TYPES OF DELUSIONS ASSOCIATED WITH BRIDGE PLAYERS..........( An article by Dr.John ) 

Delusions can be categorized as either bizarre or non-bizarre , as well as mood-congruent or mood-incongruant . A bizarre delusion is a delusion that is very strange and completely implausible given the player's obvious passion for bridge ; an example of a bizarre delusion would be that the game is responsibile for his appalling behaviour . A non-bizarre delusion is one whose content is definitely mistaken, but is at least possible; for instance,  an unpopular player mistakenly believes that he or she is under constant committee surveillance. A mood-congruent delusion is any delusion whose content is consistent with either a depressive or manic state; for example, a depressed bridge player will believe that life is not worth living . Similarly , when diagnosed as being in a manic state , he immediately starts adopting new partners, new bidding systems and loads more superstitions in order to bring about a change of fortune . A mood-incongruent delusion is any delusion whose content is not consistent with either a depressed or manic state or is mood-neutral. A classic case is when a depressed player believes that thoughts are being inserted into his or her mind from an outside force, an alter-ego , or perhaps the King of the potato people , and as a consequence these thoughts will never be acknowledged as his own ( labelled as "thought insertions ").

In addition to these categories, delusions are often categorized according to theme. Although delusions can have any theme, certain themes are more common. Some of the more common delusion themes are:

• Delusion of control: This is a false belief that another person, group of people, or external force controls one's thoughts, feelings, impulses, or behavior. A player will describe, for instance, that someone or something possessed him to make a certain bid or play , and that he had no control over the bodily movements.  
• Nihilistic delusion: A delusion whose theme centers on the nonexistence of self or parts of self, others, or the world. A person with this type of delusion may have the false belief that the world of bridge has been completely taken over by cheats and coffe-housers , which helps to explain why he or she can never win .
• Delusional jealousy (or delusion of infidelity): A person with this delusion falsely believes that his partner  clearly prefers to play with someone else. This delusion stems from pathological jealousy and the person often gathers "evidence" and confronts the partner about others he or she has been seen playing with.
• Delusion of guilt or sin (or delusion of self-accusation): This is a false feeling of remorse or guilt of delusional intensity. A player may, for example, believe that he or she has committed some horrible crime at the table and that severe punishment is warranted . Another example is when an unlucky declarer is convinced that he or she is responsible for handing the opponents a top , despite the fact they earned that result through superior play and technique .
• Delusion of mind being read: The false belief that opponents can read one’s mind and know one's thoughts. This is completely different from the reality of opponents listening to the bidding , counting the cards , watching for signals and making logical inferences and deductions.   
• Delusion of reference: The player falsely believes that insignificant remarks, comments, or post mortem advice have personal meaning or significance. For instance, a person may believe that he or she is being condemned as a “ lunatic ” , when in fact the comment was nothing more a tiny little question or point of concern . Often the meaning assigned to a constructive remark is one of malicious , confidence sapping, ridicule  .
• Erotomania: A delusion in which one believes that another person, usually someone of higher status, has great admiration and respect of his or her bridge ability. It is common for individuals with this type of delusion to then try and arrange a game with this other person , oblivious to the fact that a “ can’t do this week ” reply actually means “ NEVER IN A MONTH OF SUNDAYS ”.
• Grandiose delusion: An individual exaggerates his or her sense of self-importance and is convinced that he or she has special powers, talents, or abilities. Sometimes, the individual may actually believe that he or she is a famous bridge player and/or celebrity (for example, Bigot-Johnson once claimed that he had made it big in the world of bridge blogging ). More commonly, a player with this delusion believes he or she has accomplished some great achievement for which they have yet to receive long overdue recognition.
• Persecutory delusions: These are the most common type of delusions and involve the theme of being got at, harassed, harangued, bullied, conspired against, spied on, attacked, or obstructed in the pursuit of success at the bridge tables. Sometimes the delusion is isolated and fragmented (such as the false belief that partners out to make one’s life a misery). A player with a set of persecutory delusions may be believe, for example, that he or she is being hounded by adversaries because in his deluded mind he is their chosen prey.  
• Religious delusion: Any delusion with a religious or spiritual content. These may be combined with other delusions, such as grandiose delusions (the belief that the affected person was chosen by God, to either fail or succeed at cards) . Failure of course is God’s retribution for having committed sins as a disturbed child , by performing unholy acts of masterbation in the school toilet during breaks.  
• Somatic delusion: A delusion whose content pertains to bodily functioning, bodily sensations, or physical appearance. Usually the false belief is that the body is somehow diseased, abnormal, or changed. An example of a somatic delusion would be a player who believes that his or her fidgeting at the table is simply down to an  irritable skin condition, when in fact he  nervously fretting over what bid or what card to play next ( such is his level of his inability and incompetence ) .  

Therefore , a sad truth has to be faced up to and acknowledged :  in the bizarre world of bridge there is isn’t a single player alive today who isn’t delusional in one way or another .