Awareness of illness concerns whether someone recognises that changes in perception, thinking or functioning may reflect a health condition. A person may notice that life has become difficult but attribute the cause entirely to outside…Continue Reading
Anticipated pleasure is the enjoyment someone expects before an activity occurs. It helps motivate planning and effort. A person may remember liking music or visiting a friend yet predict little enjoyment from doing so again.…Continue Reading
A person may recognise some experiences as symptoms while interpreting others as external reality. Someone might identify voices as related to illness yet remain convinced of a persecutory belief. Awareness can also change with symptom…Continue Reading
Pleasure during an activity is sometimes called consummatory pleasure. It concerns the experience of enjoyment while eating, listening to music, talking or doing something else rewarding. Some people with schizophrenia retain this capacity despite reporting…Continue Reading
Researchers investigate whether impaired illness awareness is related to brain systems involved in self-monitoring, error detection and updating beliefs about oneself. These processes help people compare expectations with experience. Anosognosia is also studied in neurological…Continue Reading
Reward processing includes noticing potential rewards, predicting their value, deciding whether effort is worthwhile and learning from the result. Dopamine is involved, but reward depends on wider networks and several neurotransmitters. Anhedonia cannot be reduced…Continue Reading
Treatment engagement means maintaining a workable relationship with services and participating in decisions about care. Limited awareness of illness can make engagement difficult when the person does not see a reason for treatment. Side effects…Continue Reading
Threat perception is the process of identifying possible danger and deciding how urgently to respond. It normally protects people, but can become overly sensitive. In paranoia, ambiguous situations may feel threatening even when there is…Continue Reading
Posturing in catatonia involves maintaining a position for an unusually long time, sometimes against gravity. Rigidity refers to increased resistance to movement. Other examination findings include catalepsy and waxy flexibility, in which a position imposed…Continue Reading
Social cues include facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures and the context of a conversation. Most are ambiguous and require interpretation. During paranoia, laughter may seem mocking, a glance may feel like surveillance or a…Continue Reading