Where is the line between grandiosity and delusions?

How do you know if you've been delusional or just grandiose? Does it have to be bizarre to be delusional? And what is bizarre? Does it have to be rationally impossible to be bizarre, or just extremely unlikely? For example, is thinking you are a different and more intelligent life form than humans delusional or grandiose? Or thinking you are one of the greatest geniuses of all time? (extremely unlikely but not impossible) How about thinking almost everything that happens around you happens to guide your thoughts and actions, i.e. thinking fate only cares about you, where does that belong?

Well, we could put it this way:

If you're a genius, you wouldn't be posting here; that's for sure.
For example, when Einstein produced his theory of relativity, only 4 or 5 people in the
world understood the concepts he concluded accurately.

If you were a different and more intelligent life form you wouldn't be posting here,
either,(for obvious reasons-intelligence, capacity for newer and unknown theories, etc.
risk of capture for research purposes by governments wanting to be first to obtain
extra-terrestrial knowledge, etc.) so that leaves:

1. Delusional, meaning that you're not seeing things correctly; it's a personal mistake
in perception.

2. Bizarre means that something is strange to anyone who might see it who is not
under a mental condition that could cause delusion. The general public would recognize something bizarre. If you were delusional and pointed out something bizarre to you,
the general public would understand you to be "off your rocker", as in slang for delusional.

This is layman's understanding, of course.

Grandiose relates to false assumptions about oneself having great prestige,
exorbitant wealth, abundance of authority and power, far beyond the potential of even
the most extraordinary people of any time. ( I think a slang term for that would be "someone
is just out of it".)

I'm trying to understand these terms properly. I thought delusions were more than just not seeing things correctly. Doesn't "strong beliefs despite superior evidence to the contrary" imply that it's something psychotic and not a normal error of perception? And I thought grandiosity was what I experienced every time I got high on myself during hypomania? If not, what is that called?

I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't asking if a genius would likely be posting on the forums, I was giving examples of beliefs and asking how to tell in retrospect if they were delusional, grandiose or something else. If you look again I think you will find that there is a lot of humility behind my opening post.

Yes, delusions do indicate a psychotic state that could even be limited to one subject, Mandrec. It just struck me as humorous that someone would ask if a genius would likely be posting on the forum.

No, grandiosity isn't what is felt in hypomania. It might be part of Bipolar I which does have full mania exacerbations. Hypomania occurs in bipolar, type II and is noted for more periods of strong, long-lasting depression than frequent periods of hypomania. I don't think one loses sanity in hypomania,(that usually appears as rapidity of thought,spending sprees, arrogance, poor judgment in purchasing, etc.).

In full flown mania which could encompass grandiosity, I would say it's very possible to have that. Someone I've heard about in full blown mania struck out across the street in his neighborhood completely in the nude. Another one thought he was the reincarnation Napoleon or another such historically important person. The major manic episode is one that is "around the bend" in slang terms, too.

You can easily find professional terminology for these terms by looking
at any serious work on bipolar illness. In fact, there is on Psych Central an article called
"The Difference Between Hypomania and Full-blown Mania.

I've tried finding it out online, but to no avail (I find these things difficult to comprehend), and I can't afford any books right now.

I see. I guess the best thing to say is that in hypomanic episodes, one usually has
lots of energy, accomplishes many things (though not necessarily quality accomplishments), has spending sprees, uses poor judgment and can become irritable. But there are no psychotic breaks.

Unless I.Q. testing indicates genius mentality, it would be considered a form of psychotic
break if one claimed that he/she was a genius. Delusions and all the other characteristics you suggest may encompass part of a manic episode. I don't know what is considered the "cut off line" for insanity opposed to sanity, but I'm guessing that it would be strong delusional ideas that one has which are obviously contradicted by reality and which are incapacitating for one's ability to function in society. I don't think the hypomanic patient goes beyond reality in understanding.

There is, by the way, a post on the Psych Forum called something like "What is the Difference
Between Hypomania and Full-blown mania" which is a discussion between people who are talking
about their experiences related to the two subjects.

I'm bp2 and these are just my simple examples...

Accusing my bf of the fact that he's going to meet this wonderful woman on Main road after work , immediately decide she's the one and promptly decide to marry her. Then call me to let me know and ask me to be his best man!

Yes, I believed this for 4 straight weeks, verbally/ textually abused him and harrassed him accusing him of all sorts of nefarious deeds against me (none of which were remotely true) until well after he refused to respond!

