And we might refer to these beliefs as delusions (and, even more critically, describe the people who hold them as delusional). Of course, we all know people who stick to beliefs we think are utterly false. Other delusions (called delusions of grandeur) involve an inflated sense of importance-a person may hold the delusion that they are a celebrity or even a supernatural figure. Many delusions are based in paranoia-someone may hold the delusion that they are constantly being followed by secret agents (despite never actually having seen them). They are often caused by conditions such as schizophrenia and other mental conditions. Such delusions are often beliefs that are demonstrably untrue. What is a delusion?Ī delusion is “a false belief or perception strongly held in spite of evidence to the contrary, especially as a symptom of mental illness.” People diagnosed by psychiatrists as having delusions are those who hold a belief that doesn’t correspond to external reality and that is completely resistant to all reason and evidence.
But the word delusion means something different in clinical terms. In casual speech, hallucination is sometimes used interchangeably with other words that refer to experiences not based in reality, such as illusion or delusion. They can also be caused by the use of certain drugs (called hallucinogenic drugs) and other substances (called hallucinogens). Hallucinations are symptoms of various mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis, as well as conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and brain tumors. We don’t often talk about the difference between panic attacks and anxiety attacks, but understanding the difference can help. A hallucination can involve any of the senses. The terms sensory, visual, and auditory are key to understanding hallucinations in clinical terms-they involve experiences that seem real, such as seeing and hearing things that are not really there. What is a hallucination?Ī hallucination is “a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind, caused by various physical and mental disorders, or by reaction to certain toxic substances, and usually manifested as visual or auditory images.” Both words are sometimes used in a more general way to refer to any notion not based in reality, which can perpetuate the stigma of mental illness.
A delusion is a false, persistent belief that is resistant to all reason, especially as a symptom of a mental illness. In the context of psychology, a hallucination is a seemingly real sensory experience-like seeing or hearing things-that takes place entirely in the mind, especially as a result of a mental disorder or the use of certain substances. In this article, we’ll address the technical differences between hallucinations and delusions from a psychiatric perspective and discuss the more general uses of the terms-including when their casual use can be inappropriate or disrespectful.
Being respectful and using the terms precisely can avoid perpetuating that stigma. Their meanings and differences are important, because hallucinations and delusions, like many other aspects of mental conditions, can carry strong stigma. But is there a clinical difference in a medical context?
In all three contexts, they involve perceiving things not based in reality. We hear the words hallucination and delusion mentioned in discussions about mental health, lists of medication side effects, and in general conversation-sometimes interchangeably.
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