Table 2.
Content of grandiose beliefs discussed during interview
| Pseudonym | Marital status | Employment | Diagnosis | Current service | Past or current belief | Belief(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob | Single | Student and Employed‐PT | BD | EIP | Past | I have the capacity to become the next Messiah and am on a special pathway towards achieving this. |
| Mark | Divorced | Unemployed | SzA | AMHT4 | Current | I am working undercover for the security services. |
| Mandy | Married | Unemployed | SzA | AMHT | Current | I am a Goddess and the daughter of God with whom I have a special relationship. In the next world, I will be married to Jesus, will have special powers to help people, and will bring peace to the world. |
| Kit | Single | Employed‐PT | BD | Inpatient | Current | I am Jesus. I am the one son of God. I have special spiritual and mystical abilities which allow me to get very close to God and to make the world more peaceful. (At times, I also wonder if I can walk on water or float but am less certain about this.) |
| Annabelle | Single | Unemployed | SzA | AMHT | Past | I have been chosen by God to be the only one he speaks to because I am special, his favourite, and his daughter. People will build temples dedicated to me. |
| Sophie | Engaged | Employed‐PT | BD | EIP | Past | I am God. I have the power to walk on water and bless people. I will save the world. |
| Stephen | Single | Unemployed | S | AMHT | Current (regarding past abilities) | I have special powers (to read minds, levitate objects, and travel through time). I am God. I have slept with billions of women and fathered children by them. I created and starred in the Avengers (who are real). |
| Max | Single | SzA | AMHT | Past | I am on an MI7 training programme; I am in the SAS; I am 007. | |
| Sonja | Married | Unemployed | BD | AMHT | Current | I have special abilities to access and transfer information via telepathy (including with the spiritual realm). I can read others’ minds extremely quickly (much more quickly than others.) |
| Jessica | Divorced | Unemployed | BD | AMHT | Current (regarding past abilities) | I am able to do telepathy. I have special knowledge (the ability to predict the future) and abilities (knowing codes to enter and exit locked buildings). I am on a special mission of great importance. |
| Fred | Single | Unemployed | S | AMHT | Current | I am a messiah, God‐like figure for the world. I have superior consciousness compared to other people. |
| Sarah | Divorced | Unemployed | S | Inpatient | Current | I receive visions from God which allow me to predict the future. God has given me this ability because I am the Holy Spirit and his representative on earth. God kills those who harm me because I am special. |
| Brian | Single | Unemployed | Non‐organic psychotic disorder | EIP | Current | I am the reincarnation of Albert Einstein and have advanced mathematical abilities. |
| Polly | Single | Unemployed | S | AMHT | Current | I have been chosen by God to have a special role in saving the world. I will do this by marrying a person identified to me by God (either a current friend, or Jesus himself). |
| Mildred | Married | Employed‐FT | BD | AMHT | Past | I have special powers to predict the future; I have been chosen by God to save the world from evil forces because I am special. |
AMHT = Adult Mental Health Team; BD = bipolar affective disorder; EIP = early intervention for psychosis service; FT = full‐time; PT = part‐time; S = schizophrenia; SzA = schizoaffective disorder.
a
One participant was open to AMHT at the time of interview but had been recruited during his admission to hospital, and the interview took place 1 day after discharge.