A mood-neutral (or mood-incongruent) delusion is a false belief that is unrelated to the person's emotional state (e.g., they are not experiencing mania or depression when the delusion occurs).
Jealous: People with this type of delusional disorder believe that their spouse or sexual partner is unfaithful without any concrete evidence. Persecutory: People with this type of delusional disorder believe someone or something is mistreating, spying on or attempting to harm them (or someone close to them).
A mood-incongruent delusion is not consistent with the mental state of the individual experiencing the delusion. An example would be a depressed person who believes that their thoughts are being transmitted to their brain by another person.
Cotard Delusion, also known as walking corpse syndrome is the belief that “you or your body parts are dead, dying, or don't exist.” This delusion can occur during severe depression or psychosis.
Someone listens for secret messages directed at them in their favorite musician's lyrics. A person spends their free time finding out everything they can about a famous actor, singer, or political figure that they believe loves them.
Emophilia means the tendency to fall in love quickly, easily, and frequently, often described as "emotional promiscuity," where individuals rapidly develop intense romantic feelings, say "I love you" early, and jump into relationships, sometimes overlooking red flags for the exhilarating experience of new love. It's a personality trait linked to chasing excitement and romantic stimulation, differing from attachment anxiety (fear-based) by being a reward-seeking approach. High emophilia can lead to risky behaviors, unhealthy attachments, and difficulty forming stable relationships, according to Psychology Today.
Delusion Types
Delusions of grandeur, also known as grandiose delusions (GDs) or expansive delusions, are a subtype of delusion characterized by the extraordinary belief that one is famous, omnipotent, wealthy, or otherwise very powerful or of a high status.
In Zimbabwe, kufungisisa translates to “thinking too much” in Shona and is considered a fundamental aspect of mental illness, with 80% of Zimbabweans with common mental illness experiencing it.
Cotard's syndrome, also known as Cotard's delusion or walking corpse syndrome, is a rare mental disorder in which the affected person holds the delusional belief that they are deceased, do not exist, are putrefying, or have lost their blood or internal organs.
All kinds of psychotic symptoms may occur among patients with BD, though grandiose, persecutory, and referential delusions, auditory verbal hallucinations or hearing voices, and visual hallucinations are particularly common[2,8,10].
In Fava and Guidi's paper1, euthymia is defined by “lack of mood disturbances that can be subsumed under diagnostic rubrics” , “positive affects” and “psychological well‐being” . So, good mood is euthymic.
Manic psychosis can include various symptoms, but usually involves two dominant experiences: hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations are sensory illusions. For example, someone experiencing a psychotic episode may hear voices, see people who aren't there or feel unusual sensations.
The delusions and hallucinations almost always reflect the person's deeply depressed mood – for example, they may become convinced they're to blame for something, or that they've committed a crime. "Psychomotor agitation" is also common. This means not being able to relax or sit still, and constantly fidgeting.
These include bipolar disorder, cyclothymia, hypomania, major depressive disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, persistent depressive disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. These are common psychiatric disorders leading to an increase in morbidity and mortality.
Manic and hypomanic episodes include three or more of these symptoms:
Catatonic schizophrenia
This is the rarest schizophrenia diagnosis, characterised by unusual, limited and sudden movements.
Mbudzi. Translates to Goat. During this month, goats are said to not give birth. As such, it is considered a taboo for a couple within the Shona societies to get married in November.
Somatic type: Also called monosymptomatic hypochondriacal psychosis and the reality impairment is severe. The patient is unarguably convinced of the severity of the symptoms. The most common type of somatic delusions is that of infestation example with parasites, body dysmorphic delusion, and of body odor or halitosis.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Delusions of Grandeur
These refer to false beliefs about one's importance, superiority, abilities, greatness, and intelligence. People with Delusions of Grandeur hold those beliefs with strong conviction, despite the presence of evidence to disprove them.
Grandiose delusions are defined as false beliefs in which an individual feels they possess special powers, abilities, or importance that others do not have, despite clear evidence to the contrary. These delusions are often associated with psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia and severe mood disorders.
Delusions of Guilt: In severe depressive illness, self-reproach may take the form of delusions of guilt, when the patient believes that they are a bad or evil person and have ruined their family.
Erotomania is a form of delusional disorder in which an individual believes that another person, usually of higher status, is in love with him. It is a relatively rare condition, and while the incidence is unknown, the lifetime prevalence of delusional disorder is 0.2% [1].