Strongly held beliefs (if delusional) really can paint a much prettier façade over reality. And the worse that reality may become, the more strongly held those beliefs become.
Until the, what was thought to be, unstoppable force of delusion meets the immovable object of reality.
This reminded me of the guy who lived in Charles de Gaulle airport for 18 years[0] despite having numerous opportunities to leave. His own family visited and he pretended not to know them. He demanded to be known as "Sir Alfred" and sabotaged his own chances to leave by not accepting legal documents because they still had his original birth name and location, which he insisted were incorrect. Pretty interesting story, though pretty sad too.
