Types of delusions

There are a lot of types of delusions a person may have and it can often be helpful to know what they are. You should never try to diagnose someone youre talking with unless you are a professional, but different delusions cause different types of distress so it is important to understand them.

Persecutory delusions- Feeling you are being persecuted in some way. (Thinking you are being targeted by an organization, watched, or followed)

Referential delusions- Feeling that something is referring to you. (Thinking a book was written about you)

Delusion of grandeur- Believing you are very influential or famous and have may high-up connections.

Delusions of control- Feeling that someone has taken control of some aspect of you. (Thinking aliens have taken control of your body)

Somatic delusions- This is thinking you are sick all the time. This can physically manifest due to the nocebo effect.

Delusional jealousy- Believing that someone close to you (usually a partner) is being unfaithful in some way. People with this delusion will be constantly preoccupied with these jealous thoughts and often go to extreme lengths to prove they are right.

Erotomanic delusions- Thinking someone (usually someone famous or otherwise in the public eye) is in love with you. Whilst someone with this delusion could keep it a secret and do very little, others may expend a great deal of energy trying to contact the person.

Capgras delusion- Believing that someone close to you has been replaced by a nearly indistinguishable imposter.

Cotard's syndrome- This is a delusion in which you feel that you are dead. This causes severance of emotion from all external stimulus. This can also manifest in them thinking they are experiencing the decomposition of their body.


Mood-congruent vs. mood-neutral delusions
Delusions are either mood-congruent or mood neutral. Mood-congruent delusions are consistent with the depressed or manic state of the sufferer. For example, when depressed, a person may feel delusions of persecution and when feeling manic, they may feel delusions of grandeur. Mood neutral delusions are delusions they believe regardless of their emotional state.