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A 28-year-old male asked:
What is the definition or description of: reality testing?
3 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Olukayode Awosikaanswered
Psychiatry 32 years experience
Ego Function: In psychoanalytic theory, the ego function by which the objective or real world and one's relationship to it are evaluated and appreciated by the self.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. Leonard Ladoanswered
Psychiatry 34 years experience
Reality testing: A reality test is something you do to help yourself come to grips with reality. When you have paranoid/delusional ideations, you have to do reality testing to help remind you of what is truly real and what is all in your mind. For example if you hear voices telling you demeaning comments or that you can fly and that you be best left in a dark corner and you belief these thought to be true.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. John Wynnanswered
Psychiatry 44 years experience
What is real?: The crucial ability to distinguish thoughts, feelings & perceptions (internal stimuli) from what is going on around you (external stimuli). Delusions, severe anxiety, or hallucinations may make reality testing difficult.
Example: you might get on the bus & feel others are looking at you, plotting against you. "i'm just thinking that, it's not really true" might indicate good reality testing.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Last updated Dec 9, 2013
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