Delusion Confusion

“She’s so deluded!” It’s a phrase I hear quite a lot - whether it’s in the context of talent, love, ambitions or beliefs. However, what does it actually mean to be “delusional”?

An individual can be described as being delusional when they cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. They hold beliefs which are untrue, impossible or fanciful. These can be a symptom of a neurological, medical or mental disorder which is present in many conditions such as schizophrenia or dementia.

Specs by Jenny Downing is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Illusions can be described as a misperception of real external stimuli. Illusions the manner in which the brain normally organises and interprets sensory information and although they distort reality they are generally shared by many people. Hallucinations is the main one which people confuse with delusions and one of the reasons being could be due to it being a shared symptom for schizophrenia. Hallucinations can be described as a false sensory perception experienced, when there is no real external stimulus present. Finally, delusions are false beliefs an individual has which cannot be dealt with using rules of logic and are not consistent with reality.

Of course not everyone will use the term “delusional” in this respect. We commonly use it to describe someone who is ignorant not only of their own nature but of physical reality too. Do you consider yourself as being deluded? Would someone who is deluded, know that they are delusional? These are just some questions to consider when studying Psychology…

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