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Doctors have a definition of psychotic illness, and many say it is a thought disorder. Some say it is "split personality." This is not the same thing as "multiple personality," in which a person has several personalities in one body. The "split" part of it is where consciousness has "split off from reality."

Either of these definitions (a thought disorder or a personality split off from reality) will work for the unfortunate people who have been duped by Donald Trump into believing his set of lies--for example: "Biden won because the election was rigged." At best guess, Trump himself does not believe this.

Psychosis can be compelling. It is awfully hard for a person, after becoming psychotic, to let go of their false beliefs. This is one reason that schizophrenia is so hard to treat. The patient needs to be on board with fighting the illness and must not be following the path of denying the existence of it and resultantly refusing treatment. Yet now we have potentially millions who are suffering from externally induced psychosis. 

Most people do not create their own beliefs. Most get their beliefs from others. Most people are afraid to think for themselves. If the whole group in which someone lives is disconnected from observable facts, then the entire group is collectively psychotic. This is not the same thing as the "mental illness" that people have recognized for decades. 

Externally induced psychosis does not make it not psychotic. It is an instance in which the failure to think for oneself is integral to the problem. Those who can think for themselves can observe facts on their own and draw their own conclusions. 

People are being brainwashed by Fox News, by the Republican Party, and by the beliefs of their peers, and by the outgoing President. 

Antipsychotic medication works through weakening the emphasis of the internal and bringing the patient back to her or his immediate surroundings. This allows the patient to track reality, and to function in a manner considered normal. 

The challenge for people with mental illness is, perennially, to stay physically and mentally intact, and to remain housed, medicated, fed and alive. Beyond that, it's gravy. We see Trump splitting off millions of Americans from observable facts. I am not asking the reader to believe me; I am asking for you to observe reality for yourself as best you can. 

It is not a good time to go off medication and run the dire risk of relapsing; it is never a good time for this. These are especially challenging times, and mentally ill people may be facing more challenges than normally. The past year has been incredibly challenging for me. 

This is tangential: President-elect Biden, when he was interviewed while still campaigning, assured everyone on national television that he planned to pardon Trump after he (Biden) is in office. This could be a mistake. If Donald Trump goes free, he can hold rallies, he can do public speaking, and he can rouse millions of people into creating massive chaos in the U.S. On the other hand, allowing Trump to serve a prison sentence would limit his ability to do all of this. Trump's base could be angered by Biden not pardoning Trump. However, Biden must not placate extremists. Secondly, extreme Republicans are never going to be pleased, irrespective of anything. 

Although mental illness doesn't affect conservatives any differently than it does liberals, the way these two groups have evolved affects how mental illness is dealt with. The Republican Party has become anti-science. For people with mental illness to get better, we must respect science. If you believe in God, it is not a big stretch to believe that God created science and has created a universe that behaves in a manner science can analyze. 

We can not follow religious or superstitious notions about the existence of mental illness or its causes. We must always cooperate with doctors in order to adequately treat a mental illness condition. There may be exceptions, such as a psychiatrist who has some problem. In that case, get a second opinion from another psychiatrist.