I have Delusional Disorder

So, for awhile, my new pdoc wouldn’t give me a diagnosis because she says she didn’t know yet. My old pdoc had me diagnosed with SZ. I asked my new pdoc to fill out a referral for a scholarship and she put my Dx on it as DD. That’s the first I have seen it as an official DX.
Sucks cuz the scholarship is only for people who have SZ and SZa. DD is even more rare than SZ but the prognosis is similar. The thing about DD is that people usually appear quite normal and function totally normally. Hallucinations are not frequent and they don’t have a flat affect. They just have a persistent non-bizarre delusion. Non-bizarre you say? My delusion is that I am part of a brain study, complete with equipment in my brain etc. but (believe it or not) for purposes of a DX that doesn’t count as bizarre. Bizarre would be like believing you’re pregnant with puppies (I am using an actual example that I read). My delusion could ,in rare circumstances, actually occur so it is not considered ‘bizarre in content’. That is one of the reasons people with DD struggle so hard to get rid of their delusions. With me, the question I focus on is ‘why’ would anyone want to do that to me? Good question. I’ll be happy when it goes away completely. I think about it less on some days and more on others. School helps me a lot because I don’t think about it much at school. Anyhow, it’s official. I have DD although treating the symptoms is the same as SZ. Risperidone and therapy

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I have never heard of DD until I read this post. Did they say it is curable?
You and I have similar beliefs, which I never considered could be delusions, till I began using this site.
I have no diagnosis, though, besides depression and anxiety.

I used to wonder if I had delusional disorder due to my high functioning. However my delusions are 99% bizarre and during episodes I do hallucinate quite regularly.

My friend’s little brother has it. His delusion is that his father horrifically physically abused him, which just isn’t true. It’s heartbreaking though, he can’t even stand to be in the same room as his dad and actually jumped out of a window once when his dad tried to be in the same room. He doesn’t live at home anymore. So obviously this can still be a devastating disorder.

It’s like Sz. You can stay in remission indefinitely, but you would still have the disorder. It isn’t really ‘curable’, so to speak. If I were you I would go talk to a psychiatrist and see what they have to say. For me, I am totally ‘normal’ except well, I’m not because I have this powerful, persistent delusion that is real to me. You may have it. Obviously, I couldn’t say. I am not a Dr. P.S. I also have a history of depression and anxiety but no psychosis until I was overwhelmed with this belief in June 2015

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Yes, DD can really cause problems. For example, if you believe you are constantly being watched, you are constantly paranoid, and it affects your life. For me, I fear what may happen in the study so I am paranoid and I am also distracted by the whole concept. It can be overwhelming. Sorry about your friends little brother. That’s rough. It can be a very powerful thing.

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Thank you DSM 4

5

6

7

for every diagnosis under the sun

Actually the Wikipedia description is not the same as the DSM description but it still gives an overall decent description of it

Actually the DSM 5 has completely revamped it (I’m just reading it) but the main symptom is still (obviously) a severe and persistent delusion. I qualify.

I was diagnosed with delusional disorder before I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The treatment was the same except I wasn’t prescribed a anxiety med then. The anxiety meds really help with paranoia I have found.

The wording is different but very much describes the same thing.

I was told my anxiety is very much to do with my paranoia. I was not offered an anti anxiety med. I guess they thought the antipsychotic would do the trick. It doesn’t.

I had bad paranoia. I take the lowest dose of xanax you can take. Makes all the difference in the world. I would ask again.

Interesting. My paranoia is directly related to my delusion. I don’t get anxious until after I am already paranoid due to my delusion. The paranoia precede the anxiety in my case. The, sometimes, overwhelming and terrifying paranoia that I am going to be physically and/or emotionally sacrificed or tortured as part of the brain study is the main reason I want to get rid of my delusion. The delusion itself, aside from the paranoia, doesn’t bother me.