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Déjà vu is a sense of having already seen something you’re currently seeing or experiencing—coupled with knowing you haven’t actually seen it, which is why it catches many people so off guard. It is thought to be the equivalent of a small brain “glitch,” with two streams of thought colliding. The phrase literally translated from French to mean “already seen.”

St. Augustine, an ancient philosopher, first referred to the concept of déjà vu in 400 AD as “false memoriae,” but French philosopher Emile Boirac was the first to use the term déjà vu in 1890. The first use of the phrase in the scientific world was from F.L. Arnaud, a neurologist who proposed to use it at a meeting of the Societe Medico-Psychologique.

Early research showed promise for déjà vu to be a sign that helped doctors diagnose epilepsy, but more recent research has shown it may be a matter of perception or memory.

How Does Déjà Vu Happen?

It is believed that déjà vu may be the result of two different streams of awareness colliding: the experience of recognizing a current situation, alongside the feeling that this is an inaccurate recollection. A key feature is that the person realizes that they have not actually seen this before.

Sometimes, what happens is really a matter of split perception and someone is processing a sight twice because they may have been distracted or their vision was obstructed for some reason. 

The second perception, immediately after the first one, becomes the one that is consciously experienced—but it feels unfamiliar because we are not cognizant of the first experience, which we only partially processed. 

Types of Déjà Vu

Though the actual feeling of déjà vu is the same across people with healthy brains and those with neurological conditions, different things are happening in the brain during each of these types.

Those who do experience it more regularly show less grey matter than those who don’t. Grey matter is the outermost layer of the brain, and it is responsible for controlling movement, memory, and emotions. Typically, the more grey matter a brain has, the more effective it is.

In those with neurological conditions, three parts of the brain are impacted: the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and temporal neocortex—areas that are associated with forming and retaining memories.

For those with epilepsy and déjà vu, alterations in memory circuitry have been observed, meanwhile, alterations in emotional circuitry are seen in “healthy” individuals experiencing déjà vu. Déjà vu is thought to perhaps be abnormal signaling within the medial temporal lobe, which governs memory processing, particularly visual memories.

The conditions that might experience more déjà vu than those with a healthy brain include:

• Schizophrenia
• Epilepsy
• Anxiety
• Vascular dementia

The term déjà vu is the one most frequently used to capture these types of experiences, but there are actually many more of these phenomena.

Some other types you might experience:

• Déjà entendu: already heard
• Déjà éprouvé: already experienced 
• Déjà fait: already done
• Déjà pensé: already thought
• Déjà raconté: already recounted
• Déjà senti: already felt emotionally or already smelled
• Déjà su: already known (the knowledge of)
• Déjà trouvé: already found
• Déjà vécu: already lived through
• Déjà voulu: already wanted
• Déjà reve: already dreamed

What Causes the Déjà Vu Feeling?

Though most times, déjà vu is not a sign of anything serious—such as a mental illness—there are some possible factors that you might want to pay attention to if episodes of déjà vu are making you uncomfortable.

Stress and Fatigue

People who are tired and/or stressed often report episodes of déjà vu. This is thought to be because fatigue and stress typically affect both long- and short-term memory. 

Excess Dopamine

A hypothesis is that excess amounts of dopamine may be implicated in experiences of déjà vu. In studies of temporal lobe epilepsy, the research shows that elevated levels of dopamine were detected in rodent models of temporal lobe epilepsy.

One strange case of déjà vu was the use of the flu medications amantadine and Proin (phenylpropanolmine). A man who took this combination of medications to treat an infection of the flu began experiencing several episodes of déjà vu per hour—which stopped upon him discontinuing these medications.

Both of these medications, among their flu-symptom reducing properties, work on the dopamine system, and it is thought that these déjà vu episodes were caused by an excess of dopamine in the system. Epilepsy research shows that parts of the brain including the hippocampus are related to dysmensic symptoms (impaired memory) symptoms,

Who Gets Déjà Vu?

While anyone can experience déjà vu, those who experience it multiple times share some characteristics, according to research:

• High income
• Well educated
• Frequent travelers
• Those who remember their dreams
• Those who are politically liberal 
• Ages 15-25

Should I See a Doctor for Déjà Vu?

