Anosognosia

 

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Those who do not acknowledge their illness is difficult to be treated. Doctors often tell their patient to ACCEPT their medical condition so to proceed to medical interventions to treat the illness. If denial continues to become present in the mind, healing will be difficult since taking prescription medicines won’t be considered by the patient.

Same with mental illness.

When someone rejects a diagnosis of mental illness, it’s tempting to say that the person is “in denial.” But someone with acute mental illness may not be thinking clearly enough to consciously choose denial. They may instead be experiencing “lack of insight” or “lack of awareness.”

The formal medical term for this medical condition is anosognosia, from the Greek meaning “to not know a disease.”

Acharya and Sanchez-Manso (2023) said that anosognosia is a neurological condition in which the patient is unaware of their neurological deficit or psychiatric condition. It is associated with mental illness, dementia, and structural brain lesion, as is seen in right hemisphere stroke patients.

When we see a sunburn on our skin, we automatically say that we had too much exposure to the sun, and try looking for a soothing lotion to ease the pain. We even promise not to over-expose next time. This is similar to the mistakes we make, we then hear feedback and correct them so not to cause more of them in the future… But, that is when the mind is healthy.

Creating personal insights is psychologically enriching. Those who aim for self-actualization advocate journaling. You create personal insights based on your experiences and proceed to make a healthier plan to improve.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org) reported: For a person with anosognosia, inaccurate insight feels as real and convincing as other people's ability to perceive themselves.

This makes it the most common reason for people to stop improving themselves. And, as it is often combined with psychosis or mania, lack of insight can cause reckless or undesirable behavior.