Megalomania

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Megalomania (from the Greek word μεγαλομανία; megalo-, meaning large, and mania) is a historical term for behavior characterized by an obsession or preoccupation with wealth, power, genius, or omnipotence - often generally termed as delusions of grandeur or grandiose delusions.

Megalomania denotes an obsession with having and/or obtaining, grandiosity and extravagance (especially in the form of great fame and popularity, material wealth, social influence or political power, or more than one or even all of the aforesaid). It may^{[weasel words]} be a symptom of manic or paranoid disorders.^{[citation needed]} However it is not considered a distinct mental disorder of itself according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Delusions of grandeur, commonly seen in psychosis, may^{[weasel words]} be seen as distinct from megalomania: a megalomaniac's overwhelming and excessive preoccupation with his or her own importance, though it may^{[weasel words]} be considered pathological, is not necessarily delusional. A delusion of grandeur, if it is a true delusion, must meet the psychiatric criteria for delusion.

Sigmund Freud once said that "It might be maintained that... paranoid ideation is a caricature of a philosophical system."^[1]

In delusions of grandeur the sense of caricature is present without the sense of grand rationale that is provided in delusions of persecution. What may go overlooked, because of the psychotic context of the delusory belief, is that delusions of grandeur are not only venal but evince a desire for success without effort, a common element of criminal thought patterns.^[2] Looked at in this light, delusions of grandeur may^{[weasel words]} be indicative of either a comorbid personality disorder or of the integration of personality disorder and thought disorder in paranoid schizophrenia.

Delusions of persecution may^{[weasel words]} be intrinsically related to—and the flip-side of—delusions of grandeur in that the very idea that one is being persecuted by a complex of conspirators involves a sense of greatly elevated self-importance. Delusions of persecution, though generally disturbing and unpleasant—i.e. affectively different—can be seen^{[weasel words]} to similarly arise from a grandiose self-conception.

See also

• Hubris
• Malignant narcissism
• Narcissism
• Narcissistic personality disorder
• Superiority complex
• Victory disease

References

External links

Look up megalomania in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.