How Can Anosognosia Be Addressed? When anosognosia is a symptom of bipolar or schizophrenia, medication treating the underlying ...AnosognosiaAnosognosiaisaconditionthatcausesanindividualtobeunawareoforunabletoaccuratelyperceivetheirmentalhealthconditionanditseffects.Theterm,coinedbyJosephFrancoisBabinskiin1914,isroughlytranslatedfromtheGreekfor“tonotknowadisease.”Anosognosiaisacommonsymptomofsomementalhealthconditions,schizophreniaandbipolar amongthem.WhatIsAnosognosia?Anosognosiacanbeconsideredalackofinsightintoone’sownstateofmentalhealth.Ittypicallymeansanindividualdoesnotrealizetheyhaveamentalhealthissueorisunawareofitsextent.Forexample,apersonmayexperiencedelusionsandnotrealizetheyaredelusionsbutinsteadbelievethemtobereal.Thisconditiondiffersfromdenial.Apersonindenialisoftenconsciouslyawareofafactbutrefusestoacceptit.Denial,apsychologicaldefensemechanismmostpeopleusetosomedegree,isnotnecessarilyasymptomofmentalillness.Anosognosia,ontheotherhand,involvesaformofbrainimpairment.Itisimportanttonotepeopleexperiencingthisconcernarenotbeingstubbornorrefusingtoacknowledgetheirmentalhealthissue.Rather,thecondition’seffectsontheirbrainmakeitimpossibleforthemtodoso.FindaTherapistAdvancedSearchAnosognosiaisnotafixed,stablecondition.Thoseexperiencinganosognosiacanhaveinsightintotheirmentalhealthconditionsatcertaintimesandexperienceimpairedinsightatothers.Somepeoplemayonlybepartiallyawareoftheirmentalhealthissues,makinganosognosiaaconditionofvaryingdegrees.WhatCausesAnosognosia?Braindamage,specificallytothefrontalandparietallobesoftherighthemisphere,isthoughttobeinvolvedinanosognosia.Anindividualexperiencingthisconditionmayhavedifficultyunderstandingsensoryinformationenteringthebody.Whilethesystemsresponsibleforseeing,hearing,andtouchingremainintact,someonewithanosognosiaisunabletoaccuratelyusethatsensoryinformation.Brainchangesthatresultinanosognosiacanbecausedbymultiplefactors,includingatraumaticheadinjury,dementia,stroke,orothervascularissues.Whencausedbydementia,Anosogno