Question

Lack of insight is not a feature of

• A. Panic disorder.
• B. Schizophrenia.
• C. Mania.
• D. Reactive psychosis.

Hint:

Psychotic disorders, schizophrenia, mania, reactive psychosis, impair insight; panic disorder, a neurotic condition, does not.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
Insight means a patient's own awareness that they are ill and that their symptoms come from a mental illness. The question asks which of the four conditions does NOT typically involve a loss of this awareness.

Step 2: Key Concept:
Psychotic disorders, conditions where a person loses touch with reality, usually come with poor insight, because the false beliefs and altered perceptions feel completely real to the patient. Neurotic disorders, like panic disorder, generally do not distort reality testing, so the patient usually still knows something is wrong with them.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder, patients often firmly believe their delusions and hallucinations are real, and many do not accept that they are unwell, this is classic poor insight.
Mania, part of bipolar disorder, especially in its more severe form, often carries poor insight, patients frequently believe their grandiose plans and elevated mood are normal or even superior functioning, and resist treatment.
Reactive psychosis is, by definition, a psychotic state, and psychotic states as a rule come with impaired insight into the unreal nature of the symptoms.
Panic disorder is different, during an attack a patient feels intense fear, often about dying or losing control, but they generally know they are having an attack of anxiety, not a break from reality. Their perception of the world stays intact, so insight is preserved, even though the fear itself feels very real and distressing.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Because panic disorder is a neurotic condition with reality testing intact, patients keep insight into being unwell. Schizophrenia, mania, and reactive psychosis are all psychotic states where insight is commonly impaired. So the condition where lack of insight is NOT a usual feature is panic disorder.