anosognosia

Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

  • noun The inability of a person to recognize his or her own illness or handicap.

Examples

  • Another, shorter article, in the same issue, discusses a condition called anosognosia, where a brain-injured patient may be unaware of, or seem to deny, sometimes quite striking disabilities - for example, being blind or paralysed.

    Mind Hacks: NewSci on speed, fatigue, denial and terrorism

  • Such an "anosognosia," as it is called, is at once a mercy (such patients do not suffer or anguish over or lament their loss) and a major problem, for it undercuts understanding and motivation, and makes attempts to remediate the condition much more difficult.

    Inside the Executive Brain

Note

The word 'anosognosia' comes from the Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, "not, without") and νόσος (nosos, "disease") and γνῶσις (gnosis, "knowledge").