Mental illness denial or mental disorder denial is a form of

denialism In the psychology of human behavior, denialism is a person's choice to deny reality as a way to avoid a psychologically uncomfortable truth. Denialism is an essentially irrational action that withholds the validation of a historical experience ...

in which a person denies the existence of

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

s. Both serious analysts and

pseudoscientific Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...

movements question the existence of certain disorders. In

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intu ...

is the ability of an individual to understand their mental health condition, and

anosognosia Anosognosia is a condition in which a person with a disability is cognitively unaware of having it due to an underlying physical or psychological (e.g., PTSD, Stockholm syndrome, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dementia) condition. Anosognosia c ...

is the lack of awareness of a mental health condition. Certain psychological analysts argue this denialism is a

coping mechanism Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

usually fueled by

narcissistic injury Narcissistic injury, also known as "narcissistic wound" or "wounded ego" are emotional traumas that overwhelm an individual's defense mechanisms and devastate their pride and self worth. In some cases the shame or disgrace is so significant that t ...

. A minority of professional researchers see disorders such as depression from a

sociocultural perspective Sociocultural Perspective is a theory used in fields such as psychology and education and is used to describe awareness of circumstances surrounding individuals and how their behaviors are affected specifically by their surrounding, social and cul ...

and argue that the solution to it is fixing a dysfunction in the

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

, not in the person's brain.

Insight

is the ability of an individual to understand their mental health, and

is the lack of awareness of a mental health condition. According to

Elyn Saks Elyn R. Saks is associate dean and Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California Gould Law School, an expert in mental health law, and a MacArthur Foundation Fel ...

, probing patient's denial may lead to better ways to help them overcome their denial and provide insight into other issues. Major reasons for denial are narcissistic injury and denialism. In denialism, a person tries to deny psychologically uncomfortable truth and tries to rationalize it. This urge for denialism is fueled further by narcissistic injury.

Narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a co ...

gets injured when a person feels vulnerable (or weak or overwhelmed) for some reason like mental illness.Saks, Elyn R. "Some thoughts on denial of mental illness." American Journal of Psychiatry 166.9 (2009): 972-973. Web. 11 Dec. 2021

Athletes

Studies show that overtrained athletes can have

major depressive disorder Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

Nieman DC. Exercise, upper respiratory tract infection, and the immune system. Med Sci Sport Exerc1994;26:128–39. Web. 11 Dec. 2021Keizer HA. Neuroendocrine aspects of overtraining. In: Kreider RB, Fry AC, O'Toole ML, eds. Overtraining in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1998:145–67. Web. 11 Dec. 2021Keizer HA, Kuipers H, deHaan J, et al. Effect of a 3-month endurance training program on metabolic and multiple hormonal responses to exercise. Int J Sports Med1987;3:154–60. Web. 11 Dec. 2021Simon GE, VonKorff M, Piccinelli M, et al. An international study of the relation between somatic symptoms and depression. N Engl J Med1999;341:1329–35. Web. 11 Dec. 2021 but many

athletic trainer Athletic training is an allied health care profession recognized by the American Medical Association (AMA)"What is an Athletic Trainer?". The Board of Certification Website. 2003. Athletic training is also recognized by the Health Resources Serv ...

s and

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

s deny this and as a result athletes are not getting proper medical treatment.Hirschfield RMA, Keller MB, Panico S, et al. The National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association consensus statement on the undertreatment of depression. JAMA1997;277:333–40. Web. 11 Dec. 2021 Patients deny existence of depression and blame themselves for their inadequacies and try to overcome their inadequacies, making the symptoms more severe. Their denial also acts as an obstacle for biopsychological approach towards overtraining.

Scholarly criticism of psychiatric diagnosis

Scholars have criticized mental health diagnoses as

arbitrary Arbitrariness is the quality of being "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". It is also used to refer to a choice made without any specific criterion or restraint. Arbitrary decisions are not necess ...

. According to

Thomas Szasz Thomas Stephen Szasz ( ; hu, Szász Tamás István ; 15 April 1920 – 8 September 2012) was a Hungarian-American academic and psychiatrist. He served for most of his career as professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate M ...

, mental illness is a social construct. He views psychiatry as a social control and mechanism for political oppression. Szasz wrote a book on the subject in 1961, ''

The Myth of Mental Illness ''The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct'' is a 1961 book by the psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, in which the author criticizes psychiatry and argues against the concept of mental illness. It received much publicity, an ...

''.

Society

India

Mental illness denial in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

is a common problem. Many Indians view mental illnesses as "touchy-feely, new-age hogwash", even though 1 in every 10 Indians have a mental health condition in India.

References

{{Reflist Denialism Mental disorders