“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
Dumbledore
Is it real or not? That's the million dollar question. The mind is so intrinsically complicated with its own mazes, hidden trails and pathways that even Theseus couldn't escape the labyrinth if he tried to.
There is a very fine line between reality and delusion. It's like standing on the precipice of a gigantic cliff and staring out at the ocean of clouds surrounding you. Are you standing or are you floating? Watching a 3-D movie and having the effect of multiple ants crawling all over your body. Is it real or just an illusion? You see it through your eyes but you believe what your mind tells you to.
The problem arises when what you believe you can see, feel, touch, smell isn't real. That's when scientists use the term, “hallucination.” An illness of the mind.
“While both delusions and hallucinations are part of a false reality, a hallucination is a sensory perception and a delusion is a false belief” [1]. There are many different reasons as to why hallucinations occur. They can occur due to psychotic disorder Schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder , brain tumors etc.
“Someone who is delusional will believe in the delusion very firmly, even when shown evidence to the contrary. This is what marks it as a mental health issue, since a person who is simply wrong can usually be convinced” [2].
“Delusions are a common symptom of several mood and personality-related mental illnesses, including schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, shared psychotic disorder, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder. They are also the major feature of delusional disorder. Individuals with delusional disorder suffer from long-term,
complex delusions that fall into one of six categories: persecutory, grandiose, jealousy, erotomanic, somatic, or mixed ” [3].
Case 1 ( hypothetical)
“You come across a person who is convinced that his organs have been removed and replaced with someone else’s organs without leaving wounds or scars” [4].
Conclusion- We can then say that the person is delusional. The above example is that of a bizarre delusion. An example of a non bizarre delusion can be when the person is convinced that he is constantly being watched by the government. “Although bizarre delusions are considered to be especially characteristic of schizophrenia, “bizarreness” may be difficult to judge, especially across different cultures. Delusions are deemed bizarre if they are clearly implausible and not understandable and do not derive from ordinary life experiences” [5].
Case 2 (hypothetical)
A person starts to hear voices repeatedly asking him/her to follow instructions. The voice may be commanding or not. However, in reality it is an absurd phenomenon.
Conclusion- The person suffers from auditory hallucination (the most common form of hallucination).
“The semiology of delusions and hallucinations corresponds to precise definitions. Systematized or not, their mechanisms and their themes are varied. Psychodynamic and biological approaches give an insight into the therapies to use with patients who are affected” [6].
References
[1]https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/hallucinations-vs-delusions#differences[4][5]https://brainblogger.com/2016/08/04/hallucinations-vs-delusions-whats-the-difference/[2] https://ridgeviewhospital.net/delusions-vs-hallucinations/[6]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21416883/[3]https://www.diffen.com/difference/Delusion_vs_Hallucination[7] Image https://brainblogger.com/2016/08/04/hallucinations-vs-delusions-whats-the-difference/
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