You’ve seen the movie. Heard about it. Read it on the internet. Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Joker has piqued the interest of everyone who watched him. Most sympathized with his experience. Meanwhile, some experts raised their concerns.

An article at The Guardian pointed out how the movie misinterprets the portrayal of mental illness, particularly in the case of the antihero. A psychiatry professor, meanwhile, shared his insights at The Insider about how diagnosing Joker points out this misinterpretation.

But what really is this sickness? This article delves into Delusional Disorder, Joker’s illness in the film, its symptoms, and how it incorporates the antihero of the moment.

What is a Delusional Disorder?

Harvard Health described Delusional Disorder as a disorder where a person has trouble recognizing reality. It is characterized by at least 1 month of irrational thinking but no other symptoms are present. Its major symptom is paranoia in which describes as a feeling of anxiety and persecution that could happen in real life or not.

It is often characterized by various categories:

• Persecutory - one is going to be harmed by an individual, organization or group
• Referential - gestures, comments, or environmental cues are directed at oneself
• Grandiose - the individual has exceptional abilities, wealth, or fame
• Erotomanic - a false belief that another individual is in love with him/her
• Nihilistic - a conviction that a major catastrophe will occur
• Somatic - focused on bodily function or sensation

How common is this Illness?

Delusional Disorder is so rare, it only affects 0.2% of people at some point in their lifetime. Though, both males and females can be affected by this. The most common type of this, though, is persecutory.

What causes this Illness?

Researchers still don’t know the main cause of this illness. However, they’re looking at three roles that might affect a person from having this: genetic, biological, and environmental.

• Genetic:  Researchers look at the family history of persons with Delusional Disorder. So far, they’ve observed that these persons have a family member with the same illness or schizophrenia.
• Biological:  Upon looking at how abnormalities in the brain can affect the sickness, they found that an imbalance on the certain chemicals on the brain called neurotransmitters can be linked to its formation.
• Environmental:  Evidence also suggests that illness can be affected by stress and substance abuse. They also look at factors such as experienced isolation (in the case of immigrants) and those with poor sight and hearing can also be affected by this.

What are its symptoms? How is it diagnosed?

Aside from non-delusions, persons with Delusional Disorder might experience:

• Irritable or angry mood
• Hallucinations

Once a person experiences these symptoms, the doctor will let the patient undergo a series of medical history and physical examination. Once they cannot find a physical reason for the symptom, then the patient will be referred to a psychiatrist. The patient will then undergo a series of psychological tests.

The doctor will then determine if their symptom points to sickness under DSM-5. According to the DSM-5, a diagnosis of delusional disorder is made if a person has non-bizarre delusions for at least one month and does not have the characteristic symptoms of other psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia.

How is it portrayed by the media, especially in Joker?

Delusional Disorders and other forms of mental illness are often used as a recurring theme in most films and TV dramas. In the 2019 DC Comics film adaptation of Joker, the protagonist named Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) also known as the Joker himself suffers from mental delusions and his way of coping with his disorder is in a form of extreme violence. According to The Guardian, Joker was an attempt to portray someone who’s normally seen as a villain but placed as the protagonist to evoke the people’s sympathy. This also applies to the Brothers Grimm stories remakes notably, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where the Evil Queen herself suffers from the delusion that she is no longer the fairest in her kingdom.

“The worst part of having a mental illness is people expect you to behave as if you don’t” - From the scene where Joker tells the TV host, Murray Franklin (De Niro).

“What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? -   I’ll tell you what you get: You get what you deserve!”

The dark joke conveys a message that mental illness should not be taken lightly or else there will be consequences.