Delusional disorders are serious types of mental illness called "psychoses" in which the patient is unable to distinguish reality from their own fiction. The main symptoms of such disorders are the presence of absurd ideas in which the person is unconditionally confident. His beliefs are unshakable, although it is quite clear to those around him that they are false or delusional.
What is the patient going through?
A person who suffers from a delusional (paranoid) disorder often tells fictional stories that may seem true. The patient can describe situations that happen in real life. For example, a person constantly mentions persecution, believes in their exceptional importance, suspects a husband/wife of infidelity, talks about someone plotting against him, etc. Basically, such beliefs are the result of a misinterpretation of the problem or perception. However, in reallife, the above situations turn out to be untrue or extremely exaggerated. Delusional disorders may not interfere with a person's life. He often continues to be active in society, functions normally and usually does not attract the attention of others with his obviously strange and eccentric behavior. However, there have been some cases where patients were completely addicted to their absurd ideas and their real lives were ruined.
Disease symptoms
The most obvious sign of disease is the emergence of ideas that are absurd. But delusional disorders are also characterized by secondary symptoms. The person is often in a bad mood, mostly angry and irritable. In addition, hallucinations that are directly related to delusional beliefs may appear. The patient hears or sees things that do not exist in reality. People with these disorders often fall into deep depressions, which are the result of experienced imaginary difficulties. Patients can even earn themselves problems with the law. For example, if a patient suffers from the delirium of erotomania and does not allow the subject of his phantasmagoria to pass, then he may well be arrested. In addition, a person with a delusional disorder may eventually withdraw from family or friends, as his crazy ideas interfere with loved ones and destroy relationships.
Dangerous disorder
Organic delusional (schizophrenia-like) disorder is quite commonrare, but it is extremely dangerous for both the patient and others. The most common cause of the development of this disease is epilepsy of the temporal part of the brain, as well as an infection provoked by encephalitis. Often, patients experience attacks of hallucinations and delusions, which can be supplemented by completely unmotivated actions, loss of control over attacks of aggression, as well as other types of instinctive behavior. The conditionality of the specifics of this psychosis is unclear. But, according to the latest data, there are two reasons for the development of the disease: hereditary burden on both sides (epilepsy and schizophrenia) and damage to individual brain structures. Organic delusional disorder is characterized by the presence of hallucinatory-delusional pictures in the patient, which most often contain religious phantasmagoria.
Schizophrenia-like disorder and its characteristics
The most serious and dangerous disease is schizophrenia. Delusional disorders associated with this disease are characterized by a certain course of thought and perception. Basically, the patient does not experience clouding of consciousness or a decrease in intellectual abilities, but in the course of the development of the disease, cognitive impairment may occur. Disorders that are directly related to schizophrenia affect the basic functions that help a person feel their individuality and uniqueness. As a rule, it seems to the patient that his most intimate thoughts have become known to someone. Suchcases, the development of explanatory delusions is quite possible, when the patient is confident in the existence of higher forces that are capable of influencing the thoughts and actions of the individual. Patients often position themselves as the center of everything that happens around. In addition, there are frequent cases of auditory hallucinations that comment on the actions of the patient.
Types of delusions
Delusional schizophrenia-like disorder is characterized by delusions on one topic or systematized absurdity on various topics. The content of the patient's speeches can be very diverse. The most common cases are associated with delusions of persecution, hypochondria or grandeur. But the patient's fictional beliefs may relate to such problems as jealousy, an ugly ugly body, bad smell, etc. It may seem to a person that he smells bad, that his face inspires disgust in others. In addition, the patient may even be convinced that he is a homosexual. Other symptoms may not appear, but depressive states are periodically possible.
Type of hallucinations
Dusional disorders are often characterized by the appearance of various kinds of hallucinations. They can be olfactory, tactile or auditory. Persistent hallucinations, such as voices in the patient's head, are a symptom of a schizophrenia-like disorder. The patient may also experience visual mirages. Things or people may appear that do not exist in real life. Tactile hallucinations are characterized by the fact that the patient misperceivesobjects to the touch. For example, something cold can feel very hot. Auditory hallucinations are manifested in the fact that a person periodically hears voices that either comment on the real course of life, or indicate to the patient himself what exactly he needs to do.
Two subtypes of organic schizophrenia-like disorder
Delusional disorder of an organic nature has two types: acute and chronic. The first has the following main characteristics: sudden psychopathological symptoms, as well as sharp disturbances in the functioning of the brain, which may be the result of an acute infection or traumatic brain injury. The second type of organic disorder requires more detailed consideration.
Symptoms of chronic disorder
Chronic delusional disorder has one main clinical symptom: persistent delusions that can last for more than three months. This type of mental disorder is divided into three types: paranoid, paranoid and paraphrenic. The first syndrome is characterized by an established delusional system without the presence of hallucinations. Patients have false beliefs that are formed without internal conflicts. With the development of this type of delirium, some changes in personality are observed. But there are no obvious signs of dementia, so others perceive the patient as a completely adequate person. A patient suffering from a paranoid syndrome has illogical and conflicting false ideas. Oftenhallucinations of an unstable nature appear. But in the course of the development of the disease, delusions can penetrate into all areas of a person’s life and affect work and family relationships. Paraphrenia is characterized by the manifestation of obviously invented delusions. This form of the disorder has the main feature: false memories and pseudo-hallucinations.
Diagnosis
When a patient has obvious symptoms, a specialist examines the patient to determine the causes of an unhe althy disorder. Delusional mental disorders cannot be diagnosed using specific laboratory tests. To exclude a physical disease as the cause of symptoms, specialists mainly use research methods such as x-rays and blood tests. If there is no obvious physical cause of the disease, the patient is referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist. Doctors of psychiatry benefit from specially designed interviews as well as assessment programs. The therapist is based on the patient's story about his condition and symptoms of the disease. In addition, he takes into account his personal observations regarding the behavior of the patient. Next, the doctor determines whether the person has obvious symptoms of a mental disorder. If a person has behavioral disturbances for more than one month, the doctor diagnoses the patient with a delusional mental disorder.
Treatments
There are twomethod to help cure delusional disorder. Treatment can be medical and psychotherapeutic. The first way is to use neuroleptics, which block dopamine receptors in the brain. New drugs also affect the production of serotonin. If the patient suffers from depression, is constantly in a state of anxiety and depression, then he is prescribed antidepressants, and in some difficult cases, tranquilizers. The second method has the following main goal: to switch the patient's attention from his false fictions to real things. Today, specialists prefer to use cognitive-behavioral therapy, with which the patient is able to make changes in their irrational thoughts that cause anxiety. In severe cases of delusional disorder, the patient is admitted to a hospital to stabilize the condition.
