What is the term used to explain the condition in which a patient perceives that his/her face is distorted and his/her legs have become short?

Appeared in: DSSSB - 28 August 2019 (Shift-1)

Explanation

Depersonalization is characterized by a persistent or recurring feeling of being detached from one's own mental processes or body.
The patient's experience of their face being distorted and legs appearing short is a specific example of a body image distortion, which is a core feature of depersonalization.
Unlike illusions or hallucinations, depersonalization is a disturbance in self-perception where reality testing otherwise remains intact.
The stimulus is the person's own body, but the perception of it is fundamentally altered, making them feel as if it's unreal or changed.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: An illusion is a misinterpretation of a real external stimulus. The patient's perception is about their own body (an internal stimulus), not an external object.
Option B: Denationalization is a political or legal term referring to the revocation of citizenship. It has no relevance in a medical or psychological context.
Option C: A hallucination is a perception in the absence of any real stimulus. The patient's body is a real stimulus, so this is a distortion of perception, not a false perception.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Disturbances of Perception to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
Nurses must assess for perceptual disturbances as they can indicate underlying psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, or substance withdrawal.
The priority nursing intervention is to ensure the safety of a patient experiencing depersonalization, as the distressing feelings can lead to anxiety, panic, and impaired functioning.
It is important to validate the patient's feeling of distress without confirming the distorted perception (e.g., "That sounds very frightening," rather than "Yes, your legs look short").

How to Approach the Question

First, analyze the core of the question. The patient is experiencing a distorted perception of their own body.
Evaluate each option based on its definition in psychiatry.
Eliminate 'Illusion' because it involves misinterpreting an external stimulus.
Eliminate 'Hallucination' because it involves perception without a stimulus; here, the body is the stimulus.
Eliminate 'Denationalization' as it is not a psychological term.
This leaves 'Depersonalization,' which correctly describes a feeling of detachment from or distortion of one's own body.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Disturbances of Perception
Stem keywords: perceives, face is distorted, legs have become short
Lead-in keywords: term used to explain
Clinical cues: The patient's complaint involves a distorted perception of their own body, which points towards a disturbance of self-perception rather than a misinterpretation of the external environment.

Question ID

QsUMEgXhqxuww4xAqXFFt5

Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) pp. 3815-3817, 3814-3816, 3825-3827

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