No paranoia btw, just this "truth" that I wanted him to admit to, so that I know where I stand.

The end of the 4th week, I text morning baby, blah blah blah... No response.
I'm thinking, bf is so quiet, is he stillll mad? Really?

What ever did I say that pissed him off... Look through my phone OMGEEEE Wtf was that? How did any of that make ANY kind of sense in my mind.

Where the eff did that idea even come from???
No clues, no hints, just a belief that popped into my head out of nowhere, and I clung to it like religion.

Delusional much Lia???

Grandoise? On a hypo scale ~ I'm better than everyone else, these people should be grateful I allow them to breath my air. Usually for me, present with alot of irritability, and with euphoria.

On a manic scale, I have no experience, so I'll have to go with Miss Laura's bout of mania when she was invincible (Grandoise) and walked into oncoming traffic to prove its true (Delusional)
~ Super dangerous, so glad nothing happened to her and she emerged physically unscathed.

Not everything is black and white, things don't present on specific scales and we don't all fit into perfect DSM molds, so the distinction isn't always clear.
To me, on my scale its;
Delusion ~ hell no effing way that's true
Grandoise~ Kiss my hiney and don't forget to thank me for letting you.

Mandrec, when the conversation got serious at first, I should have said to you what I
often do now, that bipolar illness is not a static illness; it is a dynamic one and changes
often from day to day. It is never all this or all that.

One has to understand that black-or-white, all-or-nothing ways of seeing things are usually
the thinking techniques of alcoholics who must learn somewhere along the way to
their remissison that it may be best to see things in shades of gray.

I hope you understand that psychiatrists often have difficulty themselves diagnosing
correctly when patients present with other symptoms that challenge strongly their
ability to diagnose correctly. My own psychiatrist confirmed this to me a couple of
months ago. (We happened to be talking about the alcoholic who sees things as
"all black or all white" or "all or nothing".)

Just remember: it's a dynamic illness, please.

One question a psychiatrist will often ask is "how long has this been going on"? That may
(although I don't know that as a fact) enable him/her to determine whether the situation is
fixed and unchanging or rare and dissipated relatively quickly. Things of that sort could
help with an accurate diagnosis.

It sounds grandiose, but I guess, as Genetic pointed out, it depends on how long this lasted, what other symptoms went along with it, how fully you believed it, etc. It's complicated (as Genetic also pointed out).

In the context of mania, I have felt 'grandiose' (the most brilliant person in the world, no one can think as clearly, as fast, as brilliantly as me), convinced people were flirting with/attracted to me, when afterwards, I seriously doubted this. This was all in the context of not sleeping, tons of energy anyway, speaking a mile a minute with an unbelievable, almost physical (like hunger, peeing) need to talk and get it all out, jumping out of my skin, impulsively saying and doing things, etc., etc., which lasted for some weeks.

As far as delusions, in the context of what my psychiatrist later called a psychotic depression (I wasn't sleeping either, but it wasn't mania, and other things), I was told I had a mass/cyst on an ovary (not cancer, no big deal) and with time became convinced that it was some sort of alien, evil being that had invaded me, trying to hurt me, I had to get it out, tear it out, destroy it... I became more and more obsessed with it, this went on for a couple of weeks, got worse with time. I would look in the mirror and feel like I was being taken over by some evil entity, it wasn't me anymore. It was like I was in a different/parallel dimension, I was disappearing to nothing. It was terrifying, awful.

As far as the 'grandiosity' vs 'delusions' I guess part of the difference I see is that although I am not the most brilliant person in the world , in theory, it's possible for someone to be a genius. Whereas with the delusion, it's simply not possible for anyone's body, in any context, to be invaded by an alien being. I guess I think of grandiosity as a kind of huge exaggeration, and delusions as something that is just impossible, for anyone, at any time.

This is certainly, though, something that is going to be very different for everyone, it's just how I conceptualize it, according to my own experience.

I think that it's possible to have a delusion that is technically possible. So, for example, if you believe with 100% certainty that you are a genius, then you are delusional (assuming that you're not a genius). If, however, you just think you are a genius sometimes, but don't really believe it (maybe you just feel smarter than others) than it's grandiosity.

Once while manic I believed that I was the "smartest person in the world". I really thought that I was going to do something incredible. I don't know whether it was a delusion or just grandiosity, because I can't remember how strongly I believed it.