“Joker 2”: understand what the “delusion for two” disorder is

Lady Gaga will play Harley Quinn and will be Joaquin Phoenix's love interest in “Joker: Delirium for Two ”. Many turned to internet searches to discover the meaning of the film's name. But what does this really mean?

As defined by Indian Journal of Psychiatry, delirium for two “is an identical or similar mental disorder that affects two or more people, usually members of a close family”.

This disorder causes various mental symptoms, particularly paranoid delusions, to be transmitted “from one person to one or more people with whom the apparent instigator is closely associated in some way, so that he or she comes to share the same feelings and ideas delusional”, details the Indian Journal of Psychiatry.

“By definition, suggestion enables credibility and acceptance of an erroneously conceived idea”, explains Laura Quiñones Urquiza, criminal profiler, author of the book “What tells the crime scene” (What the crime scene tells, in literal translation) and the podcast “Criminal traces“, in your Instagram account.

“Such a mechanism generates a very special internal reality, within which there is only uncertainty and fear”, explains Quiñones Urquiza, and adds: “Due to suggestion, something may or may not be true; and if it is true, perhaps it is vital or lethal for the subject, depending on how he imagines it. In short, suggestion moves on the limit between life and death, hence its tremendous power and overwhelming potency.”

In general, the disorder is usually associated with criminal behavior, Quiñones Urquiza explained to CNN en Español . According to the expert, it is difficult for a case to be detected before a criminal act.

“When the incident occurs, those involved are taken to be examined by psychiatrists who assess whether one transmitted the delusion to the other”, he explains.

In this “madness” there is a loss of contact with reality, says Quiñones Urquiza. It does not always occur between two people with mental illness, nor is it permanent. “There may be acute episodes that disappear after treatment. And it can be transmitted from one person to another who does not have a mental illness, but is susceptible to suggestion”, says the expert.

“So, whenever two people are involved in similar or identical criminal conduct, there is a 'delusion between two?'” The expert explains that no, that the suggestion factor has to occur, on the one hand, and also, a disconnection with reality and the impossibility of carrying out complex acts, such as trying to escape, for example.

People who commit delusion as a couple do not hide what they did, nor do they try to escape. “On the contrary, they explain what they did based on a pathological justification based on hallucinations or delusions,” says Quiñones Urquiza.

O Indian Journal of Psychiatry highlights that early diagnosis of this condition is “an essential step” in treating it. “The majority of patients with delirium in couples require multiple treatments that include separation, antipsychotics, individual and group psychotherapy and family therapy”, he indicates.

Although there are no exact figures on the prevalence of this disorder in society, the Indian Journal of Psychiatry maintains that “it is more common in isolated communities and families where there is a great need to defend the status quo“.

Couple delirium “is, perhaps, the most impressive example of a pathological relationship and, therefore, understanding its underlying mechanism has theoretical implications for other types of disturbed interpersonal relationships”, highlights the Indian Journal of Psychiatry.