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The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: Fight your demons

By Liam O'Leary

Katelyn Nacon as Enid, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead -- AMC
Katelyn Nacon as Enid, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead -- AMC /
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Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, The Walking Dead — AMC
Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Greene, The Walking Dead — AMC /

3) You’re suffering from hallucinations.

This is another issue that should be easy to spot.

Example: Are you seeing something that either A) No one else in your group can see/hear? Or B) Are you seeing something that, even in a zombie apocalypse, you know can’t be real?

If so, congratulations, you’re still sane enough to recognize you have a problem, and, that’s the first step to dealing with it. If you can make this distinction, you still have a good grasp of what’s real and what isn’t, and you need to hang onto that.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead — AMC
Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead — AMC /

You see, if you let yourself believe that your hallucinations are real, despite your group telling you otherwise, you become a severe liability.

Look at Rick. Throughout much of Season Three of The Walking Dead, Rick began to hear and see Lori, despite the fact she was very much dead.

After returning from rescuing Glenn and Maggie from Woodbury, he began seeing Lori. In a crazed attempt to get her to go away, he began screaming for her to leave; Not realizing what he was screaming at, The Group sent Tyreese, Sasha, Ben, and Allen away, believing he was telling them to leave.

But, it got worse, after Daryl and Merle left, Rick began wandering alone aimlessly outside the prison, attempting to look for Lori, who he saw beyond the fence.

What if he had gotten attacked by walkers? No one would have been there to help him, or worse, he might have seen a walker as Lori, meaning he would have let his guard down only to get bitten!

Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead — AMC
Scott Wilson as Hershel Greene, Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, The Walking Dead — AMC /

To tackle this, you’ll need to lean on your group a little bit. If there are any members of your group you especially trust, talk to them, try to get to the bottom of why you’re having these hallucinations. If you’re in a leadership position in the group, try to see if others in the group will help you shoulder the load.

You also need to remind yourself that the thing(s) you’re seeing that no one else can (Or simply should not be) isn’t real. Hopefully, over time, these reminders will help you, if not stop seeing the hallucinations, at least keep you grounded in the knowledge that they’re not actually there.

If you’re seeing hallucinations in a zombie apocalypse, it can leave you vulnerable to attacks, as you may be too busy dealing with something that isn’t there when you need to focus on what is. Left unchecked, they can warp your sense of reality entirely.

You can’t let that happen. If you start having them, remember: They are not real. Rely on your group, talk with them to help you through it, and, if they say it’s not there, take their word for. Don’t waste time fighting things that aren’t there.

Next: No One Lives Forever

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