Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypes of Delusions in Bipolar DisorderPsychosis and Delusions in Bipolar DisorderWarning Signs of PsychosisTreatment for Delusions in Bipolar DisorderCoping With Delusions in Bipolar Disorder

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Types of Delusions in Bipolar Disorder

Psychosis and Delusions in Bipolar Disorder

Warning Signs of Psychosis

Treatment for Delusions in Bipolar Disorder

Coping With Delusions in Bipolar Disorder

Close

Adelusionis a false belief that a person firmly holds to be true, regardless of whether it is actually true or even possible. Someone who is delusional will hold on tight to such a belief even if other people are able to logically explain why it’s false.

There is a recognized mental illness called delusional disorder in which delusions are the dominant symptom.In a type of bipolar disorder that includespsychosis, however, delusions are a psychotic symptom of the mood disorder. They often appear along withhallucinations—sensory perceptions aren’t actually there.

At a GlanceIn order to understand delusions as a symptom of bipolar disorder, it is helpful to also become familiar with psychosis. Delusions are a part of psychosis, which can occur as part of this condition. Keep reading to learn more about the types of delusions people with bipolar disorder might experience, the warning signs of psychosis, and treatments that can help.

At a Glance

In order to understand delusions as a symptom of bipolar disorder, it is helpful to also become familiar with psychosis. Delusions are a part of psychosis, which can occur as part of this condition. Keep reading to learn more about the types of delusions people with bipolar disorder might experience, the warning signs of psychosis, and treatments that can help.

Delusions versus Hallucinations: What Are the Differences?

There are many different types of delusions. These are the ones most commonly associated with mental disorders such as bipolar disorder:

Delusions can also occur in other conditions, includingschizophrenia,Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.

What to Know About Fregoli Delusion

In the simplest terms, psychosis is the loss of touch with reality.When someone is having a psychotic event, their thoughts and beliefs become distorted.

Sometimes the delusions and hallucinations that accompany bipolar symptoms are in keeping with a person’s current mood state, in which case they’re calledmood-congruent symptoms, and sometimes the opposite is the case—a person’s delusion doesn’t match up with their mood, which is known as mood-incongruent symptoms.

Psychosis is not an illness in and of itself but a symptom of an underlying disorder. Roughly 3% of the U.S. population will experience psychosis during their lifetime, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, whether they have a mental disorder or not.

In fact, there’s an array of non-psychiatric conditions that cause psychoses, including:

Bipolar Psychosis

In bipolar disorder, psychotic events usually occur duringmanic episodes, but they can develop during adepressive stateas well. Either way, if psychotic episodes are part of your bipolar disorder, your official diagnosis will likely bea bipolar disorder with psychotic features (sometimes referred to asbipolar psychosis).

If you are diagnosed with bipolar psychosis, it doesn’t mean that your illness is more severe than that of someone who has bipolar without psychosis.

One study found that people with bipolar psychosis tend to be more likely to experience morerapid cycling, as well as more chronic mood disturbances, than those who have bipolar without psychosis.

What Living With a Psychotic Disorder Feels Like, As a Mental Health Professional

Psychosis doesn’t normally happen suddenly. There are often warning signs that can let you know that it’s coming, including:

Psychosis—and therefore the delusions and/or hallucinations that comprise it—is treatable, especially if treatment is focused and prompt. Early intervention makes a big difference in recovery. Treatment may include antipsychotic medications andpsychotherapy, such ascognitive-behavioral therapy(CBT) and supportive psychotherapy.

Medications

Medications can help reduce delusions and the behaviors that result.Typical antipsychoticsblock dopamine in the brain, whileatypical antipsychoticscan be used to block both dopamine and serotonin. Antidepressants may be prescribed if a person is also experiencing mood symptoms in addition to delusions.Mood stabilizersmay also be prescribed to treat symptoms of bipolar disorder.

Psychotherapy

What Is Therapy for Bipolar Disorder?

If you have bipolar disorder and experience delusions, it is important to take steps to manage your symptoms. Strategies that can help include:

If you or a loved one are struggling with delusions, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are struggling with delusions, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

The Best Online Therapy ProgramsWe’ve tried, tested and written unbiased reviews of the best online therapy programs including Talkspace, Betterhelp, and Regain.

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Chakrabarti S, Singh N.Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder and their impact on the illness: A systematic review.World J Psychiatry. 2022;12(9):1204-1232. doi:10.5498/wjp.v12.i9.1204Isham L, Griffith L, Boylan A, et al.Understanding, treating, and renaming grandiose delusions: A qualitative study.Psychol Psychother. 2021;94(1):119-140. doi:10.1111%2Fpapt.12260Reutens S, Butler T, Hwang YIJ, Withall A.A comparison of older and younger offenders with delusional jealousy.Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2022;30(5):618-631. doi:10.1080/13218719.2022.2073285Freeman D, Garety P.Advances in understanding and treating persecutory delusions: A review.Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2014;49(8):1179-1189. doi:10.1007%2Fs00127-014-0928-7Rootes-Murdy K, Goldsmith DR, Turner JA.Clinical and structural differences in delusions across diagnoses: A systematic review.Front Integr Neurosci. 2022;15:726321. doi:10.3389/fnint.2021.726321Early Assessment & Support Alliance.What is psychosis?.National Institute of Mental Health.RAISE questions and answers.Burton CZ, Ryan KA, Kamali M, et al.Psychosis in bipolar disorder: Does it represent a more “severe” illness?Bipolar Disord. 2018;20(1):18-26. doi:10.1111/bdi.12527Skelton M, Khokhar WA, Thacker SP.Treatments for delusional disorder.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(5):CD009785. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009785.pub2

