Anosognosia is a lack of ability to perceive the realities of one's own condition. It's a person's inability to accept that they have a condition that ...WhatIsAnosognosia?MedicallyreviewedbyTimothyJ.Legg,Ph.D.,CRNP—WrittenbyTimJewell—UpdatedonFebruary27,2019CausesSymptomsDiagnosisOtherconditionsTreatmentHowtohelpOutlookOverviewPeopledon’talwaysfeelcomfortableadmittingtothemselvesorothersthattheyhaveaconditionthey’vebeennewlydiagnosedwith.Thisisn’tunusual,andmostpeopleeventuallyacceptthediagnosis.Butsometimes,therejectionislong-lasting,andit’snotsimplydenialthat’scausingapersontorejectthefacts.It’saconditioncalledanosognosia.Thislooselymeans“lackofawarenessorinsight”inGreek.Anosognosiaisalackofabilitytoperceivetherealitiesofone’sowncondition.It’saperson’sinabilitytoacceptthattheyhaveaconditionthatmatchesupwiththeirsymptomsoraformaldiagnosis.Thisoccursdespitesignificantevidenceofadiagnosis,anddespitesecondandeventhirdmedicalopinionsconfirmingthevalidityofadiagnosis.Anosognosiaisaresultofchangestothebrain.It’snotjuststubbornnessoroutrightdenial,whichisadefensemechanismsomepeopleusewhentheyreceiveadifficultdiagnosistocopewith.Infact,anosognosiaiscentralinconditionslikeschizophreniaorbipolardisorder.Let’stakeacloserlookatwhatcausesthissymptom,howtorecognizeit,andwhatyouandyourlovedonescandotocope.CausesYourperceptionofyourselfchangesthroughoutyourlife.Justgotmarried?Youmayfeelreassurednowthatyou’vefinallytiedtheknotwithsomeoneyoulove.Newscaronyourface?Yourbrainneedstotakeitintoaccountsothatyourememberit’stherewhenyoulookinthemirror.Yourfrontallobeisheavilyinvolvedinthisconstantprocessofreshapingyourself-image.Andsomementalhealthconditionscancausealterationsinthispartofyourbrain.Thiscausesfrontallobetissueremodelingovertime.Eventually,youmayloseyourabilitytotakeinnewinformationandrenewyourperceptionofyourselforyouroverallhealth.Andsinceyourbraincan’tgraspthenewerinformationresultingfromyourcondition,youoryourlovedonescangetconfusedorfrustratedthatyouappearnottobetakingyo