ANOSOGNOSIA
Anosognosia, also called lack of insight, is a biological condition that prevents some people with severe mental illness (SMI) from knowing that they are experiencing symptoms of a brain disorder. Anosognosia is thought to be the most common reason for not seeking or maintaining treatment for people with severe mental illness.
HOW COMMON IS THIS CONDITION?
Anosognosia is incredibly common with certain mental health conditions. Experts estimate that it affects between 50% and 98% of people with schizophrenia, about 40% of people with bipolar disorder, and more than 80% of people with Alzheimer’s disease. It also happens to between 10% and 18% of people who have one-sided paralysis after a stroke.
HOW DOES ANOSOGNOSIA AFFECT MY BODY?
Your brain keeps track of what’s going on with your body using a “self-image.” If you have an injury, your body updates your self-image to reflect that, and it will keep updating as your body heals. People with anosognosia have damage in the areas of their brain that update their self-image.
Because that person’s mind can’t update their self-image, they can’t process or recognize that they have a health problem. That’s what makes this condition different from the kind of denial described by the Kübler-Ross model (commonly known as the five stages of grief). A person in denial rejects or avoids accepting reality because it’s unpleasant or distressing. A person with anosognosia can't recognize the problem at all.
Because they can’t recognize they have a medical problem, people with this condition often don’t see the need to care for that problem. In more severe cases, they actively avoid or resist treatment.