Mystical or messianic delirium: symptoms, causes and treatment

This type of delirium can vary depending on the type of religion in which it is believed.

Each and every one of us is unique and unrepeatable, and we have very different experiences and perceptions of the world and reality. Most of them are interpretations that allow us to make sense of what we live in a way that allows us to survive and adapt to the environment around us.

But sometimes there are alterations in the content of thought that cause us to interpret reality in a different way. that make us interpret reality in a specific way that is maladaptive and even harmful to ourselves or to others. and even harmful to oneself or to the environment, preventing our correct adaptation and biasing our vision in such a way that we make false judgments about the world. This is what happens with delusions.

Within delusions we can find different typologies, differentiated by the aspect or theme to which they refer. One of them links psychotic sensory alterations to spiritual beliefs, making us consider, for example, a being with a divine mission or even a messiah. We are speaking of the mystical or messianic delirium..

What is the mystical delirium?

We understand by mystical delirium to an alteration of the content of thought, product of an anomalous interpretation of the reality, of religious-spiritual thematic.

As a delusion, it implies an unchangeable and fixed judgment or idea that persists with great intensity despite the existence of evidence to the contrary, that usually generates a high level of worry or anxiety in the sufferer (or prevents the person from functioning normally) and that is at least very unlikely, and that there is also a complete lack of social or cultural support for the person's delusion. complete lack of social or cultural support for the idea.. It is often the product of the interpretation of an altered perception (such as a hallucination), and usually involves a certain break with reality.

In the present case, the delirium in question has a content linked to spirituality and religiosity. has a content linked to spirituality and religiosity.. They interpret the world, themselves and others solely on the basis of faith, seeing in everything that happens a confirmation of their beliefs and consideration of their role in the world.

They tend to have a consideration that most of the acts carried out are sinful and seek to atone for their faults or those of others, in some cases even violently. It is not rare that there are also ideas of self-reference or even of greatness, considering the subject as a superior entity, a divine envoy or even a deity.

Difference between religious belief and mystical delirium

For a person without religious beliefs, it may be relatively simple to attribute to people who do have them this type of delusion, given that religious beliefs per se tend to be poorly modifiable and self-explanatory (while most people consider these beliefs to be malleable and interpretable, others present them with fixity). But this is not so, in the same way that having a good level of self-esteem does not imply a delusion of grandeur: we are simply dealing with a psychotic exacerbation of beliefs that were already basic.

Mystical delirium requires the existence of revelation and mission, experienced with ecstasy by the sufferer, in addition to the feeling of having a clear knowledge of the truth through this revelation. It is also frequent the abandonment of the life style led up to that time and the and the total abnegation towards what they consider to be their mission.. All this separates the mystical delirium from the normative religious-spiritual belief, in which there is no confusion followed by the idea of significance of the hallucinatory experience.

Causes of this delirium

Mystical delirium, as can be seen, has a strong religious and cultural influence as one of its main bases. However, the causes of the appearance of this delirium do not depend only on this factor but there are multiple factors that contribute to its genesis. The delirium is perceived as a rational explanation by the subject, often serving to justifyoften serving to justify the existence of a hallucinatory experience that disturbs them.

Religiosity per se is a relevant but not necessarily a determining factor (with controversy depending on the study as to whether its role is fundamental or just another variable), although the specific religious beliefs of a person with this type of delirium often determine the type of delirium content. For example, in the Christian religion, guilt-related delusions tend to be more abundant, while in Judaism, there tends to be more hallucinatory experience of delusions related to guilt. there tends to be a greater nocturnal hallucinatory experience associated with the linking of the night with spirits..

However, many people with this type of problem do not have any specific religious belief, so it will not have an effect on everyone. Other relevant factors are the level and type of education of the person and his or her marital status.

Likewise, the existence of this type of mystical delusions has been mainly associated with the presence of intoxication by drugs, food or medicines, some medical or psychiatric illnesses (including especially psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia), acute or chronic Pain (interpretable as a sign), or dementias. It is usually typical of people suffering from what Emil Kraepelin called paraphrenia, a chronic psychotic disorder in which the delusions have a relatively fanciful character and in which except in the subject matter in question the person does not present great alterations.

Treatment of this type of delirium

The treatment of a delirium, regardless of its type, is complex and relatively slow. We all have a tendency to maintain our beliefs more or less firmly. This means that delusional experiences, which for those who have them represent reality better than others, are attempted to be perpetuated and attempts at direct modification are rejected outright. Likewise interpretative biases of the phenomena that occur make the subject the subject reinforces his or her delusional ideation.

In all cases it is first necessary to stabilize the patient if we are dealing with a psychotic disorder or to combat the infectious or toxic agent if we are dealing with an infection or intoxication of some kind. Once the psychological process has begun, it is first of all necessary to overcome the patient's attitude of vigilance and aversiveness towards the therapist and gain his or her trust, without direct confrontation with his or her delusional beliefs. The aim is to foster the therapeutic relationship and to gain access little by little and as trust increases to the core of the ideation.

It is proposed that the patient will gradually make introspection and visualizing what has led him to think in such a way. Generating an increase in communication and gradually adjusting the thought processes towards a more adaptive scheme of reality.

The type of environment the patient has may also play a relevant role in his or her treatment, since it is possible that in the beginning the symptomatology is not considered aversive until a long time has passed. This increases the risk of chronicity and consolidation of delirium. In this sense some psychoeducation to the environment regarding the problem that the subject presents (always respecting the religious beliefs they hold), could be beneficial for both the latter and the patient.

Bibliographical references:

• Bastidas, M. and Alberto, C. (2004). Validity of mystical delirium in contemporary semiology. Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría, vol. XXXIII (2): 172-181. Colombian Association of Psychiatry. Bogotá, D.C., Colombia.
• Rodante, D.E. and Fuentes, P. (2013). Mystic-religious delusions: historical journey, current validity and cultural implications in its genesis. Clepios. 62. Journal of Professionals in Training in Mental Health.