Awareness of illness or abnormal experiences is termed?

• A. Insight
• B. Judgment
• C. Delusions
• D. Persecutory delusions

Answer: (A)

Awareness of illness or abnormal experiences is called insight. In mental health, insight means recognizing that one’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors are related to a psychiatric condition and acknowledging that treatment may be needed. This awareness helps predict engagement with care and adherence to treatment, and it can vary from full realization of having a mental health problem to limited or absent recognition.

Judgment refers to the ability to evaluate information and make appropriate decisions; it’s about thinking through ideas and actions rather than recognizing illness. Delusions are fixed, false beliefs that persist despite contrary evidence, and a persecutory delusion is a specific type where one believes they are being targeted or conspired against. These concepts relate to beliefs and decision-making, not the patient’s awareness of their own illness.