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Delusions
Related Subjects: |Psychiatric Emergencies |Depression |Mania |Schizophrenia |Suicide |Acute Psychosis |Delusions |General Anxiety Disorder |Obsessive-Compulsive disorder |Wernicke Korsakoff Syndrome |Medically Unexplained symptoms |Postpartum/Postnatal Depression
🧠 Classification of Delusions by Content
| Classification | Content / Example |
|---|---|
| 🔪 Persecutory delusions | Belief that one is being harmed, threatened, cheated, harassed or conspired against. 📌 Most common type; typical in schizophrenia & delusional disorder. |
| 👑 Grandiose delusions | Belief of exceptional power, talent, or importance (e.g. “I am a king” / “I have mystical powers”). 📌 Seen in mania & psychosis. |
| 📺 Delusions of reference | Belief that neutral events/people refer specifically to oneself (e.g. TV presenter speaking about them). 📌 Schizophrenia hallmark. |
| 🙏 Religious delusions | False religious themes (e.g. “I am God’s chosen messenger”). Often grandiose. |
| 💌 Erotomania (Delusion of love) | Belief that another person is in love with them. 📌 De Clérambault syndrome: usually woman believes older/high-status man loves her. |
| 💔 Delusion of infidelity (Morbid jealousy, Othello syndrome) | Belief that partner is unfaithful. 📌 Important in forensic psychiatry due to risk of violence. |
| 🧑🤝🧑 Delusions of misidentification |
Capgras: Familiar person replaced by impostor.
Fregoli: Stranger is actually a familiar person in disguise. |
| 💀 Nihilistic delusions (Cotard syndrome) | Belief that self/others/world do not exist or world ending. 📌 Classically seen in severe depression with psychotic features. |
| 🩺 Somatic delusions | Belief concerning one’s body or health (e.g. “My intestines are rotting”). 📌 Also called hypochondriacal delusions. |
| 🐜 Delusions of infestation (Ekbom syndrome) | Belief of being infested with insects/parasites. 📌 Sometimes accompanied by tactile hallucinations (formication). |
| 🎮 Delusions of control (passivity / “made” experiences) |
Belief that one’s thoughts, feelings, or actions are controlled by external forces.
First-rank symptoms of schizophrenia:
– Thought insertion: thoughts implanted into one’s mind.
– Thought withdrawal: thoughts being taken away. – Thought broadcasting: others can hear one’s thoughts. |
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