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Chakrabarti S, Singh N.Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder and their impact on the illness: A systematic review.World J Psychiatry. 2022;12(9):1204-1232. doi:10.5498/wjp.v12.i9.1204Isham L, Griffith L, Boylan A, et al.Understanding, treating, and renaming grandiose delusions: A qualitative study.Psychol Psychother. 2021;94(1):119-140. doi:10.1111%2Fpapt.12260Reutens S, Butler T, Hwang YIJ, Withall A.A comparison of older and younger offenders with delusional jealousy.Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2022;30(5):618-631. doi:10.1080/13218719.2022.2073285Freeman D, Garety P.Advances in understanding and treating persecutory delusions: A review.Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2014;49(8):1179-1189. doi:10.1007%2Fs00127-014-0928-7Rootes-Murdy K, Goldsmith DR, Turner JA.Clinical and structural differences in delusions across diagnoses: A systematic review.Front Integr Neurosci. 2022;15:726321. doi:10.3389/fnint.2021.726321Early Assessment & Support Alliance.What is psychosis?.National Institute of Mental Health.RAISE questions and answers.Burton CZ, Ryan KA, Kamali M, et al.Psychosis in bipolar disorder: Does it represent a more “severe” illness?Bipolar Disord. 2018;20(1):18-26. doi:10.1111/bdi.12527Skelton M, Khokhar WA, Thacker SP.Treatments for delusional disorder.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(5):CD009785. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009785.pub2

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Chakrabarti S, Singh N.Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder and their impact on the illness: A systematic review.World J Psychiatry. 2022;12(9):1204-1232. doi:10.5498/wjp.v12.i9.1204Isham L, Griffith L, Boylan A, et al.Understanding, treating, and renaming grandiose delusions: A qualitative study.Psychol Psychother. 2021;94(1):119-140. doi:10.1111%2Fpapt.12260Reutens S, Butler T, Hwang YIJ, Withall A.A comparison of older and younger offenders with delusional jealousy.Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2022;30(5):618-631. doi:10.1080/13218719.2022.2073285Freeman D, Garety P.Advances in understanding and treating persecutory delusions: A review.Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2014;49(8):1179-1189. doi:10.1007%2Fs00127-014-0928-7Rootes-Murdy K, Goldsmith DR, Turner JA.Clinical and structural differences in delusions across diagnoses: A systematic review.Front Integr Neurosci. 2022;15:726321. doi:10.3389/fnint.2021.726321Early Assessment & Support Alliance.What is psychosis?.National Institute of Mental Health.RAISE questions and answers.Burton CZ, Ryan KA, Kamali M, et al.Psychosis in bipolar disorder: Does it represent a more “severe” illness?Bipolar Disord. 2018;20(1):18-26. doi:10.1111/bdi.12527Skelton M, Khokhar WA, Thacker SP.Treatments for delusional disorder.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(5):CD009785. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009785.pub2

Chakrabarti S, Singh N.Psychotic symptoms in bipolar disorder and their impact on the illness: A systematic review.World J Psychiatry. 2022;12(9):1204-1232. doi:10.5498/wjp.v12.i9.1204

Isham L, Griffith L, Boylan A, et al.Understanding, treating, and renaming grandiose delusions: A qualitative study.Psychol Psychother. 2021;94(1):119-140. doi:10.1111%2Fpapt.12260

Reutens S, Butler T, Hwang YIJ, Withall A.A comparison of older and younger offenders with delusional jealousy.Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2022;30(5):618-631. doi:10.1080/13218719.2022.2073285

Freeman D, Garety P.Advances in understanding and treating persecutory delusions: A review.Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2014;49(8):1179-1189. doi:10.1007%2Fs00127-014-0928-7

Rootes-Murdy K, Goldsmith DR, Turner JA.Clinical and structural differences in delusions across diagnoses: A systematic review.Front Integr Neurosci. 2022;15:726321. doi:10.3389/fnint.2021.726321

Early Assessment & Support Alliance.What is psychosis?.

National Institute of Mental Health.RAISE questions and answers.

Burton CZ, Ryan KA, Kamali M, et al.Psychosis in bipolar disorder: Does it represent a more “severe” illness?Bipolar Disord. 2018;20(1):18-26. doi:10.1111/bdi.12527

Skelton M, Khokhar WA, Thacker SP.Treatments for delusional disorder.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(5):CD009785. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009785.pub2

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?