Disclaimer: ASK DR. VAN PELT is a registered trademark, patent, 'copywrite' of Sam the Eagle Enterprises INC, ABC, NBA and the Eatafly Foundation. Any and all inferences or implications that The Philip Kleins, their various entities, companies, or personalities that inhabit their psyche are NUTTIER THAN A LOON are purely coincidental. A reader recently asked me about individuals with false delusions of grandeur.
Megalomania is an historical term for behavior characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth (like sitting in your 'hot tube' smoking a cuban cigar---which is illegal by the way), power (like claiming to be a politician when your not), or genius (like claiming to have 'outsmarted' the 'criminal mind') - often generally termed as delusions of grandeur.
The word is a collaboration of the word "mania" meaning madness and the Greek "megalo" meaning "very large", "great", or "exaggerated" (having nothing to do with corpulence), thus combining to denote an obsession with, either in the form of irrational perceived need or preoccupation with in one's own estimation having and/or obtaining;
A) grandiosity and extravagance, especially in the form of great fame and popularity (like being the editor of a review);
B) material wealth (like relaxing around your pool or wearing expensive boots);
C) social influence or political power (like claiming to be a politicial consultant);
or more than one or even all of the aforesaid. All are common symptoms if not one of the key diagnostic features of megalomania.
It is most often a symptom of manic or paranoid disorders.
