Megalomania (from the
Greek word µe?a??µa??a) is a historical term for behavior characterized by
delusional fantasies of
wealth,
power,
genius, or
omnipotence — often generally termed as
delusions of grandeur or
grandiose delusions. It is a Greek word ,"megalo" meaning
"very large",
"great", or
"exaggerated" and "mania" meaning
obsession thus combining to denote an obsession with, either in the form of irrational perceived need for, or preoccupation with one's own estimation of having and/or obtaining, grandiosity and extravagance (especially in the form of great
fame and
popularity,
material wealth, social influence or political power, or more than one or even all of the aforesaid) and accompanying complete desirous and bombastic abandon; a common symptom if not the key diagnostic feature of megalomania. It may be a symptom of
manic or
paranoid disorders.
[citation needed] However it is not considered a distinct
mental disorder of itself according to the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Delusions of grandeur may be seen as distinct from megalomania An overweening and excessive preoccupation with one's own importance, though it may be considered pathological, is not necessarily delusional. A delusion of grandeur, if it is a true delusion, must meet the psychiatric criteria for delusion. Whereas it is possible, in the case of megalomania, for an actually important man/woman to be preoccupied with his/her own actual importance, a person suffering from delusions of grandeur would stubbornly entertain patently false, generally fantastic and often highly complex ideas of his/her own importance, often with a supernatural or science-fictional bent. A person suffering from delusions of grandeur may actually be an important figure, as in the case of the mathematician John Nash, who once rejected a prestigious academic chair on the grounds that he was due to be enthroned as the Emperor of Antarctica.[1]
Delusions of grandeur would seem to be one of the two main - and possibly connected - delusions of paranoid schizophrenia. And, it is interesting to note, delusions of grandeur, though constituting psychotic ideation, are possibly largely recreational in nature and represent irrational and compelling but not unpleasant or disturbing fantasies. In a PBS interview, John Nash said the following about his own delusions of grandeur
I think mental illness or madness can be an escape also. People don't develop a mental illness because they are in the happiest of situations usually. One doctor observed that it was rare when people were rich to become schizophrenic. If they were poor or didn't have too much money, then it was more likely. And this is natural, if things are very good, you can find satisfaction with the world as it is, as it seems to be. If things are not so good, you may be one to imagine something better.
