Anosognosia: defined and applicable to all.

 

The term "anosognosia" has its origins in Greek. It is derived from two Greek words:

1. "Anos" (ἄνος): This word means "without" or "lacking."

2. "Gnosis" (γνῶσις): This word means "knowledge" or "awareness."

When combined, "anosognosia" essentially means "lack of awareness" or "lack of knowledge." In the context of medicine and neuroscience, anosognosia refers to a condition in which a person with a disability or illness is unaware of or denies its existence.  These are often associated with certain brain injuries or neurological disorders.   I assert this word can now be applied to anyone who is experiencing illusions or delusions.

 1. Illusions: Illusions are misperceptions of sensory information, often related to visual or auditory stimuli. They occur when the brain misinterprets sensory input, leading to a false perception of reality. Common examples include optical illusions, where objects may appear distorted or misaligned, even though they are not. Illusions are typically shared experiences, and people can often recognize and understand that they are seeing something differently than it actually is.

 2. Delusions: Delusions, on the other hand, are firmly held false beliefs that are resistant to reason or contrary evidence. They are typically associated with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or delusional disorder. Delusions involve believing something that is not grounded in reality and cannot be corrected through logical argument or evidence. Delusions can be bizarre, paranoid, grandiose, conspiratorial, or persecutory, among other types.

Back story:  Around 1997 I read a Harvard/WHO “Global Burden of Disease’ (GBD) study* of multiple global health risk factors and trends.  The study then was attempting to predict what the top global health issues would be in 2020.    As Issues Director for the Global Health Council then and one of 14 Action Board members of the American Public Health Association (APHA with ~120,000 US professional members), my priority was advocating for more global health funding to invest in prevention and mitigation of ‘new and reemerging infectious diseases’ globally which were predicted to serious future threats to US national security threats by multiple federal agencies ( CIA, DOD, CDC, and the National Academy of Sciences).   Back then, global fatalities of these were nearly tied with chronic diseases in 1st and 2nd place.  Mental health issues were around 10th and not considered a major death threat.  If I remember correctly, the study predicted mental health issues would be in 2nd place by 2020.  That shocked me.  I’m not sure what their reasoning was then, but now I’m thinking those researchers deserve a Noble prize today in medicine.  

Witnessing the acceleration of threats, our failure to address root causes, an over-abundance of mental distraction devises, truth decay, a common persistent belief that the problems ‘over there’ are not ours here, and many people blaming our dysfunctional democratic republic as the problem, we have a very serious mental health problem combined with and exacerbating increasing global insanity.  Anosognosia is both a medical and mental health term referring to conditions in which a person (usually with a mental health disorder or neurological condition) who is unaware of or denies their illness.   Or may not recognize the existence or severity of their own condition, which can make it challenging to provide them with appropriate support.   It is a complex phenomenon that involves impairments in self-awareness and perception of one's own mental health. Treatment may require a multi-faceted approach, which may include therapy, meditation, or support from those who only offer objective truths if the individual afflicted is open to evidence that personal and political truths vary by individual nationality, religion, economic status or other prejudiced life experiences (this definition has been modified to those not suffering from brain injury or mental delusions caused by drugs.) 

It should be increasingly obvious that our minds are easily addicted to the illusion of independence - the delusional concept that our government is based on, that is incapable of resolving globally interdependent problems and threats most impacting on our lives and threatening our security. This is also associated with the delusion that if we just get the right President in office things will get better.  

Unfortunately, a majority of citizens are simply unwilling (or unable) to accept this fundamental fact.  Our political system is structurally dysfunctional, and our polarized political parties are incapable of fixing it.  Independence is only a mental construct that exists nowhere in the known universe. And keeping this delusion institutionalized will only continue dividing, impoverishing, sickening, and killing us.   Plus, harming and killing tens of millions of others around the world in wars, genocides, revolutions, mass murders, extreme weather events, and easily preventable hunger and infectious diseases (which was and can always be a top killer).  Each of these affordability preventable if we only had a change in thinking.   

* Christopher J. L. Murray; Alan D. Lopez, eds. (1996). WHO IRIS: The Global burden of disease : a comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases, injuries, and risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020: summary. World Health Organization. hdl:10665/41864. ISBN 0-9655466-0-8.