5 Types of delusions and their characteristics

The presence of delusions in serious clinical conditions is usually one of the main reasons for consultation that appear in medical and psychological offices. Often, these complex mental structures can pose a serious risk to the development of daily life. In this sense, many people report strange and paradoxical sensations in the body that become indescribable. Likewise, the persistence of implausible ideas that cannot be verified in reality is a worrying aspect for both suffering patients and health professionals mental. The need to help those who are suffering from these types of problems invites us to rethink concepts and produce new forms of understanding.

In this Psychology-Online article we will provide you with information about the 5 types of delusions and their characteristics.

Index

1. What are delusions
2. Delusion of persecution
3. Delusions of greatness
4. somatic delirium
5. Jealousy delusion
6. erotomanic delirium

The delusions are firm, rigid and unbreakable beliefs on different aspects of reality that can be sustained over time. Unlike doubt, delusions have certainty as their distinctive feature, which gives them a character of incontrovertible veracity. In other words, the person who has delusions lacks deep and adequate reflection on thought, concluding in ideas that cannot be questioned by anyone.

Although there is empirical evidence that delusional ideas are not true, their unbreakable character prevents them from losing value over time. For this reason, the crucial aspect that stands out accounts for the interpretation of the facts of reality. It is not that there are no reasons to adopt a specific belief, but rather that the processing of information from reality is distorted.

Difference between delirium and hallucination

Taking as reference what was described above, it is important to establish differences with hallucinations. On the one hand, delusions are based on perception with objects, real people or situations. For example, firmly believing that you are being followed by secret agents, despite there being no real evidence to support it.

However, hallucinations can have various nuances and have as their main axis the perception without objects or people of reality. In more practical terms, these are images, smells and/or sounds that do not exist. An example of hallucinations could be hearing voices talking or commenting on things without any external source making these sounds. Here you will find more information about the Difference between delirium and hallucination.

In this type of delirium, the person holds a persistent mistaken belief that she is being persecuted, monitored, or that an individual, group or entity is conspiring against you, despite the absence of actual evidence to support this belief. For this reason, those who suffer from this condition think that they will cause some damage that is harmful. It can manifest itself on any occasion in life.

As an example, people with delusions of persecution feel persecuted while walking down the street, entering their homes, attending a social event, working for a company, among others.

It consists of the exacerbation of personal traits that come into play both in social relationships and within daily life. These feelings of greatness They can encompass the personality, the body or any action undertaken at a given moment that acquires considerable importance.

For example, a person who suffers from delusions of greatness You can believe that he will save humanity with magical powers, he will be the messenger of God, among others.

The idea that predominates in this type of delirium is presence of an organic disease. Even though the person goes to health centers and undergoes medical check-ups that reject their belief, somatic delirium becomes impossible to avoid. In this way, it is common for disagreements to occur between doctors and patients who have these characteristics because these ideas are usually dismissed.

In contrast to this, the person who suffers from somatic delirium can carry out harmful actions against medical authorities if needs are not met.

The jealousy delusion lies in the certainty that a loved person has a lover and, therefore, she is unfaithful. Like the previous delusions, there may be a lack of evidence in reality about the belief undertaken. However, people who show an exacerbation of jealousy see their image altered and try to vindicate themselves from it.

In other words, the man or woman who suffers from jealousy delusions has the assurance that someone will take your place and they will look for ways to avoid these situations. In serious cases, they may attempt to murder who they believe is the lover. In this article we explain How to overcome unhealthy jealousy in a couple.

Erotomania is a perception disorder based on the person having the delusional and fixed belief that a person, usually of a higher social status or a public figure, has a crush on her. For this reason, they may engage in actions aimed at capturing the attention of a specific person. Although it may seem that the jealous delusion focuses on admiration for a certain figure, the truth is that it is a personal overestimation.

This type of delirium can often have a sexual or romantic component, and the affected person may experience significant distress due to this mistaken belief. In these cases, they may show up at the door of a public figure's house without prior notice, send letters in an uncontrollable manner, etc.

This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Types of delusions and their characteristics, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• Diez Patricio, A. (2010). Belief and delirium. Magazine of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry, 31 (109), 71-91.