BLFS

Despite being diverse and idiosyncratic, delusions cluster into a few core themes.

Persecutory Delusions: beliefs that others are out to harm you. This is the most common type of delusion, affecting between 10 and 15 per cent of people.

Referential Delusions: beliefs that things happening in the world – from news headlines to song lyrics – relate directly to you. Persecutory and referential delusions often go hand in hand.

Control Delusions: beliefs that your thoughts or behaviours are being manipulated by outside agents. Such delusions are common in schizophrenia.

Erotomanic Delusions: beliefs that someone who you don’t know, typically a celebrity, is in love with you.

Grandiose Delusions: unfounded beliefs that you are exceptionally talented, insightful or otherwise better than the hoi polloi.

Jealous Delusions: irrational beliefs that your partner is being unfaithful. This is the type of delusion most commonly associated with violence.

Somatic Delusions: erroneous beliefs about the body. In Ekbom’s syndrome, people believe they are infested with parasites. People with Cotard delusion believe they are dead or don’t exist.

Misidentification Delusions: beliefs about changed identity. A classic is Capgras delusion, where people believe that a loved one has been replaced by a doppelgänger.