ERM* – Delusion Drivers…

Delusion is “the psychological condition of having a distorted interpretation – or an outright misapprehension – of either one’s perceived reality or a conceptualized belief held.”

Being deluded is not an exceptional [mental] state to inhabit; it is in fact a rather “normal” and sometimes preferred condition to assume…even as one knows (in the abstract, as opposed to one’s personal engagement in…) that delusion may enable and promote(!) hurtful, potentially debilitating outcomes.

So then, generally speaking, being deluded – whether internally conjured or externally stimulated – is not a good thing. In its most extreme (and thankfully rare) manifestations– as in “not seeing” or “denying” real dangers that are present in a given situation – delusion can result in serious harm, possibly even death.

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There are different sources – or “drivers” – of delusion:

Conditioning – one’s upbringing has implanted, or caused to be internalized, many false or rigid beliefs. Also called Doctrinal Delusion (see ERM-17A).  Eg’s: 1) “Strangers are dangerous.” 2) Santa Claus. 3) Dichotomous thinking.

Fear – one usually seeks safety first before confronting what is the cause. Also, a kind of Affective Delusion (see The Elephant Duped).  Eg’s: 1) Defense mechanisms. 2) Engaging a flight response that leaves the cause a mystery (i.e., never explored or understood). 3) Worrying without reconciliation.

Cognitive Distortion – one has only in part interpreted “a reality” (i.e., something) correctly.  Eg: 1) Common distortions.

Illusion – one has “simply” misperceived what the reality is. Also previously called Perceptual Delusion.  Eg’s: 1) “Seeing” a snake when the reality is you’re looking at a bent stick in your path. 2) The elegant Müller-Lyer illusion, where two horizontal lines are presented but with opposite “flanked fins” on either end; while the lines are perceived as different in length (and one “would swear they were”), they are the same (which actual measurement confirms).

Psychosis – mental disorder symptomology. Eg’s: 1) Hallucinations. 2) Delusions of grandeur (i.e., false impression of one’s own importance).

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*Elephant/Rider Model: The Happiness Hypothesis, Jonathan Haidt, 2006.