Epilepsy is the most common of neurological conditions to be associated with déjà vu, as it affects the temporal lobe of your brain, where vision is interpreted. There are several types of seizures, but it is simple partial seizures, also known as focal onset aware seizures, that are most often associated with deja vu experiences.

For most healthy individuals, déjà vu has no serious impact, other than a bit of a feeling of confusion momentarily. However, if you are experiencing frequent déjà vu (a few times a week or more), you may want to visit a neurologist to be evaluated for epilepsy or any other neurological conditions.

Trust in an intimate relationship is rooted in feeling safe with another person. Infidelity, lies, or broken promises can severely damage the trust between partners, even leading to trust issues. However, when trust is broken, this does not necessarily mean that the relationship can’t be salvaged. 

Although rebuilding trust can be challenging when there is a significant breach, it is, in fact, possible if both partners are committed to the process. Learn how to regain trust in your relationship and feel safe once again.

Picking Up the Pieces

It takes much time and effort to re-establish the sense of safety you need for a relationship to thrive and continue to grow. Recovery from the trauma caused by a break in the trust is where many couples who want to get back on track can get stuck.

Research has shown that couples must address the following five sticking points to effectively move past a breach of trust:

• Knowing the details
• Releasing the anger
• Showing commitment
• Rebuilding trust
• Rebuilding the relationship

Know the Details

Even in seemingly clear-cut cases of betrayal, there are always two sides. The offending partner should be upfront and honest with information, in addition to giving clear answers to any and all questions from their partner.

This will give the betrayed party a broader understanding of the situation. What happened, when, and where? What feelings or problems may have contributed to this situation? What were the mitigating circumstances?

Release the Anger 

Even minor breaches of trust can lead to mental, emotional, and physical health problems. Partners may have trouble sleeping or diminished appetite. They may become irritable over small things or be quick to trigger.

While it may be tempting to stuff all of the anger and emotions down, it is imperative that betrayed partners tune in and reflect on all the feelings they have. Consider the impact of your partner’s betrayal on you and others.

Reflect on how life has been disrupted, including thinking about all the questions and doubts that are now emerging. Make your partner aware of all these feelings.

Show Commitment

Both parties, especially the betrayed, may be questioning their commitment to the relationship. They may be wondering if the relationship is still right for them or even salvageable.

Acts of empathy can be healing to both parties. These include sharing pain, frustration, and anger; showing remorse and regret; and allowing space for the acknowledgment and validation of hurt feelings.

Building off of this, defining what both sides require from the relationship can help give partners the understanding that proceeding with the relationship comes with clear expectations that each person, in moving ahead, has agreed to fulfill.

In communicating this, avoid using words that can trigger conflict (e.g., always, must, never, should) in describing what you see, expect, or want from your partner. Instead, choose words that facilitate open conversation and use non-blaming “I” statements. For example, favor “I need to feel like a priority in your life” over “You never put me first.”

Rebuilding Trust

Together, you must set specific goals and realistic timelines for getting your relationship back on track. Recognize that rebuilding trust takes time and requires the following:

• Decide to forgive or to be forgiven. Make a conscious decision to love by trying to let go of the past. While achieving this goal fully may take some time, committing to it is what’s key.
• Be open to self-growth and improvement. You can’t repair broken trust with just promises and statements of forgiveness. The underlying causes for the betrayal need to be identified, examined, and worked on by both partners for the issues to stay dormant.
• Be aware of your innermost feelings and share your thoughts. Leaving one side to obsess about the situation or action that broke the trust is not going to solve anything. Instead, it is important to openly discuss the details and express all feelings of anger and hurt.
• Want it to work. There is no place in the process for lip service or more lies. Be honest about and true to your wishes.

Once the above points have been taken to heart by both sides, talk openly about your goals. Also, continue to check in regularly to make sure you are on track.

