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Pseudodementia and Delirium in Depression: A Contribution to Psychosomatic Medicine
Author(s) -
Koide Hiroyuki
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1992.tb02854.x
Subject(s) - delirium , depression (economics) , psychiatry , psychology , medicine , macroeconomics , economics
Presenting cases of depressional pseudodementia and delirium, we wish to point out the following points in this report. The patient in depression displays a state of pseudodementia when he is regarded as having senile dementia by the people around him. The depressed patient falls into delirium when he is embarrassed by an unexpected situation. In other words, the patient shows pseudodementia when he is continuously out of the world of daily meaning; he would fall into a disturbance of consciousness when he is suddenly put out of the world of meanings. This principle is applicable not only to depression but also to all mental diseases. In mental diseases, the symptoms themselves have some meaning for the patient. However, when the patient is put out of the world of ordinary meaning, mental disease presents the aspect of a somatic disease such as dementia or disturbance of consciousness.