Délire de relation et population insulaire vieillissante

Within our psychiatric catchment area we have encountered a curiously high frequency of certain clinical situations. We wondered where there might be a specific type of insular delusion disorder. Does a certain sort of space create a certain sort of society? Relation-related delusion and subsequent somatic or depressive complications were indeed among the main reasons for these clinical visits. Strict compliance with the common laws of a community, and with recognized rules for sharing space and time, is necessary for such a community to exist. Public order is the priority. In certain instances municipal authorities were our first collaborating partners before the public healthcare services. The themes of the recurrent delusion disorders we have observed might seem strange to continental dwellers, but we have found that there is a true mechanism underlying a specific psychic behavior of the island dweller. We develop a few psychopathological hypotheses which might explain this type of behavior and present brief demonstrations with clinical cases. Clinical psychiatrics should always consider the social and cultural aspects of the issue. The islands of Brittany and their aging populations are a living example of such an approach.