Bee's Note:
Hey, GOP! Play this video back in one minute campaign ads - should be a winner!
Obama has lost all sense of reality and actually believes what he says about himself - a padded cell may be an appropriate place for his next "office"! (SEE: "Delusional Disorder - Mental Illness" (below).
Delusional disorder is where a person develops many delusions which can be persistant or stay with them for all of their life. These delusions can be believing to you are being followed or plotted against. The disorder shares features with schizophrenia including suspiciousness, distorted thinking and paranoia. Schizophrenia is normally associated with a loss of reality but with delusional disorder the person keeps their grip on reality even though it is distorted. [2]
Not much is known about what causes delusional disorder but it is thought to be related to some personality disorders. Relatives of a person with delusional disorder are more likely to get it in later life. [2] Researchers have found that an imbalance of chemicals known as neurotransmitters in the brain is linked to the development of delusional disorders. Neurotransmitters help nerves send messages to each other and an imbalance of the chemicals can interfere with the transmission leading to the symptoms. It can also be brought on by stress, alchohol abuse and drug abuse. People that are isolated are more likely to develop delusional disorders. [5]
A sufferer of delusional disorder can have symptoms beginning in adulthood such as a lack of trust and being suspicious of other people. There are some early symptoms such as being suspicious of people around them and bearing a grudge for an extended period of time. [2] The person suffers from non-bizarre delusions for around a month and does not exhibit strange behaviour or have hallucinations. However some patients may have infrequent hallucinations. [3] Other symptoms include an irritable, angry or depressed mood. [5]
Delusional disorder normally affects people in middle to late adult life but it is quite uncommon. [1]The average age for a person to be diagnosed with delusional disorder is forty years old but people have been diagnosed with it aged between nineteen to ninety years old. More women suffer from delusional disorder than men. [3]
Antipsychotic drugs can be administered to the patient to stop anxiety, agitation and psychosis. Some specific forms of delusional disorder react better to this kind of treatment than others. In somec ases the effects can worsen. [4] There is therapy which helps the sufferer understand that their thinking has become distorted and helps them change this. Cognitive-behavioural threrapy (CBT) helps them recognise which thought changes lead to troubling feelings and family therapy helps families help someone close to them that may have a delusional disorder.
[1]- http://www.mentalhealth.com/icd/p22-ps02.html [2]- http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec07/ch107/ch107c.html [3]- http://www.minddisorders.com/Br-Del/Delusional-disorder.html [4]- http://www.mentalhealth.com/rx/p23-ps02.html [5]- http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/3800/3840.asp?index=9599&src=newsp
