Delusional Mental Health Disorders

Delusional mental disorders occur when someone has a break with reality. For example, the person may believe they are being targeted by the government or others. Delusional disorders often accompany mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These delusions can be extremely troublesome and disruptive to a person's life and behaviors. In some instances the delusions can be so severe that they warrant hospitalization.

Cotard's Sydrome

• Cotard's syndrome, technically called nihilistic delusional disorder, is a delusional disorder where the sufferer believes he is missing parts of his bodies. The belief of loss also extends to the organs and blood. In other cases, people may believe that they or their family members and friends no longer exist. The total loss of the soul is also yet another terrifying symptom of the disorder. These type of delusions may accompany schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. One of the horrifying aspects of the disorder appears when one truly believes they are a walking corpse. People with Cotard's syndrome sometimes actually believe that their own flesh is decaying and putrefying and see open sores and decaying flesh on their bodies. They may believe that they are dead or decaying despite the insistence otherwise by others.

Persecuroy (Querulant) Delusions

• Persecuroy disorders, sometimes called querulant disorders, occur when someone believes that someone else or something else is threatening them, making fun of them, trying to ruin their lives or threatening them. This delusion could be applied to family members, TV personalities, god or aliens depending upon the severity of the disorder. Some people may believe government officials, the CIA or the president of the United States is an enemy and "out to get them." These delusions can also occur with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Induced Psychosis

• Induced psychosis, or folie a deux, is a condition in which two people share the same delusion. Usually there is a primary person who has a psychotic or delusional disorder and a secondary person who begins to adopt the psychotic ideas as a reality. Sometimes this disorder can occur in family or marital situations. People who share environments together are more likely to feed into one another's ideas. This disorder may also been seen in children with a psychotic parent. Over time the children may adopt the psychotic features that their parent is exhibiting. The delusion worsens with time as it becomes stronger. The secondary person may periodically break out of the induced psychosis, but if the primary psychotic continues to live with the induced psychotic chances of true recovery become slim.

Erotomania

• Erotomania, sometimes called de Clerambault's syndrome, occurs more prominently in women than in men. In this type of delusion, the person believes that someone in a higher social status or someone like a celebrity, musician or TV personality is secretly in love with them. The believer sees secret signs of affection in TV broadcasts, songs, and actions portrayed by the celebrity or upper-class person. This secret love has no roots in reality and may come about through sheer coincidence such as a musical artist writing a song featuring the erotomaniac's first name, haircolor or a song geared to others in her life situation.

Conclusion

• Delusions usually feed into mental illnesses, fueling them and making them much worse. Dealing with mental illness can be a nightmare by itself. Once delusions are added to a mix of mental illnesses, treatment becomes very difficult.