Psychiatria pre prax 2/2005

DELUSION AND OVERVALUED IDEA

The article is dealing with the problemacy of delusions and overvalued ideas. Attention is devoted to several terminological remarks concerning these phenomena, their definitions and views on their origin. Besides the classical division of delusions into the three classical types (delusions of grandeur, depressive and persecutory delusions) less typical delusion-like terms are mentioned. The overvalued ideas may border with psychopathology, nevertheless they do not usually exceed the limits of normality. Some social phenomena in connection with overvalued ideas (phanatism, terrorism) need not be medicinized.

Keywords: delusion, overvalued idea, definition, division, views on their origin, some social phenomena in connection with overvalued ideas.