What is obsession? Differentiating obsessive-compulsive disorder and the schizophrenia spectrum.
Andreas Rosén Rasmussen, Josef Parnas
Schizophrenia Research May 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.02.014 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Diagnosis Psychosis Schizotypal disorder Self-disorder Subjective experience |
| Key points | Argues that disturbances in basic structures of experience in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders have relevance for differential diagnosis and early detection of obsessive-compulsive phenomena. |
Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms are frequent in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and often cause differential diagnostic challenges, especially in first-contact patients. Drawing upon phenomenology of cognition, we critically review classic and contemporary psychopathological notions of obsessive-compulsive phenomena and discuss their relevance for differential diagnosis between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. The classic psychopathological literature defines true obsession as intrusions with intact resistance and insight and regards these features as essential to the diagnosis of OCD. In schizophrenia, the classic literature describes pseudo-obsessive-compulsive phenomena characterized by lack of resistance and an affinity with other symptoms such as thought disorder and catatonia. By contrast, the notions of obsession and compulsion are broader and conceptually vague in current diagnostic systems and research instruments. Here, these phenomena overlap with delusions as well as various subjective and behavioral anomalies, which we discuss in detail. Furthermore, we examine a link between obsessive-compulsive phenomena and disturbances of basic structures of experience in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders addressed in contemporary psychopathological research. We suggest that these experiential alterations have relevance for differential diagnosis and early detection in this complex symptom domain.
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Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Anomalies of imagination and development of psychosis: A phenomenological account. Schizophrenia Research February 1, 2024
- The illusion of reality: how (not) to think of hallucination Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences June 20, 2026
- Ipseity and Embodiment within the Lived Experience of Schizophrenia Theoría Revista del Colegio de Filosofía May 26, 2026
Cites 8
- Self‐experience in the early phases of schizophrenia: 5‐year follow‐up of the Copenhagen Prodromal Study World Psychiatry October 1, 2011
- Thought insertion and disturbed for-me-ness (minimal selfhood) in schizophrenia. Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2019
- Disordered Selfhood in Schizophrenia and the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience: Accumulated Evidence and Experience. Psychopathology 2021
- Anomalies of Imagination and Disordered Self in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Psychopathology 2015
- Rediscovering psychopathology: the epistemology and phenomenology of the psychiatric object. Schizophrenia Bulletin December 23, 2012
and 3 more in the library