Scholarly paper: DELUSION1

Dow University of Health Sciences

Behavioural Psychology
Faculty: Ma’am Rubina Hafeez
Scholarly Paper
Topic: Delusion
Date of submission: 30/09/2021
Scholarly paper: DELUSION2

"MY HEART DROPS WHEN I THINK ABOUT YOU BEING WITH SOMEONE ELSE"

I’m perfectly fine. My family members are trying to prove to me that I’m crazy, but I’m not. In

the further opening, he said that his wife is having an affair I said with whom? he said there is a

gentleman who lives right across the building where they are living. The balconies of the two

buildings are facing each other and she was having an affair with him, so I asked him, have you

seen them talking? or have you seen them together? He said "no, I haven’t seen them discussing

or talking then I asked him, have you seen her talking on the phone? Or have you caught some

messages from that guy? He said that she sends messages, but I haven’t ever been able to catch

them because she deletes them immediately. Have you seen her delete messages immediately?

He said no, she does that when I’m not at home, or she goes to some other room and deletes

them. I brought him further and said that if you haven’t ever seen them talking or caught any

messages, how do you know that the affair is going on? Finally, he said that sometimes when I

go to the balcony, I see that guy standing over there, and just by looking at his face, I’m able to

make sure that something is going on between him and my wife then I asked him that this was

not a good reason to believe that somebody was having an affair, and you are sure about it? He

said yes. He was absolutely sure about it, and there was not even a shadow of doubt in his mind.

These conversations might be familiar and have clicked something in your mind because the

majority of people have gone through these behaviors. This is how suspiciousness manifests.

People reach a conclusion on very flimsy grounds that are af, so this is referred to as a delusion.

Delusions are categorized according to different types: Delusion of Jealousy, Bizarre Delusion,

Delusions of love (‘fantasy lover’, ‘erotomania’), Grandiose delusion, Persecutory (paranoid)

delusion, Somatic delusion and Mixed or Unspecified delusion. In this patient’s, case, it would

be called "Delusion of jealousy". In this delusion, the person develops a belief that the partner is
Scholarly paper: DELUSION3

cheating on him or her. As the delusion progresses it becomes more elaborate for example the

patient has started believing that the mother is also helping the wife in continuing with the affair

and he later on also started believing that sometimes kids are deliberately sent out of the house so

that the affair can continue. As we can see, delusion is increasing in our society and in Pakistan.

So, the motive behind choosing this topic is to create awareness of this disorder, raise the clinical

index of suspicion, and improve its treatment outcome.

Delusion of jealousy is a mental health disease in and of itself, and it is more common in people

who have previously been diagnosed with: anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, personality

disorders, brain traumas or diseases, and substance use disorders are all examples of mental

illnesses. People who suffer from jealous delusions have an illogical feeling that their spouses

have been unfaithful, and it can destroy cherished relationships and, in some cases, lead to

obsessive or even violent behavior. Possessive, controlling, distrustful, explosive, and defined by

a growing sense of desperation are all characteristics of delusion of jealousy. The following are

some of the symptoms that could suggest the presence of jealous delusions: Hypervigilance

directed at the love partner, always on the lookout for evidence of malice, frequently

interrogating a partner's actions in accusatory tones, Interfering with the partner's social media

accounts or surreptitiously checking them to see who they've been chatting with, Emotional

blackmail is used to manipulate the behaviour of a spouse, Isolating the partner from family and

friends, Self-harming behavior, including suicide attempts and If the abused partner tries to exit

the relationship by stalking or other indicators of obsession, Threats of violence or real violence

against the spouse, attempts to limit the partner's activities outside the home, and paranoia over

who the partner is talking to on the phone or writing to in emails. Jealous delusions may appear
Scholarly paper: DELUSION4

to be a solitary disorder at first glance. However, they frequently serve as a warning indicator of

more serious mental or behavioral health issues.

