ABSTRACT
The origin of the meaning of delusions, voices, and psychotic perceptions is explored, and how meaning is formed from diverse contributions. It is argued that one major influence is an experience of trauma and how it shapes the way a person sees the world. Other research suggests that sources of meaning include: disturbance of basic motivations of the person; the person's history and culture; and the effect of struggles to describe experiences using metaphors and repeated narration.
A case study illustrates a one man's account of his abusive childhood and how this was later transformed into persecutory experience. This participant spoke of a ‘thread of meaning’ and how it became tangled as he went in and out of paranoid states.
It is argued that we need to see beyond the unusual content of delusions and voices to explore how psychotic content can express severe traumatic experiences or prolonged difficulties and unmet needs in the person's life.
Finally, there is a discussion on whether delusions are understandable. A cluster conception of the multiple features of delusions and related experiences is outlined emphasising the transformation of the person and the world as experienced.
