Delusions of Reference

Lisa Gong is a medical student. She shares a story about the value in normalcy. Excerpt: "Delusions of Reference" “For the past few months, life was vibrant. He felt invincible, connected to God, and incredibly manic. However, after the waves of grandiosity receded, they left in their wake trenches of credit card debt, unemployment, and homelessness. On the one hand, he wanted the mania to go away and never come back. Bipolar disorder had forced him to drop out of school and nearly destroyed his relationship with his parents. He wanted to get back on his feet, ask his family for forgiveness, and start working towards his life goals. However, he also didn’t want to let go of the elation and spirituality he had experienced in mania.” Her story was published in Academic Medicine in March 2025. Gong, Lisa. Delusions of Reference. Academic Medicine ():10.1097/ACM.0000000000006015, March 4, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000006015