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For the Offender

As the person who compromised the relationship, it may be hard or even painful to be reminded of your wrongdoings. Remember, though, that the above steps are essential to the process of relationship repair and recovery. As you work on them:

• Show that the errant behavior is gone by changing your behavior if you are the one in your relationship who lied, cheated, or broke the trust. That means no more secrets, lies, infidelity, or anything else of the sort. Be completely transparent, open, and forthcoming from now on.
• Be honest and work to understand and state why the bad behavior occurred. Statements such as “I don’t know” don’t instill confidence or help you get to the root of the issue.
• Take responsibility for your own actions and decisions. Apologize for the hurt you caused and avoid defensiveness, which will only perpetuate the conflict or crisis. Justifying your behavior based on what your partner is doing or has done in the past is also not productive.

For the Betrayed

While moving forward hinges a lot on what your partner is able to show you, remember that the work you do also has a lot to do with your potential success in regaining trust in a relationship. As you proceed, day by day:

• Work on understanding why and what went awry in the relationship before the betrayal actually took place. While this won’t help you forget what happened, it may help you get some answers you need to move on.
• Provide positive responses and reinforcement to help give your partner consistent feedback on things that please you or make you happy once you have committed to giving your partner a second chance.
• Know that it’s also okay if you do not want to continue the relationship after considering the above steps or beginning them. Just be honest with yourself and your partner and don’t go through the motions just because you feel that is what is expected of you as a devoted partner.

For the Couple

While there’s independent work to do, remember to listen completely to one another. Remind one another that you each deserve open and honest answers to your questions about the betrayal.

Rebuilding the Relationship

Once couples have committed to rebuilding trust, they must work on treating the relationship like it is a completely new one. Both sides must ask for what they really need and not expect their partner to simply know what it is they want.

Do not withhold trust in this new relationship, even though it is with the same person. Withholding trust out of fear or anger will prevent you from emotionally reconnecting with your partner. This keeps your relationship from moving forward in a healthy way.

Instead, work toward rebuilding the relationship by doing the work required to build trust and rebuild a mutually supportive connection. Come to an agreement about what a healthy relationship looks like to you both.

Remember that all relationships require work. Even the closest couples have to work hard at renewing the spark while working to grow in the same direction together, year after year.

Getting Professional Help

You can work on building a healthier, happier, and more honest relationship if you address the five issues listed above, and hold onto the bigger picture: that getting through this is only possible if you stay strong and commit to working on it together. A ​therapist can help you process the what, why, and how of what happened to help you both move forward.

There are several forms of treatment for couples that are designed to re-establish trust, communication, and connection that can be especially helpful. Through continued work and therapy, you may even end up with a more solid relationship after going through such a crisis.

Psychology’s most famous figure is also one of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the 20th century. Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist born in 1856, is often referred to as the “father of modern psychology.”

Freud revolutionized how we think about and treat mental health conditions. Freud founded psychoanalysis as a way of listening to patients and better understanding how their minds work. Psychoanalysis continues to have an enormous influence on modern psychology and psychiatry.

Sigmund Freud’s theories and work helped shape current views of dreams, childhood, personality, memory, sexuality, and therapy. Freud’s work also laid the foundation for many other theorists to formulate ideas, while others developed new theories in opposition to his ideas.

Sigmund Freud Biography

To understand Freud’s legacy, it is important to begin with a look at his life. His experiences informed many of his theories, so learning more about his life and the times in which he lived can lead to a deeper understanding of where his theories came from.

Freud was born in 1856 in a town called Freiberg in Moravia—in what is now known as the Czech Republic. He was the oldest of eight children. His family moved to Vienna several years after he was born, and he lived most of his life there.

Freud earned a medical degree and began practicing as a doctor in Vienna. He was appointed Lecturer on Nervous Diseases at the University of Vienna in 1885.

Freud eventually withdrew from academia after the Viennese medical community rejected the types of ideas he brought back from Paris (specifically on what was then called hysteria). Freud went on to publish influential works in neurology, including “On Aphasia: A Critical Study,” in which he coined the term agnosia, meaning the inability to interpret sensations.

In later years, Freud and his colleague Josef Breuer published “Preliminary Report” and “Studies on Hysteria.” When their friendship ended, Freud continued to publish his own works on psychoanalysis.

Freud and his family left Vienna due to discrimination against Jewish people. He moved to England in 1938 and died in 1939.

