Symptom: Delusions

Introduction: Delusions

Chronic cases of hallucinations and delusions typify chronic psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and other delusional disorders. Delusions differ from hallucinations in that delusions refer to the mind's reasoning and thoughts, rather than its sensory inputs. For example, "delusions of grandeur" are typical in schizophrenia, where a patient may well truly believe that they are actually the leader of a country, or a reincarnation of someone important.

It is important to be precise about this symptom, and to dinstinguish true delusions from other symptoms such as paranoia, anxiety, fear, and other emotional states. Also, people have varying belief systems, and it's not always clear at what point a belief is valid, and at what point it becomes a "delusion".

» Review Causes of Delusions: full list

Causes of Delusions:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Delusions. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Drug intoxication - various drugs are a common cause of both delusions and paranoia symptoms.
  • Marijuana intoxication - can cause delusions and paranoia.
  • Speed intoxication - also causes delusions/paranoia.
• Psychotic disorders - delusion symptoms are a hallmark of a psychotic disorder, such as:
  • Schizophrenia
  • Schizotypal personality disorder
  • Schizoid personality disorder
  • Psychotic episode
  • Brief psychotic disorder
  • Postpartum psychosis
• Depressive disorders - severe cases can lead to delusions arising in the negative frame of mind:
  • Depression
  • Major depressive episode
  • Major depressive disorder
  • Bipolar disorder - may have delusion symptoms in both the up and down phases.
• Dementia
• Other symptoms or conditions that may need to be considered or may be mistaken as delusions include:
  • Paranoia - paranoia is a type of delusion symptom (a "persecutory delusion" that someone will harm you either physically or mentally).
  • Panic attack - onset of unreasoning fear type symptoms is similar to delusions and/or paranoia.
  • Social phobia - excessive concern about other people "watching" or "judging" is similar to a mild paranoid delusion.
  • Detachment
• See also causes of hallucinations or causes of paranoia
• Delirium
• Mania
• Paranoid illnesses
• Alcohol abuse
• Cocaine abuse
• Cannabis abuse
• Alzheimer's type dementia (see Alzheimer's disease)
• Multi-infarct dementia

See full list of 81 causes of Delusions

» Review Causes of Delusions: full list

Causes of Types of Delusions:

Review the causes of these more specific types of Delusions:

• Paranoia (31 causes)
• Auditory hallucinations (15 causes)
• Hearing voices (7 causes)
• Abnormal thinking
• Severe paranoid reaction

More types of Delusions

Delusions: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Delusions, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

• Delusions: Multiple Symptom Checker

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

• Delusions and Behavioral symptoms (64 causes)
• Delusions and Mental problems (63 causes)
• Delusions and Personality symptoms (61 causes)
• Delusions and Society problems (51 causes)
• Delusions and Hallucinations (46 causes)
• Delusions and Emotional symptoms (45 causes)
• Delusions and Muscle symptoms (37 causes)
• Delusions and Depressive symptoms (36 causes)
• Delusions and Nerve symptoms (35 causes)
• Delusions and Confusion (35 causes)
• Delusions and Head symptoms (35 causes)
• Delusions and Anxiety (34 causes)
• Delusions and Movement symptoms (34 causes)
• Delusions and Seizures (32 causes)
• Delusions and Sensations (32 causes)
• Delusions and Pain (30 causes)
• Delusions and Digestive symptoms (29 causes)
• Delusions and Muscle weakness (28 causes)
• Delusions and Spasms (27 causes)
• Delusions and Irritability (26 causes)

See full list of 948 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Delusions

Home Diagnostic Testing and Delusions

Home medical tests possibly related to Delusions:

• Mental Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Emotional Stress Tests

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Mental problems (1944 causes)
• Behavioral symptoms (2767 causes)
• Personality symptoms (2477 causes)

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Delusions

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Delusions:

• Paranoia (31 causes)
• Isolation (54 causes)
• Hearing voices (7 causes)
• Hallucinations (149 causes)

Diagnostic Guides for Delusions

Medical Books Excerpts Read excerpts from published book sections related to Delusions from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Delusions. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Delusions

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Misdiagnosis and Delusions

Schizophrenia often has misdiagnosed hidden cause: The book "Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women" reports on a study citing that 83% of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia actually had brain lesions (i.e. brain tumors) or ...read more »

Cushing's disease can be mistaken for depression: Cushing's disease (or similarly Cushing's syndrome) is a possible misdiagnosis for a...read more »

Manic-depressive (bipolar) disorder often misdiagnosed: Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive disorder, is often misdiagnosed before reaching a correct...read more »

Epilepsy misdiagnosed as schizophrenia: The book "Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women" reports on a case of a woman diagnosed with schizophrenia, but later diagnosed with a form...read more »

Various mental health symptoms caused by rare epilepsy: Temporal lobe epilepsy is a less common form of epilepsy that does not have the typical physical seizures. Patients can suffer from...read more »

Rare seizure-less epilepsy misdiagnosed as various conditions: A complex partial seizure disorder, such as temporal lobe epilepsy can be misdiagnosed as various conditions. Some of the possible misdiagnoses include depression, bipolar disorder, ...read more »

Lupus is often misdiagnosed as other conditions: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), often simply called "lupus", is a difficult disease to diagnose and can manifest with numerous symptoms. Some of the possible misdiagnoses...read more »

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness because he suffered from sudden...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions, such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease,...read more »

ADHD under-diagnosed in adults: Although the over-diagnoses of ADHD in children is a well-known controversy, the reverse side related to adults. Some adults can remain undiagnosed, and indeed the condition has...read more »

Bipolar disorder misdiagosed as various conditions by primary physicians: Bipolar disorder (manic-depressive disorder) often fails to be diagnosed correctly by primary care...read more »