According to literature review delusion of jealousy carries a high risk for violence. It is a major

contributor to domestic violence and in a recent study, jealousy/possessiveness was a factor in

about 30% of spousal homicide by male perpetrators. Delusion of jealousy has a high rate of

recurrence and can reoccur when a new partner replaces a former partner. For the safety of

partners of patients with morbid jealousy, temporary or permanent separation may be necessary

the majority of people who reported having a jealousy delusion were married, employed,

distressed, and from a low socioeconomic background. Sometimes the impact become dangerous

people become physical aggressive and person hits her partner or physical abuse her. The

lifetime morbid risk of delusion of jealousy in the general population has been estimated to range

from 0.05 to 0.1%, based on data from various sources including case registries, case series, and

population-based samples. Delusion of jealousy can affect age of onset is about 40 years, but the

range is from 18 years to 90 years however, it is most frequent in adults. Delusion of jealousy is

more common in men, particularly among the divorced, illiterate, and unemployed, with stress

being the common denominator among most delusion of jealousy patients. These criteria are

partially met by this patient. A number of diseases, including obsessive and overvalued notions

of jealousy, must be ruled out before Delusion of jealousy, which is an exclusionary diagnosis,

can be made. Delusion of jealousy has been documented to coexist with a wide range of

psychiatric and physical problems; each disorder must be addressed and ruled out by appropriate

studies. The prevalence of delusion of jealousy in Pakistan psychiatric patients was 1.1% and It

is most frequent in organic psychoses (7.0%), paranoid disorders (6.7%), alcohol psychosis

(5.6%) and schizophrenia (2.5%), while in affective disorder delusions of jealousy could be
Scholarly paper: DELUSION5

found in only 0.1%. Because schizophrenia and affective disorder were the most common

diagnoses, most patients with delusion of jealousy were schizophrenics. In schizophrenia,

women were more likely to suffer from delusional jealousy, while in alcohol psychosis, men

were more likely than women to suffer from delusional jealousy.

In my opinion, people often miss this case, because you know, people have this belief that if

somebody has a mental illness, the person should look like a mentally ill person, and he should

not be untamed. He should not shave or he should not maintain himself. He should not be

holding a job, but that is not always true. There are disorders where the person would look

perfectly fine, but they have something going on at the thought level. Trying to force a person

out of one reality and into another never works. They respond better if you can figure out what

their delusion is and gently guide them as close to this reality as you can. Medical professionals

and nurses tend to be good at this. Some people will not release their delusions under any

circumstances. Medication and therapy are ineffective. At this point, being as supportive as you

know how would be best. If those suffering from jealous delusions are sincerely committed to

seeking relief from their suffering, outpatient and inpatient treatment programmed for delusional

illnesses can help them overcome their mistrustful and controlling inclinations. Antipsychotic

drugs, as well as individual and family therapy, can be used to cure jealous delusions, and

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is highly suggested for those who need to learn to perceive

themselves, their life, and the world more realistically. Delusion of jealousy, as well as the other

illnesses that may be associated to it, can all be treated. The first step on the road to recovery is

to be evaluated for delusional jealousy and any co-occurring illnesses, and being willing to

change is what allows treatment to work.

Delusion is quite common in our society. So, if you ever find somebody who’s having similar

symptoms in your family or friends, it is important to identify the symptoms, take the patient to

the doctor, or take the patient to psychiatry, and get the treatments started as early as possible,

because you know with early treatment, the result is better and, while sometimes it is difficult,

the treatment continues for a long period of time. Sometimes patients refuse to take treatment,

but you know, persistent efforts usually bear fruit, so my effort is to increase awareness about

mental disorders. I hope this effort bears some fruit.

References:

Brunswick, R. M. (1929). The Analysis of a Case of Paranoia:(Delusion of Jealousy). The

Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 70(1), 1-22.

Silva, A. J., Ferrari, M. M., Leong, G. B., & Penny, G. (1998). The dangerousness of persons

with delusional jealousy. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law

Online, 26(4), 607-623.

Marazziti, D., Di Nasso, E., Masala, I., Baroni, S., Abelli, M., Mengali, F., ... & Rucci, P. (2003).

Normal and obsessional jealousy: a study of a population of young adults. European

Psychiatry, 18(3), 106-111.

Silva, A. J., Ferrari, M. M., Leong, G. B., & Penny, G. (1998). The dangerousness of persons

with delusional jealousy. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law

Online, 26(4), 607-623.