Delusions and hallucinations are the most characteristic symptoms of psychoses, and they constitute, in particular, the manifestations of that distancing from reality that has been recognized as one of the distinctive features of the most serious mental disorders. They are two closely intertwined phenomena, but we can often be confused about the correct placement of them in various mental disorders. In this Psychology-Online article, we tell you the difference between delirium and hallucination.
What is a delirium?
a is a idea or a set of ideas that are not real, but are perceived as if they were. Even without having any correspondence with the data of reality, they do not give in to the arguments of the discussion or the denials of experience. These ideas of central importance in the worldview of the delusional person are inaccessible to people who belong to the same cultural environment. A lucid delirium, in which the subject is calm and present in the reality in which he lives, is usually differentiated from a confused delirium, which arises and is accompanied by an alteration in the state of consciousness.
Karl Jaspers distinguishes between delusional ideas and true delusional ideas:
- The first are at the base of the so-called understandable delusionsbecause they can be traced to psychic contents that in some way justify them, such as a delirium of ruin in a depressive phase or in a special situation, such as imprisonment or social isolation.
- The latter are found at the base of the incomprehensible delusionswhich for Jaspers are typical of paranoia and paranoia.
E. Kretschmer also speaks of a deliroid condition regarding paranoid delirium that does not evolve into schizophrenia, but rather crystallizes by “entrenching” in the individual’s personality without further elaboration, or disappears completely.
The numerous forms of delirium can be classified from different points of view, for example, depending on the triggering physiological cause, duration or symptomatology; Among the various specifications of the term delirium the following can be mentioned:
What is a hallucination?
A hallucination is a perception of something that does not exist and which is nevertheless considered real. This perception, which is involuntary and uncritical, has the characteristics of sensoriality and projection. The most common hallucinations are those of the sense organs and, in particular, sight and hearing. Added to these are the less frequent hallucinations that are more specialized in their configuration.
Hallucinations can also be experienced by normal people, such as when you have the sensation of hearing the sound of the doorbell or smelling a burning smell (called pseudohallucinations), and they are common in the phase of waking up () or sleeping () .
According to the sense organs concerned, hallucinations can be subdivided into:
- acoustic hallucinations
- visual hallucinations
- Olfactory and gustatory hallucinations
- Tactile hallucinations
- Kinesthetic or schematic hallucinations
- sexual hallucinations
- motor hallucinations
- reflex hallucinations
- Extracampal hallucinations
- negative hallucinations
- mnesiac hallucinations
- eidetic images
Here you will find explained.
Differences between delusions and hallucinations
Hallucination, delirium, fabulation illusion, paranoia… is it all the same? What is the difference between delirium and hallucination? Let’s look at the differences and similarities between delusions and hallucinations:
Hallucination is a perception and delusion is a belief. Both can be part of different clinical conditions, as well as appear for different reasons, but the main difference between delusions and hallucinations is that the latter imply a real perception of a non-existent stimulus, that is, a perceptual act is produced and not a belief or interpretation of something. Said stimulus can be visual, auditory, olfactory, or even gustatory or tactile, and its perception is real by the patient, even if it does not exist, but the erroneous interpretation of a stimulus that does exist can never be considered hallucination.
In delirium, a stimulus that really exists is misinterpreted, while in hallucinations a non-existent stimulus is perceived. The delusional person, convinced of being followed by evil men, does not see these men even when there are none, rather he recognizes them in unknown passers-by or goes so far as to affirm that they are capable of invisibility.
You can be aware that a hallucination is not real, but you cannot see a delusion as an erroneous thought. Furthermore, although it is not always true, the person who suffers from hallucinations can become relatively easily convinced that what he sees is not real even if he continues to see it (although this may cause additional difficulties), while a delusional person will never come to believe delusions. or false their convictions while maintaining the delusion, is a contradiction. The delusional person who does not believe that her beliefs are true is clearly in remission.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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