Insight
In psychiatry insight refers to the patient's awareness and understanding of; their attitudes; feelings; behaviour; and symptoms. Put simply its the self-understanding of ones disorder.
Psychiatric Illnesses in which the patient has an altered sense of reality can affect insight. The patients understanding of their condition and their perceived need for treatment can vary from day to day, hour to hour.
Being able to comprehensively assess insight is a important. You should establish the following about the patient...
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Do they recognise their abnormal experiences as abnormal?
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Do they believe they have a psychiatric disorder? what is their understanding...?
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Do they feel they need treatment? what...?
Remember, insight fluctuates and can be present in variable measure. It can be assessed by simple and direct questions: -
'Do you think anything might be wrong with you?'
'What do you understand about what is wrong?'
'Do you think your mind might be playing tricks on you?'
'Do you think your imagination got the better of you?'
'Do you need any sort of help? What sort?
Example. Miss. Eliot |
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| 'Miss. Eliot admitted that she was not in perfect health, although her main perceived problems was the tiredness and that her periods had recently stopped.
She was reluctant to be labelled as a anorexic "...those people are messed up, I ve got my sanity alright" "I am not a head case OK..."
She thought her weight was "getting there" and the last thing she needed was help to put weight on "do you realise how hard I have to work for this figure" "...look I am in control, look get it into your head I am not dying OK, don't worry... your beginning o sound like my mum!"
She became quite defensive it the subject was continued.' |
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| - Admits to tiredness, amenorrhea
- Doesn't accept diagnosis
- Doesn't accept need for treatment |
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