Sigmund Freud’s Theories

Freud’s theories were enormously influential but subject to considerable criticism both now and during his life. However, his ideas have become interwoven into the fabric of our culture, with terms such as “Freudian slip,” “repression,” and “denial” appearing regularly in everyday language.

Freud’s theories include:

• Unconscious mind: This is one of his most enduring ideas, which is that the mind is a reservoir of thoughts, memories, and emotions that lie outside the awareness of the conscious mind.
• Personality: Freud proposed that personality is made up of three key elements: the id, the ego, and the superego. The ego is the conscious state, the id is the unconscious, and the superego is the moral or ethical framework that regulates how the ego operates. Conflicts and interactions between these parts makeup one’s personality.
• Life and death instincts: Freud claimed that two classes of instincts, life and death, dictated human behavior. Life instincts include sexual procreation, survival, and pleasure; death instincts include aggression, self-harm, and destruction.
• Psychosexual development: Freud’s theory of psychosexual development posits that there are five stages of growth in which people’s personalities and sexual selves evolve. These phases are the oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latent stage, and genital stage.
• Mechanisms of defense: Freud suggested that people use defense mechanisms to avoid anxiety. These mechanisms include displacement, repression, sublimation, regression, and many more.

Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis

Freud’s ideas had such a strong impact on psychology that an entire school of thought emerged from his work: psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis has had a lasting impact on both the study of psychology and the practice of psychotherapy.

Research has found that psychoanalysis can be an effective treatment for a number of mental health conditions. The self-examination that is involved in the therapy process can help people achieve long-term growth and improvement.

Sigmund Freud’s Patients

Freud based his ideas on case studies of his own patients and those of his colleagues. These patients helped shape his theories and many have become well known. Some of these individuals included:

Anna O. was never actually a patient of Freud’s. She was a patient of Freud’s colleague Josef Breuer. The two men often corresponded about Anna O’s symptoms, eventually publishing the book Studies on Hysteria on her case. It was through their work and correspondence that the technique known as talk therapy emerged. 

Major Works by Freud

Freud’s writings detail many of his major theories and ideas. His personal favorite was The Interpretation of Dreams. Of it, he wrote: “[It] contains…the most valuable of all the discoveries it has been my good fortune to make. Insight such as this falls to one’s lot but once in a lifetime.”

Some of Freud’s major books include:

• “Civilization and Its Discontents”
• “The Future of an Illusion”
• “The Interpretation of Dreams“
• “The Psychopathology of Everyday Life”
• “Totem and Taboo”

Freud’s Perspectives

Outside of the field of psychology, Freud wrote and theorized about a broad range of subjects. He also wrote about and developed theories related to topics including sex, dreams, religion, women, and culture.

Views on Women

Both during his life and after, Freud was criticized for his views of women, femininity, and female sexuality. One of his most famous critics was the psychologist Karen Horney, who rejected his view that women suffered from “penis envy.”

Penis envy, according to Freud, was a phenomenon that women experienced upon witnessing a naked male body because they felt they themselves must be “castrated boys” and wished for their own penis.

Horney instead argued that men experience “womb envy” and are left with feelings of inferiority because they are unable to bear children.

Views on Religion

Freud was born and raised Jewish but described himself as an atheist in adulthood. “The whole thing is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life,” he wrote of religion.

He continued to have a keen interest in the topics of religion and spirituality and wrote a number of books focused on the subject. 

Psychologists Influenced by Freud

In addition to his grand and far-reaching theories of human psychology, Freud also left his mark on a number of individuals who went on to become some of psychology’s greatest thinkers. Some of the eminent psychologists who were influenced by Sigmund Freud include:

While Freud’s work is often dismissed today as non-scientific, there is no question that he had a tremendous influence not only on psychology but on the larger culture as well.

Freud’s Contributions to Psychology

Freud’s theories are highly controversial today. For instance, he has been criticized for his lack of knowledge about women and for sexist notions in his theories about sexual development, hysteria, and penis envy.

However, it remains true that Freud had a significant and lasting influence on the field of psychology. He provided a foundation for many concepts that psychologists used and continue to use to make new discoveries.

