delusion, psychotic belief - (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary

 

I was having a hilarious(to me) exchange with a friend via email and I came across an article about delusions. It occurred to me some of the worst relationship circumstances we found ourselves in can make us be labeled delusional. For some bizarre reason the information below had me so tickled

 

The following can indicate a delusion:

1. The patient expresses an idea or belief with unusual persistence or force. I love him and no else, he is my soul mate, I can never love another, there is no one else for me. No one gets me like he does, we have this unique connection,
2. That idea appears to exert an undue influence on the patients life, and the way of life is often altered to an inexplicable extent.
3. Despite his/her profound conviction, there is often a quality of secretiveness or suspicion when the patient is questioned about it. I don’t know why people have all these questions, Y’all haters, we just want to be alone without outside negativity
4. The individual tends to be humorless and oversensitive, especially about the belief. You don’t know him like I do
5. There is a quality of centrality: no matter how unlikely it is that these strange things are happening to him, the patient accepts them relatively unquestioningly.
6. An attempt to contradict the belief is likely to arouse an inappropriately strong emotional reaction, often with irritability and hostility.
7. The belief is, at the least, unlikely, and out of keeping with the patient's social, cultural and religious background.
8. The patient is emotionally over-invested in the idea and it overwhelms other elements of their psyche.
9. The delusion, if acted out, often leads to behaviors which are abnormal and/or out of character, although perhaps understandable in the light of the delusional beliefs.
10. Individuals who know the patient observe that the belief and behavior are uncharacteristic and alien.

 

I am not creative today so fill in the blanks with you own interpretation