Did You Know That Separation Does Not Always End A Shared Delusion?

Doctors Have Long Treated It By Keeping The Two People Apart

The One Who Adopted It Has No Evidence Of Their Own

Taking That Person Away Often Ends It But Not Always

Most Patients Need More Than One Kind Of Treatment

THIS NEWSLETTER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NOTHING IN THIS CONTENT CONSTITUTES MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. ALWAYS CONSULT A QUALIFIED HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY HEALTH RELATED DECISIONS.

OKAY BACK FROM THE HOSPITAL WARD 🏥

In December 2012 An Australian Mother And Son Were Held In Custody

Her Son Had Stabbed A Police Officer To Death

He Was 19 At The Time Of The Killing

By Then He Had Taken On His Mother's Persecutory Delusions

From December To March The Two Wrote To Each Other

A Psychiatrist Said Their Letters Showed A Shared Delusional System

He Described An Intense Dependence On One Another

In January 2013 The Mother Was Moved To A Psychiatric Hospital

There She Was Started On Antipsychotic Medication

Her Son Was Diagnosed With A Delusional Disorder

He Was Not Prescribed Any Psychiatric Drugs

Even So His Mental State Appeared To Improve In Custody

He Began To Question The Delusions He Had Shared With His Mother

The Sentencing Judge Called His Condition Secondary To Hers

In The Judge's View He Seemed To Have Overcome It Once They Were Apart

An Appeal Judge Accepted He Recovered Soon After Separation

He Had Given Up His Delusional Beliefs

That Judge Said It Showed Nothing About His Beliefs At The Time

Researchers In The UK Reviewed 42 Published Cases Of Folie A Deux

All Of Them Came Out Between 1993 And 2005

Most Of Those Cases Involved Separating The Pair

Only 8 Of The 42 Secondaries Were Treated With Separation Alone

Separation Plus Medication Was Used For 13 Of Them

Secondaries Received Medication At Levels Similar To Primaries

Antipsychotics And Antidepressants Were Widely Used

Hospital Care Was Reported For 52.4 Percent Of Secondaries

Mood Stabilizers Plus Antipsychotics Worked Best As A Combination

The Authors Said Separation Is Not Always The Treatment Of Choice

In A Large Number Of Cases It Proved Inadequate Or Insufficient

Diagnostic Criteria Had Suggested Separation Alone Should Be Enough

The Review Did Not Support That Belief

Earlier Work By The Team Found Symptoms Can Remain After Separation

Recent Cases Also Combined Distance With Treatment

Two Sisters In Spain Shared A Delusion Mostly By Phone

The Hospitalized Sister Improved As Contact Fell And Treatment Began

A Family In India Was Given Both Distance And An Antipsychotic Drug

Doctors In Kozhikode India Admitted A Mother And Son To Separate Wards

The Two Were Kept Isolated From Each Other

Within A Month On Antipsychotics The Mother Reached Partial Remission

Her Son Did Not Improve With Separation Alone

His Doctors Said A Shared Genetic Risk Could Not Be Ruled Out

Before Leaving Hospital He Agreed To Live At His Uncle's House

Both Stayed In Good Remission During 10 Months Of Follow Up

In 2026 A Theory Paper Built A Mathematical Model Of Folie A Deux

The Model Predicts How Fast Someone Recovers After Separation

In The Model A Brief And Shallow Influence Means A Quick Recovery

Beliefs Learned Over A Long Time Would Mean A Slow One

Its Authors Said Two Independent Illnesses Need More Than Distance

They Added That Case Records Could Test These Predictions

For Now The Model Is Still Only A Theory

The Condition Itself Was Named In 1877 By Two French Psychiatrists

They Described Delusions Shared Between People In Close Association

In The UK Review 97.6 Percent Of Pairs Were From One Nuclear Family

Treatment Can Include Family Therapy Along With Medication

Doctors Say The First Step Is Recognizing The Condition