The 20 types of delusions (and their characteristics)

We have heard many times 'I don't know what you are talking about, you are surely delirious' or 'Last night you were delirious with fever, you were saying nonsense'.

And although the distortion of the sense of reality can sometimes be called a form colloquial of ‘delirium’, the reality is that this pathological characteristic is more significant than we can To imagine. Its appearance is always a synonym of the existence of an alteration of the mental state of a person, which may be suffering from a psychological disorder or illness.

It is very common, however, that, when subjected to high levels of stress, anxiety or stress, the reality of the environment becomes blurred before our perception and we can even feel discomfort that worries us and makes us believe that something is not right. So we can feel that someone is watching us insistently or we hear that they talk about us in a place, when this is not true at all.

But when these thoughts become more and more present and insistent, it is possible that they become part of the normality of the day to day and that is when everything becomes more worrying. For what reason? Read the following article to find out,

We will talk about delirium, its types and what characterizes this cognitive alteration.

What are delusions?

It is an alteration of mental abilities, and when they occur the person experiences false beliefs and fixed thoughts that the person perceives as true and is convinced of them with fervor, despite the fact that they have a wrong conception. This belief is so strong and ingrained that they cannot be convinced otherwise, even with evidence, as it is simply impossible for them to do so.

Which generates confusing perceptions about the environment where it is, as well as the intentions of the people or their own current situation. So it is common to see a person with delusions lose control of their emotions drastically, have abrupt changes in behavior and decreased consciousness.

The origin of delusions

The psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers was the first to identify this alteration, which, despite its seriousness and pathological symptoms, is not considered as part of mental disorders, but as its own symptom within these. Especially those related to psychotic disorders, personality or the state of mind, where their presence can alter the severity of them.

Although it can also be caused by other factors that affect the mental abilities of the person, such as a disease chronic, metabolic imbalance, intoxication by alcohol or psychoactive substances, infections or negative reactions to medicines.

The appearance of delusions is usually instantaneous and last between hours or days, with intermittent breaks without presenting any symptoms. They can also fluctuate during the day, but tend to be worse at night or when people are exposed to little-known environments or situations.

Types of delusions and their main characteristics

Find out below what these delusions are and why they have a characterization associated with certain psychological or psychiatric disorders.

1. According to its shape

These are characterized by the comprehensibility of the ideas and thoughts that the person has.

1.1. Primary delirium

It is also called as delusional ideas, which appear suddenly and abruptly in the person's cognition, are original and psychologically incomprehensible. But they remain with a firm and sure conviction.

1.2.. Secondary delirium

These, on the other hand, can have a certain degree of psychological understanding, since they appear to give meaning or explanation to an abnormal event experienced, for example, a hallucination, an altered mood or a unusual behavior. It is also known as delirious ideas.

2. According to your symptoms

In this classification we can appreciate the severity of the influence of delirium on the activity of the person.

2.1. Hyperactive delirium

It is the most common of delusions, in addition to being the easiest to appreciate since it presents a series of behaviors and altered changes in the person. It includes nervous agitation, restlessness, anxiety, drastic changes in mood, refusal to be helped and in some cases, the presence of hallucinations.

2.2. Hypoactive delirium

Contrary to the previous case, in this type of delirium the symptoms appear as a permanent inactivity, in the which are reduced movements, feeling lightheaded, lethargy, abnormal drowsiness and reduced psychomotor activity in general.

2.3. Mixed delusion

In this type there are symptoms of both hypoactive and hyperactive delirium, so the person can pass from one state to another on a recurring basis.

3. Jasper's Primary Delusions

These are the categories that the psychiatrist made about delusions according to their way of being perceived.

3.1. Delusional intuition

Also known as a primary delusional idea (related to delusions) in which the thought has a unique and very personal meaning for the person. This knowledge is generated by itself, without any prior reference and appears suddenly.

3.2. Delusional perception

This is nothing more than the altered reinterpretation of a common and normal perception. Giving it a completely distorted and unreal meaning that only the person with delusion can know.

3.3. Delusional atmosphere

In this, the subjective alteration is given to an environment or place, which the person with delirium appreciates as disturbing and uncomfortable, since something has changed in her irreversibly and threatening.

3.4. Delusional memory

It occurs at the level of the delusional person's own memory, which changes, rearranges and alters a real memory in a distorted way as it actually happened. It can also be seen in this state that the person suddenly has a sudden memory that is nothing more than a delusional invention.

4. According to its content

These types are the most frequent in people and are made up of the type of fixed ideas that the person has.

4.1. Paranoid delusion

This is one of the most common delusions of all and it is essentially that the person firmly believes that he is being the objective of a person or a group of people, whose intentions are to cause harm, either physically, emotionally or psychological. A classic example of this is when a person repeatedly states that someone wants to kill him.

4.2. Delusions of greatness

This is very common in people with egocentrism, in which they have an excessive idea of ​​power, where the person has an inordinate self-confidence and appreciation of his abilities (self-imposed) and his influence on the rest.

4.3. Delusion of persecution

It is similar to paranoid delusion, but in this the person is convinced that someone is chasing him or is conspiring against him to cause him some harm. In it they can ‘identify’ the situation or the conspirators or, on the other hand, believe that they are spying on them through devices.

4.4. Reference delusion

In this type of delusion, the person believes that some events or actions of others have to do with them directly or They are involved to a certain degree, but they are not necessarily told directly, but they may be communicating with messages hidden.

4.5. Celotypical delusion

It is the firm and exaggerated belief that the partner is being unfaithful, so look for any small indication of this. Therefore, the justified responsibility of looking for ‘evidence’ to prove it is attributed, coming to consider each act as a sample of the infidelity.

4.6. Delusion of control

Also called delusion of being controlled, it is the fixed belief that the person is being used by someone else. So you can experience your feelings, behaviors, attitudes and thoughts as not your own, excusing yourself from sudden and extreme changes, since it is the will of another being.

4.7. Somatic delirium

As his name implies, the person has the obsessive idea of ​​having some type of medical complication or a physical imperfection that seriously affected and they cannot accept the explanation that said condition is not present, no matter how much evidence they are provide.

4.8. Erotomanic delusion

Here, the person has the cognition that there is someone who is madly in love with him, who watches him, pursues him, and prompts him to get his attention and accept his love. Usually this idea is had with a famous or high status person.

4.9. Metacognitive delusion

This is an alteration of the processes of interpretation and reasoning of your thoughts with respect to their manifestation in reality. That is, you can justify that your behaviors or ideas are not your own, but have been manipulated by someone else.

4.10. Delusion of false identification

Also known as Capgras Syndrome, in which the individual is not able to recognize a person from his environment, but rather expresses that said person has been replaced by an impostor identical.

4.11. Delusion of guilt or sin

As its name implies, it is the exaggerated belief of responsibility attributed to oneself for an event that may even have nothing to do with it or whose consequences are minimal.