Insanity (a somewhat outdated term that does not denote)
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
The article defines 'insanity' as an outdated term referring to severe mental disorders with significant intellectual impairments, disorientation, delusions, hallucinations, or extreme affective disturbances requiring psychiatric intervention. It distinguishes insanity from broader mental illnesses that may be less severe and less noticeable to others.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
INSANITY, a somewhat outdated term that does not denote any special form of mental illness, but rather mental illness in general, mental disorder, but in those more severe cases where there are significant violations of intellectual functions, orientation of the patient in time and space, delusional ideas, hallucinations, or such affective deviations that, by their intensity, affect the patient's behavior and require the adoption of corresponding specialized psychiatric measures. The term 'insanity' is thus narrower than 'mental illness,' since the latter, when not sharply expressed, can proceed completely unnoticed by others, for whom in such a case the patient is in no way 'insane.' A common synonym for insanity at the present time is 'psychosis.'
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“Insanity (a somewhat outdated term that does not denote).” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/insanity/