Religion as a mental illness

[brewer]

Define full blown.

Good point. I don't know how you exactly make the distinction. When you're actually "seeing" things manifest that other people wouldn't see at all, I suppose.

In my experience a "full blown" delusion is when there is a complete break with realty. Not necessarily with all realty, it can be limited to specific perceptions. The break with realty then significantly impairs the individuals ability to function in their daily lives and within society. That can include visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile hallucinations (the later two rare), paranoid delusions, delusions of grandeur, catatonia, magical/fantasy delusions. There are others. Almost all of these people have a physical neurological defect, be it physical damage/alteration or biochemical.

It's possible that people can have the "full blown" delusion without the neurological defect but it is a rare event and often occurs inside special circumstances. It usually is a behavioral manifestation and not one of altered perception. Once removed from the situation or circumstance the individual typically reverts to a non delusional state.