RE: Definition of "delusion" in DSM-5
February 27, 2018 at 5:10 pm
(This post was last modified: February 27, 2018 at 5:19 pm by Edwardo Piet.)
(February 27, 2018 at 2:22 pm)Alexmahone Wrote:(February 27, 2018 at 10:43 am)Hammy Wrote: The definition is the premise. I thought we are debating what part of the definition means religious beliefs aren't considered a psychiatric delusion. We are already accepting the definition as it is the premise.
Are you questioning what part of the definition means religious beliefs aren't considered a psychiatric definition or are you questioning whether you agree with the definition or think certain parts of it are unnecessary? You have to be clear with your question otherwise your definition will be so flexible and equivocal that you will flip back and forth too much to be addressing anything coherent.
No, I was saying that the DSM-5 should redefine delusion to just "Any belief held despite incontrovertible evidence or proof against it". That is the dictionary definition of "delusion". Then it would include religious beliefs. It would also include mathematical delusions: Believing that the square of a real number can be negative ought to be considered a delusion.
Well it shouldn't redefine it to the dictionary definition because there are multitude of delusions that aren't relevant to psychiatry...
Maybe we should let psychiatry deal with psychiatric definitions? Just a thought.
(February 27, 2018 at 2:55 pm)Alexmahone Wrote:(February 27, 2018 at 2:42 pm)RoadRunner79 Wrote: And similarities between your two examples, don't necessarily mean that the same conclusion follows (because of other circumstances and how the beliefs where reached). Would you agree, that not all false beliefs fall under the classification of delusional?
There are 195 countries in the world. If a person believes there are 183 countries in the world, that's just a false belief. But if he still believes that after doing a day of library research, then that's a delusion.
No, all false beliefs are delusions. But not all delusions are false beliefs. Because some delusions refer to a completely different kind of delusion. Which is more about mental health than truth and falsehood.
(February 27, 2018 at 2:38 pm)FatAndFaithless Wrote:(February 27, 2018 at 2:34 pm)Shell B Wrote: It is assumed by its presence in the book. A mental disorder, disordered thinking, whatever you want to call it all boils down to coping. A person may be chronically nervous about school, but unless they start having panic attacks and avoiding school, they don't have a disorder. A mental disorder must cause disruption of a person's life to be considered such. Therefore, if the delusion is not causing disruption, it's not a disorder. I think we can agree that there's a big difference between a person who believes god answers her prayers and a person who believes god is speaking through her literally.
Right. Another example is someone believing a god exists versus believing that they are immune to snake venom because the bible says so. One is obviously more impactful and disruptive than the other, even if I personally think that neither is factually true.
And here's the classic one, for me:
![[Image: DIdSFPWW0AABwQ8.jpg]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DIdSFPWW0AABwQ8.jpg)