delusion
Let an agent explain delusions and their types in neutral clinical terms, relay classification and associated conditions from psychiatric sources, describe assessment and treatment in general, and route people experiencing or witnessing delusions to clinicians and crisis services.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain delusions and their types in neutral clinical terms, relay classification and associated conditions from psychiatric sources, describe assessment and treatment in general, and route people experiencing or witnessing delusions to clinicians and crisis services.
A fixed false belief held with strong conviction despite clear evidence to the contrary and not explained by the person s culture or religion, a core symptom of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and delusional disorder and also occurring in mood disorders, dementia and delirium, classified by theme as persecutory, grandiose, jealous, erotomanic, somatic, nihilistic and delusions of control or reference, and by structure as systematised or fragmentary, with historical labels such as Bell s mania for an acute excited delirium; delusions are assessed and treated by mental health clinicians.
What it is for: Not applicable; a symptom.
It can be explain types and features; relay classification; describe assessment and care; route to help.
Distinguishing features
Fixed conviction
False and unshared
Thematic types
Psychotic symptom
What it looks like
Not a visible object; a fixed false belief.
Physical character
delusional disorder prevalence: about 0.2 percent - lifetime estimates
most common theme: persecutory type
How it is recognised
Fixed false belief resistant to evidence
Persecutory, grandiose, control, reference, systematised delusions, delusional misinterpretation
Overvalued ideas are less fixed; hallucinations are perceptions; cultural beliefs are not delusions
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms
is a symptom of - and delusional disorder
is contrasted with - a perceptual symptom
is assessed by - and mental health teams
In practice
Families and kinds
persecutory and paranoid delusions
grandiose and religious delusions
delusions of control, reference and thought interference
somatic, nihilistic and jealous delusions
systematised versus fragmentary delusions
delusional misinterpretation and delusional mood
historical syndromes such as Bell s mania
Identifiers
ICD-11 MB26.0 delusion as a symptom
MeSH D003702 delusions
Standards and regulation
DSM-5 and ICD-11 definitions
Mental health laws on assessment and involuntary treatment
Clinical guidelines for psychosis
Failure modes and hazards
Agents diagnosing or arguing with beliefs
Labelling cultural or political beliefs as delusions
Missing risk of harm to self or others
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.delusion-cognition
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Help Getting help first.
Safety.
Crisis
Crisis.
Crisis
Crisis.
- Why does a person with distressing delusions or risk of harm need urgent mental health assessment, and where can they turn? action
- Is the user describing themselves or someone else in crisis, which needs emergency or crisis services now? boundary
Support
Supporting someone.
Support
Support.
- How do clinicians advise families to respond to a loved one s delusions without confrontation? provenance
- Is the presentation supportive and non-judgemental? boundary
Understand What delusions are.
Clinical.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is a delusion, and how does it differ from overvalued ideas, hallucinations and cultural beliefs? definition
- Is the question about a clinical delusion or a belief the user disagrees with? boundary
Types
Types.
Types
Types.
- What are persecutory, grandiose, control, reference and other delusion types, and what is a systematised delusion? definition
- Which entry fits the specific type? action
Care Assessment and treatment.
Clinical.
Assessment
Assessment.
Assessment
Assessment.
- How do clinicians assess delusions and the conditions that cause them, in general terms? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Treatment
Treatment.
Treatment
Treatment.
- How are delusions treated with medication and psychological therapy, in general terms? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Context Science and history.
Context.
Science
Science.
Science
Science.
- What theories explain how delusions form, with hypotheses attributed? provenance
- Which entry fits cognitive models of psychosis? action
History
History.
History
History.
- How have delusions been described historically, including syndromes such as Bell s mania? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of psychiatry? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should delusional disorder and persecutory delusion be separate primary entries?
- How should psychiatric sources be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming types and a historical syndrome; should they be split off?