A 19-year-old member asked:
What is the difference between delusion, illusion, and hallucination?
5 doctor answers • 11 doctors weighed in
Dr. Douglas Beyanswered
Psychiatry 59 years experience
Stimulus: Hallucination is a false perception while an illusion is a misperceptions of a real stimulus--hearing voices with no stimulus is a hallucination misinterpreting the sound of the radiator as voices is an illusion.
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Dr. Douglas Bey commented
Psychiatry 59 years experience
Provided original answer
Delusion is a false belief that isn't altered by logic.
Feb 26, 2015
Dr. Alan Alianswered
Psychiatry 34 years experience
Delusion/Hallu.: Delusion is false belief. Illusion is misinterpretation of a true sensation. Hallucination is perception of non-existing object or event (false perception).
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
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Dr. Douglas Beyanswered
Psychiatry 59 years experience
Stimulus/belief: Hallucination is false perception--illusion is a misperceptions --delusion is a false belief that is not altered by logic.
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Dr. Seth Kunenanswered
Clinical Psychology 47 years experience
Examples: 1. Watching a tv show but tv is off = hallucination. 2. Watching a tv show and believing it is about you when it is not = delusion. 3. Watching tv and incorrectly believing that a character on the show is a relative = illusion.
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5.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Seth Kunen commented
Clinical Psychology 47 years experience
Provided original answer
Thank you Dr. Ali . Your many contributions to this website have greatly helped many patients!
Oct 16, 2012
Dr. Andrew Berryanswered
Clinical Psychology 16 years experience
Different : A delusion is something that in theory can happen, but is not very likely an example of this would be a patient who says that Cindy Crawford is in love with them. That's a delusion. An illusion can be thought of in terms of tricks that a magician performs. Hallucinations are defined as stimuli that come from the environment that affect our five senses, but do not exist at all in reality.
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3.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Similar questions
A 40-year-old member asked:
What is the difference between illusion and delusion?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Patrick Tapiaanswered
Psychiatry 15 years experience
Perception or belief: An illusion is a primarily perceptual disturbance where something looks like something else. A delusion is a fixed false belief that is not a function of misinterpretation but rather a form of preformed and self referential belief that is deeply entrenched and not connected directly to directly observable data in the outside world.
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4.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
What causes illusions, delusions, and hallucinations?
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Steven Griggsanswered
Clinical Psychology 41 years experience
Illusions are simple: perceptual distortions, seeing things that aren't there because of low lighting, atmospheric distortion, etc. Once light is shined on the cause, the illusion disappears. Delusions are fixed patterns of thought that do not respond to reality. Hallucinations are psychotic manifestations that have little to do with reality. The latter two are usually brought on by drugs or mental illness.
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3.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Mar 27, 2018
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