Characteristics of the main disorders of the emotional-volitional sphere

Emotions are the most important component of higher mental activity, necessary for a person’s adaptation to life in society. The term “emotion” itself comes from the Latin word “emoneo”, which means “excitement” or “feeling”. This reflects the attitude of any person to the world around him and to himself. That is why disorders of the psycho-emotional sphere negatively affect a person’s entire life, interfere with the formation of stable interpersonal relationships, and interfere with full-fledged professional activity. At the Leto mental health center, doctors pay special attention to finding out the cause of disorders of emotional development and only after that they select the appropriate tactics of drug treatment and psychological correction.

Features of the formation of the emotional-volitional sphere

There are lower and higher emotions. The first include innate instincts, determined by the functioning of the subcortical region of the brain. They appear already in the first days of a baby’s life: for example, a child “signals” pain, hunger, and discomfort with loud crying.

Higher emotions are associated with certain spiritual needs (moral, cognitive and social). Their formation occurs as they grow older under the influence of various external circumstances: upbringing, society, etc. It is through communication with peers, parents and other people that the child experiences feelings such as love, hatred, affection, empathy, and fear. And the environment largely determines what emotions will prevail in the character.

In everyday life, a mentally healthy person experiences a variety of feelings that correspond to his state of health and situation. A long-lasting emotional state is called a mood. Short-term but very intense emotions that arise under the influence of circumstances that are significant for a particular person are called affect: grief, extreme delight, shame, bewilderment, etc.

The experience of affects has a huge impact on the perception of the world and the formation of a specific personality. That is why experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry consider experiencing a stressful situation as one of the main causes of psycho-emotional disorders. Affects significantly influence a person’s overall well-being. Strong feelings are accompanied by:

• increased blood pressure;
• increased heart rate and breathing;
• sweating;
• dilation or constriction of the pupils;
• paleness or redness of the skin.

But sometimes the state of passion does not pass without a trace, and the consequences of such strong experiences persist in the form of causeless anxiety, fear and internal tension - these feelings underlie most emotional and personal disorders.

Symptoms of epileptoid personality disorder

If we talk about the classification of emotionally unstable personality disorder, ICD-10 divides it into two subtypes:

1. Impulsive.
2. Borderline.

Emotionally unstable personality disorder of the impulsive type is characterized by severe emotional lability (frequent change of mood for no reason), a tendency to impulsive actions and aggressive outbursts with an inability to restrain itself. People with this disorder have a hard time withstanding criticism and reproach.

Epileptoids are characterized by jealousy, suspicion, a tendency to manipulate, irritability and outbursts of anger.

Emotionally unstable borderline personality disorder is less characterized by aggressive behavior towards others, but such people are prone to self-harm, even suicidal behavior. Read more about borderline disorder.

According to ICD-10, the disorder is characterized by general features of a personality disorder and specific features. The general criteria are as follows:

• begins to manifest itself in childhood and adolescence, persists into adulthood;
• it is difficult to identify clear phases of recovery/exacerbation;
• character traits prevent you from communicating with loved ones and strangers, and prevent you from developing professionally;
• a person is often self-centered, incapable of empathy (sympathy for other people), and constantly strives for pleasure.

Specific symptoms of the impulsive (explosive) type of emotionally unstable personality disorder:

1. Impulsivity in thoughts and actions.
2. Low ability to self-control.
3. Outbursts of anger.
4. Tendency to cruel and antisocial behavior.
5. Intolerance of blame and criticism.

To diagnose the impulsive type of emotionally unstable personality disorder, the psychotherapist talks in detail with the client.

Differential diagnosis is carried out with other personality disorders (borderline, hysterical), as well as with epilepsy. For this purpose, a pathopsychological study is used (performed by a clinical psychologist), EEG, and Neurotest.

An integrated approach to diagnosis is necessary so that the doctor can prescribe the most effective treatment for a given person.

Main types of psycho-emotional disorders

There are the following forms of disorders:

• reduction in the intensity of sensory experiences;
• hypertrophied emotional and behavioral disorders;
• emotional and affective disorders.

