What is a delusion?

Answer 1

A delusion is a false belief. People who suffer from delusions may think that they are someone famous. They may feel that other people are trying to hurt them. They may think that the world is flat. Any false belief can be called a delusion. Many people think of Delusions of Grandeur when they hear the word. This is a special set of delusions where the person believes that they are famous, or that a famous person is especially close to them.

Answer 2

No, it's an actual event as the individual can perceive it based on their personal knowledge and viewpoint that others may not be able to share as they are not eyewitnesses and are acting out of their own belief systems. Answer A delusion is a belief that arises as a result of mental illness. It is not an event but is a belief based on a perceived false event.

Answer 3

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-Text Revision defines delusions as "A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly sustained despite what almost everyone else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not one ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture (e.g. it is not an article of religious faith). When a false belief involves a value judgment, it is regarded as a delusion only when the judgment is so extreme as to defy credibility. Delusional conviction occurs on a continuum and can sometimes be inferred from an individual's behavior. It is often difficult to distinguish between a delusion and an overvalued idea (in which case the individual has an unreasonable belief or idea but does not hold it as firmly as is the case with a delusion)."

Although case studies and surveys haven't always matched this definition, this is the definition readily used by psychiatrists. Alice Krakauer, a clinical psychologist from New York, said it best: "Delusions are like pornography; you can't define them, but you know them when you see them."