I'm really sorry you have to deal with that...there's nothing I can say that can help as I wasn't able to help myself either during my own situations. Things just feel so real and one is so certain. I've never been more certain of something in my life than that moment when I thought my family was AI.

 

[Life_and_Death]

I started feeling my family had been replaced by artifitial intelligence lookalikes.

i havent heard of that
capgras: believe that an identical person has replaced a person close to him or her.
fregoli: a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise.
of course AI wasnt as much (if at all) a thing. maybe a new disorder will be "discovered"/named?
youre probably right about it being psychosis given the circumstances. but in general

Does that happen when you're particularly sad or stressed?

no? im pretty sure its a 24/7 thing. but kind of like how if a loved one passes away (but its been a bit), you always miss them but every now and again it pulls harder. well every now and again its a little harder to push aside. idk, ill just kind of look at her, go to pet her or whatever and kinda dissociate, get this weird feeling like 'somethings' wrong. i havent noticed it matching up to being more depressed. and the more i think about it the less i think it does. typically when im more depressed im in a "me state" where everything is so much its hard to pay attention or care about other things.