Syndromes accompanied by deterioration of emotional sensitivity

This group of mental disorders includes:

• Apathy: indifference, indifference to certain events and impressions. Characteristic of depression, dementia and congenital mental retardation, organic lesions of the central nervous system, schizophrenia and epilepsy.
• Anhedonia: loss of the ability to experience joy in life and activities that previously brought pleasure. Noted in emotional disturbance syndromes such as depressive and neurotic disorders.
• Mental anesthesia, which is accompanied by the inability to experience either positive or negative emotions. At the same time, the person realizes that he is not able to feel sympathy, sadness, joy, love and experiences this very painfully. Such a violation of the emotional and personal sphere is typical of severe depression.
• Hypotymia, the main symptom of which is a constant depressed mood with feelings of despondency, hopelessness and melancholy.
• Ideational retardation. It manifests itself in a slower pace of thinking, a decrease in the speed of formation of logical associations and abstract images. Without treatment, this form of psycho-emotional state disorder turns into stupor with complete immobility.

The syndrome of psycho-emotional “dullness” is considered separately, in which the sensory reaction is clearly reduced and does not correspond to what is happening. The main manifestations of higher emotional activity gradually disappear - all further actions of the patient are “dictated” only by instincts. Similar symptoms occur in severe mental illnesses, in particular in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders, in the terminal stages of alcoholism and drug addiction.

For this kind of emotional-volitional disorders the following are typical:

• pessimistic thoughts;
• decreased self-esteem;
• doubts about one’s own professional suitability and moral character.

Patients consider themselves failures, unworthy, worthless people. The future has no prospects, everything is seen in a gloomy light, a person expects only unpleasant events - illness, career destruction, dismissal, impoverishment, etc. He cannot remember any pleasant events: only mistakes and failures come to mind.

Increasing the intensity of psycho-emotional reactions

Mental hyperesthesia is manifested by excessive experiences of any emotions, both positive and negative. Such symptoms often occur in the prodromal period of many mental disorders, in particular schizophrenia, hysteria, dissociative syndrome, with severe intoxication with alcohol and drugs, and organic lesions of the central nervous system.

Such disturbances in the psycho-emotional state are accompanied by a feeling of joy, bliss, delight and euphoria, and a sense of personal superiority. It is possible to develop delusions with ideas of greatness, invention, and religion. In severe cases, obsessive thoughts are accompanied by auditory hallucinations: a person hears voices that talk about his high destiny, call him a “messiah,” etc.

In some cases, a manic syndrome develops, accompanied by an acceleration of all thought processes. The patient talks incessantly, screams, is agitated, cannot sit in one place, and makes chaotic, aimless movements. He does not feel tired and is not able to be critical of his own condition.

Emotional and behavioral disorders

The most common manifestation of the syndrome is phobic disorders. The main symptom of this pathology is a very strong, irrational fear of a certain object or situation. This group of diseases includes isolated phobias (fear of animals, insects, heights, etc.) and more complex disorders of emotional control: fear of open spaces and crowded places (agoraphobia), speaking in public and condemnation from others (social phobia).

general characteristics

Emotions are mental states that reflect a person’s attitude to current events, to people and to himself.
Emotional reactions consist of three components: a feeling of experience, changes in physiological processes and the appearance of external expressive complexes. In other words, a person feels an emotion (joy, anger, fear, sadness), experiences changes in the functioning of the body (sweating, heartbeat) and expresses his state with the help of facial expressions and gestures. Emotional states become pathological when their duration, intensity and content do not correspond to the situation and bring physical and psychological discomfort. Psycho-emotional disorders are characterized by unreasonable and inadequate affect, do not fit into the usual time frame, interfere with the performance of social functions, are perceived as painful or are not recognized by the person himself.

Cost of services

This list does not contain all prices for services provided by our clinic. The full price list can be found on the “Prices” , or by calling: 8(969)060-93-93. Initial consultation is FREE!

Features of diagnosis and treatment

The severity of disturbances in the emotional and personal sphere is determined using a special psychological testing system. Analysis of the answers to the questionnaire allows the doctor to assess whether the patient is aware of the changes happening to him, whether he understands the need to start therapy, and to create a general description of his personality.

The treatment tactics for psychoemotional disorders depend on the clinical picture. For severe depressive syndrome, hypothymia and apathy, antidepressants, anxiolytics and thymoleptics are indicated. In case of manic syndrome, sedatives are prescribed; in severe cases, the problem can only be solved in a clinical setting - hospitalization and the use of antipsychotics under round-the-clock medical supervision are necessary.

If symptoms of psycho-emotional disorders appear, it is better not to engage in self-diagnosis and self-medication, but to consult a specialized specialist as soon as possible. To make an appointment or call a doctor at home, contact our operators on a 24-hour anonymous phone number 8(969)060-93-93.