TIL about Delusional parasitosis, sometimes referred to as phantom infestation, is a psychological disorder in which an individual mistakenly believes their body is overrun by living or inanimate entities. Typical examples of these perceived invaders include bugs, worms, or microbes.

[u/1998199888]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusional_parasitosis

[u/devo197979]

That's such a kind way to deal with that. He's meeting her where she is without making her feel like "the crazy old lady" and still trying to solve her medical problem.

[u/fghjconner → u/devo197979]

On the flip side, he's lying to her and taking away her ability to make an informed decision about her medication. In this case it absolutely works out for the best, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[u/isawabighoot → u/fghjconner]

Nah it's morally 100% absolutely objectively correct to trick mentally ill into treatment for their sake.

[u/BarQuiet6338 → u/isawabighoot]

Not really it goes against professional ethics as a clinician. Part of helping someone improve their mental state is building trust and rapport with them, and lying to a patient destroys that trust. Also, for treatment to be effective, the person needs to keep taking the medication everyday if you lie about what the medication does, the person can always look it up when they see it doesn't do what you told them they will simply stop taking it. People with mental illness have long been treated without their consent or knowledge this was wrong and harmful, although there are cases of severe mental illness that require involuntary care even in this case the person has the right to know what medications or treatment ls are being used and why.