Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that significantly impairs a person's functioning. To be considered schizophrenic, a person must have hallucinations and delusions. Examples of hallucinations are hearing voices or seeing things that others do not. Delusions are erroneous beliefs that usually involve misinterpretation of perceptions or experiences, according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). In paranoid schizophrenia, a subtype of schizophrenia, delusions are common and follow certain themes.
Persecutory Delusions
Persecutory delusions are the most common delusions in paranoid schizophrenia. The person believes he is being tormented, tricked, followed, harassed, conspired against, attacked, obstructed in the pursuit of goals, spied on or ridiculed. An example of a persecutory delusion is a person believing that the government is following him, according to minddisorders.com.
Delusion of Control
A delusion of control is the false belief that someone is controlling her. An example of this is thinking that aliens control her thoughts and she has no control over them. Other examples of control delusions are thought broadcasting, thought insertion and thought withdrawal. Thought broadcasting is the false belief that your thoughts are being heard by others. This is different than someone being able to read your thoughts, which is another delusion. Thought insertion is the belief that others are putting thoughts into your head. Thought withdrawal is the belief that someone is taking thoughts from your mind.
Grandiose Delusion
A grandiose delusion is when an individual exaggerates his sense of self-importance and is convinced that he has special powers. Sometimes, the person believes that he is someone famous. Additionally, a person can believe that he has accomplished something great but has not been recognized for it.
Referential Delusion
In referential delusions, the person believes that certain gestures, comments, passages from books, newspapers, song lyrics or other environmental cues are specifically directed at that person, according to the DSM-IV-TR. For example, she may think she is receiving special messages from a news anchor. Usually, the meaning of these "messages" is negative.
Erotomania Delusion
Erotomania is a delusion where the person believes that someone of a higher status is in love with him. It is common that the person will try to contact the person of higher status, sometimes leading to stalking behavior.
References
- Minddisorder.com: Delusions
- "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision"; American Psychiatric Association; 2000
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