Dyscopia

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Dyscopia consists of the Latin root copia, [1] which means abundance or plenty (see cornucopia), and the Greek prefix dys-, which means "bad", "abnormal", "difficult" or "impaired". [2]

Contents

This word has assumed two meanings, both of which are essentially a play on words based on the phonic similarity of the words "copy" and "cope" with copia. [1]

In the field of neurology, dyscopia is used to describe a type of developmental coordination disorder related to dyslexia and dysgraphia (inability to read or write). Specifically, it is taken to mean difficulty with coping. Sometimes a similar word, "acopia", is mistaken to mean the same, [3] although this is not a medical term and has no basis in Latin.

The term "dyscopia" has also made its way into general medical parlance as a tongue-in-cheek shorthand notation for patients who, after being examined and found to have no specific medical condition, are deemed to be not coping with certain aspects of their lives, and are presumed to be seeking treatment as a form of comfort from the medical profession. [4] More recently, and controversially, the term has been used in this context as a diagnosis for admission to hospital.

The words have also been used in medical notes as a cryptic indication that certain members of a seriously ill patient's family are not coping with the situation and should be afforded some extra consideration for their feelings when the case is being discussed.

As dystranscribia

In neurology, the word "dyscopia" is used to describe a condition which is common as one of the sequelae of cerebral commisurotomy, a neurosurgical procedure in which the left and right hemispheres of the brain are separated by severing the corpus callosum. This procedure has been shown to reduce the frequency and severity of seizures in extreme cases of epilepsy. [5]

An affected individual will exhibit difficulty with copying simple line drawings. This is often accompanied to lesser or greater degree by difficulty with writing and other fine motor skills. [6]

As 'not coping' in medical usage

Terms such as "social admission", "atypical presentation", and even the derogatory terms "bed blocker" or "crumblie" [7] [8] have been used in medical notes synonymously with dyscopia or acopia as a reason for hospital admission.

The use of the term has become sufficiently commonplace in medical notes that a recent publication of a psychiatric dictionary even cites it as an actual diagnosis. [9]

Patients who are likely to be labelled with one of these terms are sometimes frail and elderly or people with long-term disabilities. Their failure to cope is often a result of inadequate social support coupled with a deterioration of functional capability which is not clearly linked to an obvious or specific medical or psychiatric pathology.

Sometimes, however, despite the fact that terms such as acopia and social admission can be considered tongue-in-cheek by those adhering to the strictest of medical and psychiatric terminology, they can frequently describe a range of "symptoms", such as extreme lability and emotionality when demands are not met and the unwillingness of a minority of patients that might be encountered in psychiatry, to function and make ends meet, despite the fact that such patients might be lucid and able-bodied.

A possible controversy associated with using dyscopia and acopia as diagnoses could arise when wrongfully applied to those who have genuine problems with mobility; genuine medical conditions may be overlooked. Investigation of symptoms is a legitimate reason for admission, and if medical staff are too swift to dismiss concerns by use of such informal labels, genuine symptoms may not be taken seriously and investigated. This may lead to treatable conditions being overlooked, and in turn, result in compromised quality of life and unnecessary suffering.

Dyscopia (and likewise acopia), in this context, is not generally used by the medical community for fear of insulting the patient and bringing the caregiver's professional standing into question. [7] [8]

Colloquial usage

Acopia has been adopted as the name of a company based in Crawley, UK, presumably referring the correct Latin root of the word copia meaning abundance.

The words also appear to be gaining traction in common usage as colloquialisms [10] meaning emotional lability over trivial events or circumstances. This may well assist in demystifying the term and discouraging its usage in medical circles.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Receptive aphasia</span> Language disorder involving inability to understand language

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychiatric hospital</span> Hospital specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders

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Agraphia is an acquired neurological disorder causing a loss in the ability to communicate through writing, either due to some form of motor dysfunction or an inability to spell. The loss of writing ability may present with other language or neurological disorders; disorders appearing commonly with agraphia are alexia, aphasia, dysarthria, agnosia, acalculia and apraxia. The study of individuals with agraphia may provide more information about the pathways involved in writing, both language related and motoric. Agraphia cannot be directly treated, but individuals can learn techniques to help regain and rehabilitate some of their previous writing abilities. These techniques differ depending on the type of agraphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thought disorder</span> Disorder of thought form, content or stream

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dysgraphia</span> Neurological disorder of written expression

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Psychiatry</span> Branch of medicine devoted to mental disorders

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The relationship between religion and schizophrenia is of particular interest to psychiatrists because of the similarities between religious experiences and psychotic episodes. Religious experiences often involve reports of auditory and/or visual phenomena, which sounds seemingly similar to those with schizophrenia who also commonly report hallucinations and delusions. These symptoms may resemble the events found within a religious experience. However, the people who report these religious visual and audio hallucinations also claim to have not perceived them with their five senses, rather, they conclude these hallucinations were an entirely internal process. This differs from schizophrenia, where the person is unaware that their own thoughts or inner feelings are not happening outside of them. They report hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling, or tasting something that deludes them to believe it is real. They are unable to distinguish between reality and hallucinations because they experience these hallucinations with their bodily senses that leads them to perceive these events as happening outside of their mind. In general, religion has been found to have "both a protective and a risk increasing effect" for schizophrenia.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Cop ia". Archives.nd.edu. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Word Information - search results for: dys". Wordinfo.info. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Journal of altered states of consciousness, Volume 4
  4. ↑ "Welcome to Dyscopia : What does the word dyscopia mean?". Dyscopia.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  5. ↑ JOSEPH E. BOGEN, M.D. "THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRAIN I : DYSGRAPHIA AND DYSCOPIA FOLLOWING CEREBRAL COMMISSUROTOMY". Its.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Some Long Term Effects of Cerebral Commissurotomy in Man" (PDF). People.uncw.edu. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  7. 1 2 Archived March 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. 1 2 "‘Acopia’ and ‘social admission’ are not diagnoses: why older people deserve better" Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2008: 101: 168–174
  9. ↑ Campbell's Psychiatric Dictionary
  10. ↑ "Acopia - The AzureBlues". Azureblues.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
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