Assessment of the psychiatric patient
Peter Kopelman, Dame Jane Dacre in Handbook of Clinical Skills, 2019
PerceptionDéjà vu phenomena are feelings of having seen or done something before when in fact the experience is novel. They are associated with complex partial seizures, although they occur in other disorders and can occur as a normal experience.Depersonalisation and derealisation are unpleasant feelings of an altered unreal sense of self or the external world. Objects seem less real and the sense of the passage of time is often altered (sped up or slowed down). Although they can occur in the absence of psychiatric illness, they are particularly associated with anxiety disorders.Illusions are abnormal perceptions of external stimuli. Visual illusions are associated with delirium, are more common in Parkinson’s disease and are more likely when sensory stimulation is reduced, for example a poorly lit ward. They may also arise in the context of a normal mental state.
The Heritability of Schizophrenia and Dealing with Having a Family Member with Schizophrenia
Ragy R. Girgis, Gary Brucato, Jeffrey A. Lieberman in Understanding and Caring for People with Schizophrenia, 2020
Additionally, I would not want to do this to Daniel. He is the love of my life, but it would not be fair for him to have to deal with me if I were to become psychotic. I love him too much for that. He is well aware of my parents’ conditions and what I went through as a child. He always tells me that he is not worried and does not care about any of that. He is very sweet and loving, and I fully believe him. However, I don’t know if he could ever truly understand how bad it could be. And that is why I am here. I know that I am at high-risk for developing schizophrenia. Not only do both of my parents have schizophrenia, but, over the last year, I have experienced a number of disturbing symptoms. For example, for three months I have had the experience that my world is not real. The feeling is vague and I cannot describe it further, but it is somewhat bothersome. I have also been experiencing déjà vu. I know that déjà vu experiences are not uncommon, but, given everything else that has been going on, and that my parents have schizophrenia, I thought it would be good to speak to a psychiatrist about these experiences.
Pathological Déjà Vu (and Jamais Vu)
Alexander R. Toftness in Incredible Consequences of Brain Injury, 2023
There are many dozens of theories about what is happening in the brain during déjà vu, especially because there are multiple types of déjà vu (Neppe, 2010). Many researchers have only recently begun treating déjà vu as a phenomenon worthy of scientific scrutiny, and there are currently no objective criteria for evaluating cases of déjà vu, which makes comparing between cases pretty unscientific at the moment (Cleary & Brown, 2021). And, unfortunately for this particular chapter, the majority of research has focused on examining déjà vu in nonclinical populations—regular old déjà vu. This means that there is much work left before we will understand the pathological form of déjà vu.
Anxiety-related Symptoms following the Sporadic Use of Ecstasy – A Case Study
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2022
Tomislav Majić, Lasse Brandt, Christiane Montag
At presentation, the patient reported déjà-vu experiences, slight ideas of reference and the idea of strange things going on around him that he could not explain, but without ever developing manifest psychotic symptoms. A few weeks prior to presentation, his girlfriend had separated from him, which had troubled him a lot. Now he reported obsessive rumination concerning his ex-girlfriend, describing it as an “inner voice,” which he believed to originate from inside his head, making him think about her continuously. To some extent, he felt he had lost control over these repetitive and intrusive thoughts that appeared automatically, seeming senseless or absurd to him, not fitting to his apparent mood state and being emotionally split off. These symptoms became more disturbing when he started to meet another woman whom he had met during the time of the treatment. At some time point, he felt like his current girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend were “melting” into each other, and he was not able to separate them in his thoughts. In addition, he started to mistake other people for his girlfriend and complained about brief transient episodes of misidentification of other well-known people in his surroundings. For instance, he reported sitting close to a friend and suddenly not recognizing him any more for seconds. His attention then seemed to be “stuck” for moments, with his thoughts not being able “to go back and forth.” In addition, he complained about brief episodes of profoundly altered perception of time. Time appeared to be passing more slowly, being fragmented (“cut in pieces”), leaving “gaps” in the timeflow. He complained about a “loss of his self” and felt profoundly disconnected from his own body and his surroundings. On the other hand, objects like his kitchen table appeared unrealistic, more intensive or more plastic but less real, similar as he had experienced on ecstasy. These symptoms disturbed him very much and eventually resulted in a single panic attack 2–3 weeks later, which he had never experienced before.
The Revised Definition and Classification of Epilepsy for Neurodiagnostic Technologists
Published in The Neurodiagnostic Journal, 2018
Robert S. Fisher, Anna M. Bonner
A cognitive seizure can begin with a déjà vu (strangely familiar) sensation or hallucinations. Cognitive seizures also can manifest with specifically impaired cognitive functions, such as language (aphasia). Many seizures globally impair cognitive function, so a cognitive seizure has to affect a specific type of cognitive function.
Closed-Loop Neuromodulation and Self-Perception in Clinical Treatment of Refractory Epilepsy
Published in AJOB Neuroscience, 2023
Tobias Haeusermann, Cailin R. Lechner, Kristina Celeste Fong, Alissa Bernstein Sideman, Agnieszka Jaworska, Winston Chiong, Daniel Dohan
For many participants, personality and self-perception changes began prior to a formal diagnosis. They recalled years of feelings of déjà vu or “spacing out” that, in hindsight, were recognized as auras or absence seizures.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Anxiety
- Neurological Disorder
- Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
- Schizophrenia
- Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Aura
- Mental Disorder
- Neurology
- Dissociation
- Genetics