In the 17th century, the concept of madness was mainly based on the concept of delirium, such as “Be crazy?”It was like having delusions, and vice versa. Today, if we ask someone to describe his prototypical image of a “madman,” he will most likely tell us that he believes himself to be Napoleon or who claims to be persecuted by aliens.
That is, although we have acquired a broader view of the mentally ill, delirium remains one of the characteristics of the stereotype, in addition to being one of the diagnosed criteria that most attracts attention. Etymologically, the word delirium is derived from the Latin term delirare, which means leaving the road worked. Applied to thought, it would be something like “Think normally”.
- For the profane.
- Delirium means “going crazy.
- Getting angry.
- ” In the usual language.
- Delirium is practically synonymous with madness.
- Irrationality.
- Daydreaming or loss of reality.
“I have a question that sometimes tortures me: am I crazy or are others crazy? – Albert Einstein-
The best known and cited definition is the one proposed by Jaspers in General Psychopathology (1975). For Jaspers, delusions are false judgments, which are characterized by the individual keeping them with great conviction, so they are not influenced by experience or irrefutable. conclusions In addition, its content is impossible.
To identify an illusion we must take into account the extent to which the experience corresponds to the following:
In short, delusions are characterized by their conceptual complexity, and perhaps that is why it is so difficult to include them in a definition.
One of the things that has been most worked on in the subject of delusions is their classification, so the delusions have been distinguished according to the form they take and the content of the experience they contain.
From a formal point of view, the distinction made classifies delusions as primary or “true” and secondary delusions.
Primary or true illusions do not originate from an earlier abnormal experience, i. e. it is not clear that their origin can be clearly delineated, they are characterized because once they invade the consciousness of the individual, it will explain much of everything that happens at the base of delirium.
The person is disturbingly aware that he has produced a change in the meaning of the world and things, everything seems changed, different and this, in turn, leads to terrible feelings, difficult to describe and even more to explain. understandable to the listener.
“There was no great genius without a mixture of madness. –
Four types of primary delusions were postulated (Jaspers, 1975):
Secondary delusions are psychologically understandable. They occur as a result of the patient’s attempt to explain an abnormal experience.
For example, a patient has just had a hallucination (he claims to have heard a very serious voice speaking as if he were his father), this experience is usually very strange and abnormal, so it is very likely that no one will be alarmed if the explanation given to us by this patient about this experience is so strange and abnormal, it can say that he was chosen by God to save the world For example.
The content of the delusions can be quite varied and there is a wide variety of this type of classification, we will use the most used classification, proposed by DSM.
The individual feels that his feelings, impulses, thoughts or actions are not his own, he feels them imposed by a strange and irresistible force, for example, a person believes that he is receiving messages on television that tell him that he needs to save humanity.
Its main content refers to the functioning of the body itself, for example, the brain is rotten, a woman is pregnant during menopause, etc.
It is the delusional belief that the partner or sexual partner is unfaithful, although there is no clear evidence to support it.
“Any predominance of fantasy over reason is a degree of madness. -Samuel Johnson-
Its content implies an exaggerated appreciation of the importance, power, knowledge or personal identity, may or may not be religious, bodily or not. For example, this individual who thinks he’s Napoleon Bonaparte.
The subject believes he has lost or will lose all or almost all of his material possessions.
It is the fact that facts, objects or people close to the subject’s environment have a particular and unusual meaning, usually of a negative and pejorative type, for example, a woman is convinced that radio programs are for her.
It is a false belief whose content is clearly absurd and without any real basis, for example, a man believes that when his tonsils were removed as a child, they put a device in his head with wires through which he could hear the voice of the President of the Republic.
It revolves around the existence of oneself, others and the world. For example, “the world is over, ” won’t I have a brain again?I don’t need to eat because I’m empty inside.
Its central theme is the belief that a person or group is assaulted, threatened, deceived, persecuted or conspiratorial, for example, a patient who believes they are being sued by the FBI.
The patient feels guilty and responsible for all kinds of miseries, for example, he firmly believes that he is responsible for hunger in the world.
The individual believes that important people in his life are usurped by an imposter, even knowingly thinking that impostors are the same.
The patient thinks that someone is madly in love with him, for example, a person who firmly believes that the Princess of Spain is in love with her.
The subject of delusions is quite striking and well known, delusions, being remarkable, do not usually go unnoticed, so they have transcended some cases such as:
The young Francisco Nicols Gómez Iglesias is released on bail for impersonating the government and the National Intelligence Center (CNI) using false documents. The forensic report observed a “delusional trend of magnitude” in Nicols.
Ronald Reagan’s attempted assassination of John Hinckley Jr. was seen as the result of an erotic illusion or an illusion of love that the president’s death would lead actress Jodie Foster to publicly declare her love for Hinckley.
The world of cinema has also been able to reflect the delusional ideas that appear in several films, here are two of them:
An ordinary family man begins to get carried away by fear of a possible apocalypse, without a rational explanation.
Film? The witch? (2015)
It tells the story of a family of American settlers moving to a remote settlement in the forest to start a new life, the impact caused by the presence of a witch near the house and the strong religious faith of the family will gradually reveal delusions. .
As we have seen throughout this article, an illusion is a complex mental construct that can be encompassed in a broader set of shared characteristics, on the other hand, delusions are always a demonstration of the creative power of our mind and their need to give coherence to the reality they perceive, so many delusions remain the most plausible explanation that the person finds to his hallucinations.
Bibliography
Belloch, A. , Sandon, B. et Ramos, F. (Eds. ) (2008). Psychopathology Manual (2 vol. ), Revised Edition. Madrid. McGraw Hill.
American Psychiatric Association (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Editorial Médica Panamericana