A 21-year-old member asked:
What are delusions and hallucinations?
3 doctor answers • 14 doctors weighed in
Dr. Ray Holtanswered
Family Medicine 30 years experience
I'll explain: Delusions are when you think something is happening and it's not. For instance you may think you're the president of the United States, but you're not. That's a delusion (unless you're an african american senator from illinois).
A hallucination is where you sense something that's not there. It can be something you think you smell or see for example that's not really there.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Alan Alianswered
Psychiatry 34 years experience
Delusions/Hallucinat: Delusions are false beliefs. Hallucinations are false perceptions.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Andrew Berryanswered
Clinical Psychology 16 years experience
Different : A delusion is something that can theoretically happen, but is not very likely. An example of this would be, when a patient tells me that Cindy Crawford is in love with him. That's a delusion. A hallucination is, by definition, any one or more of the five senses interpreting stimuli from the environment that does not in reality exist.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Similar questions
A 35-year-old member asked:
How can I tell if i'm having delusions or hallucinations?
1 doctor answer • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Lawrence Smithanswered
Clinical Psychology 32 years experience
Reality check: Delusions & hallucinations are considered "psychotic" symptoms. They represent impaired contact with reality. One way to check on your contact with reality is to take actions to be objective. This means that you could evaluate your beliefs and confirm your perceptions by asking trusted others if they agree with you. If your beliefs and perceptions are clearly false they'll say so. Get consensus.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Dec 28, 2016
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