Psychoanalysis

Perhaps Freud’s most important contribution to the field of psychology was the development of talk therapy as an approach to treating mental health problems.

In addition to serving as the basis for psychoanalysis, talk therapy is now part of many psychotherapeutic interventions designed to help people overcome psychological distress and behavioral problems. 

The Unconscious

Prior to the works of Freud, many people believed that behavior was inexplicable. He developed the idea of the unconscious as being the hidden motivation behind what we do. For instance, his work on dream interpretation suggested that our real feelings and desires lie underneath the surface of conscious life.

Childhood Influence

Freud believed that childhood experiences impact adulthood—specifically, traumatic experiences that we have as children can manifest as maladaptive personality traits and mental health issues when we’re adults.

While childhood experiences aren’t the only contributing factors to mental health during adulthood, Freud laid the foundation for a person’s childhood to be taken into consideration during therapy and when diagnosing.

Literary Theory

Literary scholars and students alike often analyze texts through a Freudian lens. Freud’s theories created an opportunity to understand fictional characters and their authors based on what’s written or what a reader can interpret from the text on topics such as dreams, sexuality, and personality.

Final Thoughts

While Freud’s theories have been the subject of considerable controversy and debate, his impact on psychology, therapy, and culture is undeniable. As W.H. Auden wrote in his 1939 poem, “In Memory of Sigmund Freud”:

Delusions are fixed, false beliefs that conflict with reality. If a person is in a delusional state, they can’t let go of their untrue convictions despite contrary evidence.

Delusions are often reinforced by misinterpreting events. Many also involve some level of paranoia. For example, someone who is delusional might contend that the government is controlling our every move via radio waves, even with no evidence to support this belief.

Delusions are common symptoms of some psychotic disorders. They may occur along with hallucinations, which involve perceiving something that isn’t really there, like hearing voices or feeling bugs crawling on your skin.

Signs of Delusional Thinking

How can you tell if you or someone you love is experiencing delusional thoughts? Delusions are characterized by an unshakable belief in things that are not true, and in many cases, people continue to believe in them despite evidence to the contrary.

It’s also important to recognize that not all delusions are the same. Some delusions might involve non-bizarre beliefs that could theoretically occur in real life, such as believing that your spouse is cheating on you. Other delusions are bizarre, fantastical, or impossible, like thinking that you are responsible for the fate of the world. 

The nature of the delusional symptoms may play a central role in the diagnosis. Delusional disorder, for example, is characterized by non-bizarre delusions that often involve the misinterpretation of an experience or perception. Conversely, in schizophrenia, delusions may be bizarre and not rooted in reality.

Types of Delusions

Several different types of delusions can characterize the diagnosis of a delusional disorder. The disorder is diagnosed as delusional disorder and includes a specifier with XYZ type. For example, if you have grandiose delusions, your diagnosis would be “delusional disorder, grandiose type.”

Erotomanic Delusions

In this type of delusion, individuals believe that a person—usually with a higher social standing—is in love with them. An example of erotomanic delusional thinking would be someone who believes that an actress loves them and that they are communicating with them via secret hand gestures during their TV show.

Grandiose Delusions

In grandiose delusions, individuals believe that they have extraordinary talent, fame, wealth, or power despite a lack of evidence. An example of this type of delusional thinking would be someone who believes God gave them the power to save the universe and completes certain tasks every day that will help the planet continue.

Persecutory Delusions

Individuals with persecutory delusions believe that they are being spied on, drugged, followed, slandered, cheated on, or somehow mistreated. A delusional thought of this type might involve someone believing that their boss is drugging the employees by adding a substance to the water cooler that makes people work harder. 

Jealous Delusions

Individuals with jealous delusions might believe that their partners are unfaithful. For instance, someone with this type of delusion might believe their partner is meeting their lover every time they use the restroom in public settings—they also think that they are sending their lover secret messages through other people (like the cashier in a grocery store).

Somatic Delusions

Individuals with somatic delusions believe that they are experiencing physical sensations or bodily dysfunctions under the skin or that they’re suffering from a general medical condition or defect. For instance, someone who believes there are parasites living inside their body could be suffering from somatic delusions.

Mixed or Unspecified Delusions

When delusional beliefs don’t fall into a single category, and no single theme dominates, the delusions are considered “mixed.” Mental health professionals may refer to the disorder as “unspecified” when delusions don’t fall into a specific category or the delusion type can’t be clearly determined.

Causes of Delusions

Researchers aren’t exactly sure what causes delusional behavior and states. It appears that various genetic, biological, psychological, and environmental factors may be at play.

• Genetic causes: Psychotic disorders seem to run in families, so researchers suspect that there is a genetic component to delusions. Children born to a parent with schizophrenia, for example, may be at a higher risk of developing delusions.
• Biological causes: Abnormalities in the brain may contribute to delusional thoughts and behaviors. An imbalance of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in the brain) might increase the likelihood that an individual will develop delusions.
• Psychological causes: Trauma and stress can even trigger delusions. Individuals who tend to be isolated appear more vulnerable to developing a delusional disorder as well.
• Environmental causes: Sometimes, people share delusions. This experience is most common in individuals who reside together and have little contact with the outside world.

Conditions With Delusional Symptoms

Delusions may be symptoms of a mental health issue or brain disorder. The following are a few conditions that are associated with delusional thoughts or behaviors:

• Brief psychotic disorder: When triggered by a stressful event, people can experience brief episodes of hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized speech. In brief psychotic disorder, symptoms persist for one month or less.
• Delusional disorder: People with delusional disorder experience “non-bizarre” types of delusions and can usually act normally, with no markedly impaired functioning. An estimated 0.2% of the population meets the criteria, so this disorder is considered a relatively rare mental illness.
• Dementia: Although estimates vary, roughly one-third of individuals with dementia may experience delusions. Often, these delusions involve paranoia, such as thinking family members or caretakers are stealing from them.
• Mood disorders: Sometimes, individuals with mood disorders like depression or bipolar disorder experience delusional thinking.
• Parkinson’s disease: The prevalence varies widely, but many patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease experience hallucinations and delusions.
• Postpartum psychosis: Hormonal shifts after giving birth may trigger postpartum psychosis in some women, and one symptom of this condition is delusions. Some research indicates that postpartum psychosis might be linked to bipolar disorder.
• Schizoaffective disorder: This disorder involves symptoms of schizophrenia—including delusional thinking and hallucinations—as well as mood issues like depression and mania.
• Schizophrenia: Schizophrenia involves “positive symptoms,” such as hallucinations or delusions. It also involves “negative symptoms,” including flat affect, reduced feelings of pleasure in everyday life, difficulty beginning and sustaining activities, and reduced speaking.
• Schizophreniform disorder: This disorder involves symptoms similar to schizophrenia, but, in this case, the symptoms are experienced for less than six months.
• Substance/medication-induced psychotic disorder: Drug or alcohol intoxication or withdrawal may cause some individuals to experience delusions. Delusional symptoms are usually brief and tend to resolve once the drug is cleared, although psychosis triggered by amphetamines, cocaine, and PCP can persist for weeks.

Diagnosis of Delusions

If a person is experiencing delusional symptoms, their healthcare provider will begin by taking a medical history and performing a physical exam. Lab tests may also be ordered to rule out any physical illnesses that might be causing the delusions.

If no medical condition is instigating the symptoms, the healthcare provider may refer the individual to a psychiatrist for further evaluation. Mental health professionals can use a variety of psychological assessments to learn more about the person’s symptoms. A diagnosis may then be made based on the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR). 

Treatment for Delusions

It’s essential for anyone experiencing delusional thinking to seek professional help. This can be incredibly challenging, however, since people experiencing delusions often don’t think of their beliefs as a problem.

Treatment for delusions often includes a combination of medication and therapy.

Medication

Medications that may be used to help treat delusional thought processes and their resulting behaviors may include:

• Typical antipsychotics: These first-generation medications are used to block dopamine receptors in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter believed to be involved in the development of delusions.
• Atypical antipsychotics: These medicines block dopamine and also serotonin receptors in the brain. This leads to a different side effect profile than first-generation antipsychotics.
• Tranquilizers: Sometimes, tranquilizers are used to address the anxiety, agitation, or sleep issues that are common in people with delusional disorders.
• Antidepressants: These prescription medications may be used if the person with delusional beliefs is also experiencing a mood issue, such as depression.

Therapy

Therapy for delusions may include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT helps an individual with delusional beliefs learn to recognize and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.

Family therapy is often part of the treatment for delusions as well. Through this type of therapy, family members can learn how to support their loved one who is experiencing delusional thoughts or behavior patterns.

Coping With Delusions

Managing the environment can help someone with delusions. For example, if a person believes that the government is spying on them through the TV, it may be best to avoid watching television. Or if a person believes they are being followed when they go out in the community alone, it may be best to have someone go with them.

Final Thoughts

Most disorders that involve delusions are treatable. This enables people with these delusional beliefs to live healthy, productive lives with relatively few symptoms.

Others with delusions do struggle to work, maintain healthy relationships, or participate in activities associated with daily living. If you or a loved one are experiencing issues as a result of delusional thinking, a healthcare professional can provide the help and support you need.

Have you ever wondered why you feel flutters in your stomach when you’re anxious or tightness in your chest when stressed? In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), emotions and physical health are intimately connected. This integrated mind-body approach to health and healing operates in a dynamic loop where emotions impact the health of the body and vice versa.

For example, according to TCM theory, excessive irritability and anger can affect the liver and result in multiple ailments, including menstrual pain, headache, redness of the face and eyes, dizziness, and dry mouth. Alternatively, imbalance in the liver can result in stormy moods.

Diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine is highly individualized. Once an impaired organ system and/or emotional imbalance is identified, the unique symptoms of the patient determine the practitioner’s treatment approach.

How Traditional Chinese Medicine Works

Traditional Chinese medicine has been practiced for over 2,000 years, and its use in the United States as part of complementary healthcare has grown dramatically over the last few decades. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, around 1% of U.S. adults used acupuncture in 2002. By 2022, this number had grown to 2.2%.

TCM is based on the principle that mental and physical well-being are intricately entwined. In turn, practitioners believe that optimal health is governed by balancing a person’s qi (vital life force) with the complementary forces of yin (passive) and yang (active) and the five elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, emotions are narrowed down to five basic feelings that are each associated with a corresponding element and organ in the body:

• Anger with the liver
• Fear with the kidney
• Joy with the heart
• Sadness and grief with the lung
• Worry with the spleen

For example, under the TCM theory, breast distension, menstrual pain, and irritability during menses are treated with certain herbs and acupuncture points that target the liver. Headaches, dizziness, excessive anger, and redness of the face point to an alternative type of liver pattern and are treated in a different way.

The TCM Approach

What does the liver have to do with migraines or PMS? Organ systems in TCM may include the Western medical-physiological functions, but they are also part of the integrated, holistic body system. So, the entire mind and body may be evaluated and treated to improve a specific health concern.

The liver, for example, ensures that energy and blood flow smoothly throughout the body. It also regulates bile secretion, stores blood, and is connected with the tendons, nails, and eyes.

By understanding these connections, TCM practitioners explain how an eye disorder such as conjunctivitis might be due to an imbalance in the liver. Or, excess menstrual flow may be due to dysfunction in the liver’s blood-storing ability.

On the emotional side, the liver is connected to anger, which when out of balance, can be expressed in the extremes of excess wrath and irritation or as a lack of feeling, as in depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These mental health imbalances can be both symptoms and/or contributing causes of liver dysfunction.

In addition to emotions, TCM philosophy believes that other elements, such as dietary, environmental, lifestyle, and hereditary factors, also contribute to the development of imbalances and the body’s ability to heal itself.

Understanding the interplay of each of the five organ-emotion pairings is key to unlocking the healing potential of TCM. Below, we summarize traditional Chinese medicine’s beliefs on how the connections and imbalances between these organs and emotions contribute to basic mental and physical health concerns.

Spleen

The spleen plays an important part in the body’s immune system and acts as a blood filter, removing old blood cells, bacteria, and impurities from the body. In TCM, the spleen is linked to the following emotions and ailments:

• Emotions: Excessive mental work such as worry, dwelling, or focusing too much on a particular topic
• Spleen function: Food digestion and nutrient absorption, helping in the formation of blood and energy and keeping blood in the blood vessels; connected with the muscles, mouth, and lips; also involved in thinking, studying, and memory
• Symptoms of spleen imbalance: Tiredness, loss of appetite, mucus discharge, poor digestion, abdominal distension, loose stools, diarrhea, weak muscles, pale lips, bruising, excess menstrual blood flow, and other bleeding disorders
• Spleen conditions: Spleen qi deficiency, spleen qi descending, spleen yang deficiency

Lung

The lungs bring oxygen into the body and remove carbon dioxide. In TCM, this organ is believed to be connected to grief and the following conditions:

• Emotions: Grief, sadness, and detachment
• Lung function: Respiration brings energy from the air and helps to distribute it throughout the body; they work with the kidney to regulate water metabolism; they are important in the immune system and for resistance to viruses and bacteria; they regulate sweat glands and body hair and provide moisture to the skin
• Symptoms of lung imbalance: Shortness of breath and shallow breathing, sweating, fatigue, cough, frequent cold and flu, allergies, asthma, and other lung conditions, dry skin, depression, and excessive crying
• Lung conditions: Lung qi deficiency, lung yin deficiency, and cold damp obstructing the lungs

Liver

Digestion and the processing of nutrients are primary functions of this vital organ. In TCM, the liver is associated with anger, depression, and the below physical symptoms:

• Emotions: Anger, resentment, frustration, irritability, bitterness, and “flying off the handle”
• Liver function: Involved in the smooth flow of energy and blood throughout the body; regulates bile secretion and stores blood; is connected with the tendons, nails, and eyes
• Symptoms of liver imbalance: Breast distension, menstrual pain, headache, irritability, inappropriate anger, dizziness, dry, red eyes, and other eye conditions, and tendonitis
• Liver conditions: Liver qi stagnation, liver fire

Heart

The heart pumps blood throughout the body. In TCM, this organ is linked with joy but the imbalance of joy is expressed as either too much (agitation or restlessness) or too little (depression). Below, are the mental and physical ailments linked with the heart:

• Emotions: Lack of enthusiasm and vitality, mental restlessness, depression, insomnia, and despair
• Heart function: Regulates the blood circulation and blood vessels; responsible for even and regular pulse and influences vitality and spirit; connected with the tongue, complexion, and arteries
• Symptoms of heart imbalance: Insomnia, heart palpitations, irregular heartbeat, excessive dreaming, poor long-term memory, and psychological disorders
• Heart conditions: Heart yin and heart fire

Kidney

The kidneys remove waste and excess fluid to make urine. In TCM, the kidney is related to fear, which can manifest as chronic fear or anxiety when qi out of balance, as well as result in:

• Emotions: Fearful, weak willpower, insecure, aloof, and isolated
• Kidney function: Key organs for sustaining life; responsible for reproduction, growth and development, and maturation; involved with the lungs in water metabolism and respiration; connected with bones, teeth, ears, and head hair
• Symptoms of kidney imbalance: Frequent urination, urinary incontinence, night sweats, dry mouth, poor short-term memory, low back pain, ringing in the ears, hearing loss, other ear conditions, premature gray hair, hair loss, and osteoporosis
• Kidney conditions: Kidney yin deficiency, kidney yang deficiency

Other TCM Conditions

Below are a few more conditions related to emotional and organ imbalances that traditional Chinese medicine practitioners may diagnose:

• Blood stagnation: Chronic and acute pain
• Blood deficiency: Headaches, dizziness, and fatigue
• Stomach heat: Digestion issues

How Effective Is Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Despite the growing popularity and anecdotal evidence, it’s important to note that many TCM treatments and philosophies have not been vetted in the same way as conventional Western medical care. While TCM has been practiced for centuries and has been shown to be effective for treating some conditions—particularly those related to pain and stress—much research is mixed or unclear.

Interestingly, in some cases, the benefits of TCM treatments are correlated to the placebo effect. However, rather than simply dismissing the efficacy of those TCM practices, these findings reinforce the powerful (and, in many ways, still mysterious) link between mind and body in the healing process, which is the underpinning theory of TCM itself.