Delusion is a disorder of: September 2007

Ans. A: Thinking Delusion is an incorrect belief which is out of keeping with the person's cultural context, intelligence and social background and which is held with unshakeable conviction' Primary delusiona are commonly associated with schizophrenia. Some of the more common delusion themes are: Delusion of control: This is a false belief that another person, group of people, or external force controls one's thoughts, feelings, impulses, or behavior. A person may describe, for instance, the experience that aliens actually make him or her move in ceain ways and that the person affected has no control over the bodily movements. Thought broadcasting (the false belief that the affected person's thoughts are heard loud), thought inseion, and thought withdrawal (the belief that an outside force, person, or group of people is removing or extracting a person's thoughts) are also examples of delusions of control. Nihilistic delusion: A delusion whose theme centres on the nonexistence of self or pas of self, others, or the world. A person with this type of delusion may have the false belief that the world is ending. Delusion of infidelity/ delusional jealousy: A person with this delusion falsely believes their spouse or lover is having an affair. This delusion stems from pathological jealousy, and the person often gathers "evidence" and confronts the spouse about the nonexistent affair. Delusion of guilt or sin/ Delusion of self-accusation: This is a false feeling of remorse or guilt of delusional intensity. A person may, for example, believe he has committed some horrible crime and should be punished severely. Delusion of mind being read: The false belief that other people can know one's thoughts. This is different from thought broadcasting in that the person does not believe their thoughts are heard loud. Delusion of the person falsely believes that insignificant remarks, events, or objects in one's environment have personal meaning or significance. For instance, a person may believe they are receiving special messages from newspaper headlines. Grandiose delusion: An individual is convinced they have special powers, talents, or abilities. Sometimes, the individual may actually believe they are a famous person or character (for example, a rock star). Persecutory delusion: These are the most common type of delusions and involve the theme of being followed, harassed, cheated, poisoned or drugged, conspired against, spied on, attacked, or obstructed in the pursuit of goals.