Ideas of Reference and Delusions of Reference

Ideas Of Reference And Delusions Of Reference


This article is about a mental illness. For the album by Psyopus, see Ideas of Reference.

Ideas of reference and delusions of reference involve people having a belief or perception that irrelevant, unrelated or innocuous phenomena in the world refer to them directly or have special personal significance: 'the notion that everything one perceives in the world relates to one's own destiny'.

In psychiatry, delusions of reference form part of the diagnostic criteria for psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder, or bipolar disorder during the elevated stages of mania. To a lesser extent, it can be a hallmark of paranoid personality disorder. Such symptoms can also be caused by intoxication, especially with hallucinogens or stimulants like methamphetamine.

Read more about Ideas Of Reference And Delusions Of Reference:  Freudian Views, Anti-psychiatry, Delusions of Reference, Examples, Literary Analogues

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