Obsession in the Strict Sense: A Helpful Psychopathological Phenomenon in the Differential Diagnosis between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia
- 11 January 2007
- journal article
- case report
- Published by S. Karger AG in Psychopathology
- Vol. 40 (2), 102-110
- https://doi.org/10.1159/000098490
Abstract
The paper presented follows the hypothesis that differentiation between obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia is possible only by focusing on the single phenomenon of obsession. The statement of a nosological specificity of obsession, called obsession in the strict sense, is set against the current views of ICD-10 and DSM-IV of obsession as a ubiquitous, non-specific phenomenon appearing in comorbidities. In the succession of the paper, the historical development of these two very different views and their clinically mixing is reconstructed. The phenomenological clarification of the structure of the obsessive phenomena leads to the term of obsession in the strict sense. The distinction between obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia can take place at the psychopathological interface between obsession in the strict sense and delusional idea. The examination of the literature on the connection between obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia shows that there is no definitive connection between obsession in the strict sense and schizophrenia. Finally, some case reports are presented to sharpen clinical suspicion for other possibly wrong diagnoses.Keywords
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- DSM-IV field trial: obsessive-compulsive disorder [published erratum appears in Am J Psychiatry 1995 Apr;152(4):654]American Journal of Psychiatry, 1995
- A Phenomenological Analysis of Symptoms in Obsessive-Compulsive NeurosisThe British Journal of Psychiatry, 1975
- Die Welt des ZwangskrankenPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,1954
- Zur Psychologie und Psychopathologie der Trieb- und WillenserlebnisseZeitschrift für die gesamte Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 1932
- Zur Phänomenologie des TriebhaftenZeitschrift für die gesamte Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 1924
- Über die Natur der Zwangsvorstellungen und ihre Beziehungen zum WillensproblemPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,1920
- Zur Auffassung und zur Kenntnis der Zwangsideen und der isolierten überwertigen IdeenZeitschrift für die gesamte Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 1914
- Über genese und klinische stellung der zwangsvorstellungenZeitschrift für die gesamte Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 1914
- Zur Geschichte und Kritik der sogenannten psychischen ZwangszuständeArchiv Fur Psychiatrie Und Nervenkrankheiten, 1904
- Ueber einen wenig bekannten psychopathischen Zustand VortragArchiv Fur Psychiatrie Und Nervenkrankheiten, 1868