Eating disorders under-diagnosed in men: The typical patient with an eating disorder is female. The result is that men with eating disorders often fail to be diagnosed or have a delayed diagnosis....read more »

Depression undiagnosed in teenagers: Serious bouts of depression can be undiagnosed in teenagers. The "normal" moodiness of teenagers can cause severe medical depression to...read more »

Undiagnosed anxiety disorders related to depression: Patients with depression (see symptoms of depression) may also have undiagnosed anxiety disorders (see symptoms of anxiety disorders)....read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Delusions

Diagnostic tests for Delusions:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Delusions. Some of these are listed below :

• Mental state examination - including appearance, behavior, rate and continuity of speech, mood, affect, thought content, evidence of any hallucinations or abnormal beliefs, orientation to time, place and person, attention and concentration, short-term memory, insight and judgement.
• Physical examination
  • Does the person smell of alcohol
  • Temperature
  • Neck stiffness may suggest meningitis or subarachnoid hemorrhage

See full list of 26 diagnostic tests for Delusions

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Delusions. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• May need to get some history from family members and friends
• How long have you noticed the delusions? - to determine if acute or chronic. If acute in nature must consider delirium or a new onset of psychiatric illness as a possible cause of delusion. Delirium is an acute confusional state due to many causes e.g. infection, drug intoxication, alcohol withdrawal, liver failure, kidney failure, hypoxia (reduced oxygen levels in the blood), low blood sugar, stroke, heart attack or head injury. If the onset is chronic a diagnosis of psychiatric illness or dementia may be more likely.
• Are the thoughts really delusions? - delusions are false beliefs that are firmly held despite objective and contradictory evidence, and despite the fact that other members of the culture do not share the same beliefs.
• What is the nature of the delusions? - e.g. grandiose, nihilistic, delusion of reference.
• At what time of the day are the symptoms worse? - e.g. symptoms worse in the late afternoon and at night are typical of delirium.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Delusions (29 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Delusions) may include:

• Grandiose delusions? - include beliefs that you have special powers, are chosen by God, or have been sent to save the world. Such beliefs are particularly likely to occur in manic people, but are also found in schizophrenia, dementia and delirium.
• Nihilistic delusion? - include the belief that you are losing your physical or mental functions due to disease, or that you are already dead. Such beliefs may occur in severe depression.
• Delusions of reference? - include beliefs that events in the environment have special meaning for you and refer particularly to you. Such beliefs occur in a wide range of disorders, including depression, mania and schizophrenia.
• Persecutory delusions? - include beliefs that centre around the theme that you are being deliberately wronged, or conspired against, or harmed by another person or agency. Such beliefs are often associated with schizophrenia.
• Delusions of jealousy? - belief, without good reason, that your partner is unfaithful. May be associated with Delusional disorder.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Delusions (29 listings)

Stories from Users for Delusions

Real-life user stories relating to Delusions:

• Doctors cannot figure me out?
• 8 Doctors can't find out what's wrong with me please help.
• My body hates me...HELP!
• Lymes-like symptoms. Could someone please help me?
• Can someone figure out what's going on with me? PLEASE?!!
• For crying out loud HELP ME!
• My wife has lost her mind (Paranoid Delusions)
• Help Me Find Out If Somethings Wrong With My Baby
• no one can give me a concrete diagnosis
• Please help me before I go insane........
• Please help me-Too much pain for too long. Cannot go on like this.
• Real life Dr. House?? Help!!
• how do i know whats real and whats not
• Please help me figure this out.
• is there anyone else like me out there?
• in my mind?
• please give me some ideas ...
• Mental illness....please give me some advice!
• Diabetes likes & Tiredness, Heart paining. Pls help me out!
• Help me figure it out

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Delusions or relevant symptoms:

• Neurological (Nerves) (357)
  • Could this be MS?
  • Numbness and tingling all over
  • Tingling/numbness in arms/hands/legs/face/head [more symptoms]
  • Eye twitch
  • Essential tremor
  • More user stories
• Psychiatric (Mental Health) (218)
  • PLEASE can anyone help my son?!
  • My husbands making me sad
  • Heart condition or mental health problem?
  • Anxiety or...?
  • Weird Behavior at School. Normal?
  • More user stories

Videos for Delusions

Patient Surveys for Delusions

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about diseases related to your Delusions
  Take Survey  View Results

Medications or substances causing Delusions:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Delusions as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Trazodone
• Desyrel
• Desyrel Dividose
• Selegiline
• Atapryl

See full list of 30 medications causing Delusions

Drug interactions causing Delusions:

When combined, certain drugs, medications, substances or toxins may react causing Delusions as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Ethosuximide and Isoniazid interaction
• Fluoxetine and Clarithromycin interaction

See full list of 2 drug interactions causing Delusions

Organs affected by Delusions:

The list of organs typically affected by Delusions may include, but is not limited to:

• Brain

Detailed list of causes of Delusions

The list below shows some of the causes of Delusions mentioned in various sources:

• Acute intermittent porphyria - paranoia
• Affective Disorders, Psychotic - delusions
• AIDS
• Alcohol abuse
• Alcohol Withdrawal - sound hallucinations

See full list of 81 causes of Delusions

How Common are these Causes of Delusions?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Delusions. Of the 81 causes of Delusions that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 5 causes are "very common" diseases
• 5 causes are "common" diseases
• 4 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 0 causes are "rare" diseases
• 2 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 71 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 81 causes of Delusions

Conditions listing symptoms: Delusions:

The following list of conditions have 'Delusions' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

A

Causes of Delusions Based on Risk Factors

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Delusions based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient: