WHAT IS MEGALOMANIA? (DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR) - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The megalomania is a hobby or a delusion of grandeur associated with a personal appearance. The individual with this mental disorder has extremely exaggerated and unrealistic thoughts and ideas about his personal abilities.

It is a well-defined alteration in terms of its symptoms, but it presents a certain controversy regarding its pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment.

In this article we will review its main characteristics and clarify its properties in order to be able to understand and detect this mental disorder well.

What is meant by megalomania?

The word megalomania derives from Greek roots in which "megas" means great and "mania" means obsession.

Thus, etymologically, we can already observe how the term megalomania refers to an obsession with greatness.

This analysis of the origin of the word already leads us towards the characteristics of this psychological alteration, which is defined in psychiatry as the delusional overestimation of one's own abilities.

Thus, megalomania constitutes a psychological condition in which an obsession or delusion of greatness occurs in any of the following personal aspects: ability, physical strength, fortune, social origin, and grandiose and unreal projects.

In this way, a megalomaniac person is characterized by having distorted thoughts and ideas regarding their own abilities, overestimating their characteristics and having a highly overvalued idea of ​​themselves.

Contextualization of megalomania

The first figure to incorporate the term megalomania into the world of psychology and psychiatry was Sigmund Freud.

The Austrian neurologist commented that megalomania was part of the neurotic traits of omnipotence of adults.

Likewise, Freud affirmed that megalomania constituted adult personality traits that were forged already in childhood, affirming that these types of thoughts are part of the development process of people.

Later, Freud postulated megalomania as an obstacle to psychoanalysis, since it was difficult to establish patterns of functioning that could lead to thoughts of omnipotence and overvaluation.

Along these lines, the Kleinian side of psychoanalysis interpreted megalomania as a psychological defense mechanism.

In this way, the megalomania person would develop a series of overvalued thoughts regarding their personal abilities in order to avoid the anxious and depressive states that would originate in interpreting their personal characteristics from a realistic point of view.

As we can see, the megalomaniac features and symptoms have caused some controversy since the beginning of psychopathology.

However, leaving aside psychoanalysis and the development pathways of this psychological condition, it is clear that megalomania is a disorder that occurs frequently and is of interest in the world of mental health.

Is it a mental disorder?

Megalomania in itself does not have to constitute a mental disorder, although in many cases it can be classified as such.

This first explanation about megalomania can create some confusion, so we will clarify it.

As we have seen, megalomania constitutes a delusional overestimation of one's abilities.

However, this overestimation that the person makes about himself can have different levels.

Thus, it can range from an obsession to interpret oneself as better than he is, to a frank delusion in which the person is not able to see himself in a realistic way.

In the second case, that is, when the megalomania constitutes a frank delusion in which the thoughts are totally de-virtualized and do not maintain any contact with reality, the megalomania constitutes a delusional disorder.

On the other hand, in the first case, that is, when megalomania constitutes a simple obsession with personal qualities but contact with reality is preserved, megalomania may not constitute a psychological alteration and be defined rather as a personality trait or a particular psychological attribute.

However, megalomaniacal obsessions will also be considered as a mental disorder when they affect the life or the functionality of the person.

Thus, megalomania is not a mental disorder that is present in current diagnostic manuals, but it is a psychological condition that may be associated with a mental disorder.

In other words, megalomania is more of a symptom than a mental disorder per se. It can be associated with three main disorders: personality disorder, delusional disorder, and bipolar disorder.

What is a megalomaniac person like?

Megalomaniacs believe that they have a greater capacity than they really have and that makes them reach positions of power or greater influence.

In this way, the main characteristic of megalomania does not consist in believing that oneself is very good but in believing that oneself is better than it really is.

A person can be really brilliant at something and interpret as such in that personal sphere.

This would not be the case of a person with megalomania, since people who suffer from this condition have a frank obsession or delirium for believing themselves better than they are and for overestimating their qualities far beyond reality.

In this way, a person with megalomania can show themselves with great poise and self-confidence, since the interpretations they make about their own qualities, although they may not be realistic, are interpreted and believed in with great conviction.

However, when an in-depth analysis of their personality is carried out, it is detected that they may be individuals with many deficiencies and with a feeling of inferiority or emptiness from the first ties of the parents.

This analysis would correlate with the Kleinian positions that we commented at the beginning of the article.

When delirium appears there is no feeling of insecurity

However, it must be clarified that despite the fact that megalomania can be born as a defense mechanism to avoid feelings of inferiority or emptiness, once the megalomanic delusion appears the person is no longer aware of their feelings of inferiority.

In other words: although psychoanalyzing the person it is possible to objectify that megalomania has developed as a psychological defense, the person who has this type of delusions does not interpret it as such.

The thoughts of overvaluation that a person with megalomania makes do not act as a cover for their doubts or insecurities in a conscious way, since the individual has adopted their delusions of omnipotence as the only way of thinking and self-interpretation.

Megalomania and personality

Megalomania, previously, was a personality disorder in which the person had thoughts of overvaluation about their abilities and personal characteristics.

However, today this diagnostic entity no longer exists and megalomaniacal traits fall within what is known as narcissistic personality disorder.

As we will see below, this personality disorder is characterized by many symptoms of megalomania that we have been discussing so far.

However, it must be taken into account that by megalomania we mean a series of thoughts referring to the interpretation of omnipotence and the overvaluation of personal capacities, and does not refer to all the characteristics of narcissistic disorder.

Thus, as discussed above, megalomania constitutes a series of symptoms that can be included within narcissistic personality disorder, but megalomania and narcissism are not entirely synonymous.

Narcissistic personality disorder

People with Narcissistic Personality Disorder are characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, believe that they are always right, and demonstrate grandiosity in their beliefs and behaviors.

These first characteristics of the narcissistic disorder correspond to the term megalomania, which is why narcissists are megalomaniacs.

However, people with narcissistic disorder also have a strong need for admiration, lack feelings toward others, need to be the center of attention, and tend to take advantage of others for their own purposes.

These latter characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder do not make up the definition of megalomania.

Thus, megalomania defines a large part of the narcissistic symptoms but not all.

Megalomania and delusional disorder

When we talk about delirium, we have to bear in mind that there is very likely a delusional disorder.

In this sense, megalomania can create a delusion when the thoughts of overvaluation are totally distanced from reality.

In these cases, the delirium itself creates a delusional disorder with a megalomanic content.

This diagnosis can be made independently of the personality of the person with megalomania.

That is, thoughts of omnipotence and overestimation of abilities may or may not be accompanied by a pathological personality (such as narcissistic disorder).

In either case, if the thoughts of omnipotence are delusional, the picture will be configured as a delusional disorder.

Megalomania and schizophrenia

Megalomania can also appear in another mental illness such as schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental pathology that is characterized mainly by the presence of delusions, hallucinations and disorganization.

Thus, within the delusions that appear in schizophrenia, megalomanic delusions can be connoted.

Usually, in these cases, the delusional thoughts of megalomania correspond to the disease (schizophrenia) and do not usually constitute pathological personality traits.

However, whatever the pathology to which megalomania is associated (personality disorder, delusional disorder or schizophrenia), it constitutes a single symptom of the mental disorder.

Megalomania and bipolar disorder

Finally, the other mental disorder in which megalomania can be witnessed is bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder constitutes a mood disorder in which the person may present depressive states and states that are opposed to depression, that is, manic states.

In both states (depressive and manic), affective disorder can be accompanied by alterations in the content of thought, that is, delusions.

The delusions that occur in bipolar disorder can be very varied and one of the variations can be megalomania.

Normally, magalomanic delusions tend to appear more during manic phases than during depressive phases, since the exaltation of the mood can be accompanied by an overestimation of personal capacities and delusions of grandeur.

As we can see, the role of megalomania in this disorder is the same as that it develops in delusional disorders.

In these cases, megalomania is also not usually linked to a narcissistic personality and is understood within a delusion of grandeur caused by the euphoria corresponding to the manic state.

Treatment of megalomania

Megalomania is usually a difficult psychological disorder to treat, mainly because the person with this condition is not usually the typical person who visits a psychologist or psychiatrist.

In fact, a person with megalomania will rarely interpret that they have a problem or be aware that their thoughts or delusions are distorted and causing problems.

Pharmacological treatments

However, there are treatments, mainly pharmacological, that mitigate the intensity of the delusions.

In this case, antipsychotic medications such as quetiapine, clozapine, risperidone or olanzapine are the most effective drugs that reduce the intensity or even eliminate the delusional thoughts.

Psychological therapies

Likewise, psychological therapies that increase adherence to pharmacological treatment in people who are not aware of their disease and therefore do not believe that they need to take any drugs are also important interventions for megalomania.

In cases where megalomania is accompanied by a narcissistic personality disorder, treatment is difficult, since these mental disorders are very difficult to intervene.

In general, cognitive behavioral therapy can help to work on the cognitive distortions of the patient.

This type of therapy can help to correct the grandiose self-image, the exaggeration of the importance placed on personal evaluation, to detect and discuss maladaptive beliefs, and to train the patient in the development of desirable attitudes.

References

1. Brave Ots, C. (2002). Hallucinations and delusions. Madrid: Editorial Síntesis.

1. «New Approaches for Intervention in First Episodes of Psychosis» José Luis Vázquez-Barquero and Benedicto Crespo-Facorro. Ed. Elsevier-Masson (2007).

1. Perris, C. and McGorry, PD (Eds.) (2004). Cognitive psychotherapy for psychotic and personality disorders: Theoretical-practical manual. Bilbao: DDB

1. Eguíluz, I, Segarra, R. (2005). Introduction to Psychopathology. Barcelona: Ars Medica.

1. Hamilton, M. (1986). Fish's clinical psychopathology. Madrid. Interamerican.

1. Vallejo Ruiloba (2006). Introduction to psychopathology and psychiatry. 6th edition. Masson.