Persecutory delusion
Persecutory delusions are a delusional condition in which the affected person believes they are being persecuted. Specifically, they have been defined as containing two central elements:[1]
- The individual thinks that harm is occurring, or is going to occur.
- The individual thinks that the perceived persecutor has the intention to cause harm.
According to the DSM-IV-TR, persecutory delusions are the most common form of delusions in schizophrenia, where the person believes "he or she is being tormented, followed, tricked, spied on, or ridiculed."[2] In the DSM-IV-TR, persecutory delusions are the main feature of the persecutory type of delusional disorder. When the focus is to remedy some injustice by legal action, they are sometimes called "querulous paranoia".[3]
In cases where reporters of stalking behavior have been judged to be making false reports, a majority of them were judged to be delusional.[4][5]
If the delusion results in imprisonment or involuntary commitment, the person may feel justified in this belief.
Treatment
Both first-generation antipsychotics and second-generation antipsychotics may be useful.[6] Cognitive behavioral therapy has also been used.
See also
- Grandiose delusions
- Paranoia
- In Object relations theory see: Splitting (psychology), Paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, and Paranoid anxiety
- Querulant
References
- ^ Freeman, D. & Garety, P.A. (2004) Paranoia: The Psychology of Persecutory Delusions. Hove: PsychoIogy Press. Page 13. ISBN 1-84169-522-X
- ^ Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. 2000. p. 299. ISBN 0-89042-025-4.
- ^ Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. 2000. p. 325. ISBN 0-89042-025-4.
- ^ "After eight uncertain cases were excluded, the false reporting rate was judged to be 11.5%, with the majority of false victims suffering delusions (70%)." Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1177/0093854803259235, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1177/0093854803259235instead. - ^ Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1891/1559-4343.10.3.163, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1891/1559-4343.10.3.163instead. - ^ Garety, Philippa A.; Freeman, Daniel B.; Bentall, Richard P. (2008). Persecutory delusions: assessment, theory, and treatment. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. p. 313. ISBN 0-19-920631-7.
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