I'm about 1/2 way through Lorraine's book and it is getting stranger and stranger. In my opinion the author suffers from some sort of
delusional personality disorder where she struggles to differentiate between what is real and what is imagined.
I've got a DSM-IV, but as a layperson, I'll stick with what Web MD has to offer:
Web MD wrote:Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness called a "psychosis" in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. The main feature of this disorder is the presence of delusions, which are unshakable beliefs in something untrue. People with delusional disorder experience non-bizarre delusions, which involve situations that could occur in real life, such as being followed, poisoned, deceived, conspired against, or loved from a distance. These delusions usually involve the misinterpretation of perceptions or experiences. In reality, however, the situations are either not true at all or highly exaggerated.
People with delusional disorder often can continue to socialize and function normally, apart from the subject of their delusion, and generally do not behave in an obviously odd or bizarre manner. This is unlike people with other psychotic disorders, who also might have delusions as a symptom of their disorder. In some cases, however, people with delusional disorder might become so preoccupied with their delusions that their lives are disrupted.
Although delusions might be a symptom of more common disorders, such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder itself is rather rare. Delusional disorder most often occurs in middle to late life and is slightly more common in women than in men.
As far as the type of delusional disorder at play...
Web MD wrote:Grandiose: A person with this type of delusional disorder has an over-inflated sense of worth, power, knowledge, or identity. The person might believe he or she has a great talent or has made an important discovery.
The entire book is filled with Lorraine explaining how her medium abilities are the real deal and superior to the medium abilities other people possess. Lorraine has
a great talent and
has made an important discovery.
Web MD goes on to explain...
Web MD wrote:What Are the Symptoms of Delusional Disorder?
Hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not really there) that are related to the delusion (For example, a person who believes he or she has an odor problem may smell a bad odor.)
The problem is people with these delusions don't realize they have a problem...
Web MD wrote:How Is Delusional Disorder Treated?
Treatment for delusional disorder most often includes medication and psychotherapy (a type of counseling). Delusional disorder can be very difficult to treat in part because its sufferers often have poor insight and do not recognize that a psychiatric problem exists. Studies show that close to half of patients treated with antipsychotic medications show at least partial improvement.