All Too Real

One of the common misunderstandings about the experience of mental illness is that much of what those outside call "all in the mind" and assume to be delusive is actually all too real. What happens when you're "sick" is not always sickness, it can be the accretion and consolidation of the unseen; it can be fantasy as personal theatre; it can be real.

Definitions of real on the Web:

• being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory; "real objects"; "real people; not ghosts"; "a film based on real ...
• real(a): no less than what is stated; worthy of the name; "the real reason"; "real war"; "a real friend"; "a real woman"; "meat and potatoes--I call that a real meal"; "it's time he had a real job"; "it's no penny-ante job--he's making real money"
• not to be taken lightly; "statistics demonstrate that poverty and unemployment are very real problems"; "to the man sleeping regularly in doorways homelessness is real"
• capable of being treated as fact; "tangible evidence"; "his brief time as Prime Minister brought few real benefits to the poor"
• actual: being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something; "her actual motive"; "a literal solitude like a desert"- G.K.Chesterton; "a genuine dilemma"
• of, relating to, or representing an amount that is corrected for inflation; "real prices"; "real income"; "real wages"
• real number: any rational or irrational number
• substantial: having substance or capable of being treated as fact; not imaginary; "the substantial world"; "a mere dream, neither substantial nor practical"; "most ponderous and substantial things"- Shakespeare
• the basic unit of money in Brazil; equal to 100 centavos
• (of property) fixed or immovable; "real property consists of land and buildings"
• very: used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal; "she was very gifted"; "he played very well"; "a really enjoyable evening"; "I'm real sorry about it"; "a rattling good yarn"
• an old small silver Spanish coin

What is definitely real is this: