Psychology & Psychiatry

Researcher reports effective treatment for delusional paranoia

Professor Daniel Freeman, clinical psychologist, explains how delusions may be unfounded but they cause real distress and misery for sufferers—who feel constantly unsafe. He set himself the challenge of finding an effective ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Delusions may stem from sticky beliefs, study finds

Delusions are one of the most common symptoms of psychosis, but little is known about what causes them. A new study from researchers at Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute offers insight into the ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

How hard is it to recognise that you are experiencing a delusion?

When people experience delusions or hallucinations there is usually some loss of contact with reality whereby normal processes of thought and perception are disturbed. As humans, we are all susceptible to experiencing anomalous ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Immigrants suffer higher rates of psychosis

Psychosis, sometimes called schizophrenia, is a psychological state characterised by symptoms such as paranoia and hallucinations. In England, one person in every 100 will be diagnosed with a psychotic disorder at some point ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

New warning signs of mental health disorders

Healthy people who have occasional hallucinations or delusions are more likely to experience mood and anxiety disorders, University of Queensland researchers have found.

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Delusion

A delusion is a false belief held with absolute conviction despite superior evidence. Unlike hallucinations, delusions are always pathological (the result of an illness or illness process). As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, dogma, poor memory, illusion, or other effects of perception.

Delusions typically occur in the context of neurological or mental illness, although they are not tied to any particular disease and have been found to occur in the context of many pathological states (both physical and mental). However, they are of particular diagnostic importance in psychotic disorders including schizophrenia, paraphrenia, manic episodes of bipolar disorder, and psychotic depression.

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