Definition of emotional lability in psychology

a brief description of

Organic emotionally labile disorder is a pathological condition characterized by changes in mood for no reason or with minor exposure to irritating factors. Emotional lability is characteristic of people with hysterical and infantile character types. External manifestations of feelings do not always reflect a person’s internal state. Negative emotions are quickly replaced by positive ones and vice versa. A typical example is children under 1 year old, when they laugh through tears and cry until they are distracted from this process. The syndrome appears when:

• serious nervous shocks;
• suffered severe somatic diseases;
• epilepsy;
• physical and mental exhaustion;
• VSD (vegetative-vascular dystonia);
• asthenic syndrome;
• depressive disorders.

To confirm or refute the diagnosis, you need to contact a therapist, after which he will give a referral to a specialist (neurologist, psychiatrist, cardiologist, endocrinologist). Associated diseases are:

• hypertension or hypotension;
• cerebral thromboangiitis;
• traumatic brain injury;
• cerebral atherosclerosis, tumor.

In addition, in psychology there is a labile personality type, when a sharp change in mood is associated with a peculiarity of the nervous system, and not with diseases.

What characterizes intellectual instability?

Unlike emotional lability, its intellectual subtype can be very useful in a person’s everyday life. For example, intellectual lability is characterized by the ability to quickly switch attention and instantly respond to surrounding circumstances. Also, a person with similar phenomena has the ability to quickly learn new skills and abilities. It is easier for them to learn and be in conditions that are not natural for them.

The higher a person’s intellectual lability, the more successful he is in life. His reaction is heightened, he can be trained, explores new opportunities, and is able to succumb to feelings of envy, motivating himself with this. And those who do not have the described type of lability are more susceptible to anger, a feeling of fatigue, irritability, and nervous disorders.

Therefore, passivity and stability of the intellect are a negative quality for a person.

Causes

External and internal factors contribute to the appearance of lability. Sudden changes in mood and inappropriate behavior may be associated with characteristics of the central nervous system, character, and temperament.

The main reasons for changes in the psycho-emotional background:

1. Erratic, non-steroidal or sensitive in nature.
2. Dysfunction of the sympathetic or parasympathetic parts of the central nervous system. They are responsible for adequate sensitivity of the environment, metabolic processes, thermoregulation, mood, and sweating.
3. Brain diseases.

Provoking factors are:

• emotional stress, central nervous system exhaustion;
• physical fatigue;
• chronic stress, severe shocks;
• avitaminosis;
• psychological trauma, mental disorders;
• depression;
• endocrine diseases, hormonal imbalance;
• the presence of serious diseases not directly related to the central nervous system.

Emotional lability can be temporary or permanent. In the first case, the person’s condition normalizes after eliminating the provoking factors. In other words, you need to take a break from everyone and everything. Constant lability implies individual characteristics of the body, the presence of pathologies that cannot be eliminated. The relief in this case is temporary. Relapses occur either constantly or very often.

Adviсe

It is important to exclude all possible irritants

1. It must be taken into account that the patient’s close circle may be an irritant for the occurrence of a seizure. Therefore, it is necessary to correct behavior not only for the patient, but also for those closest to him. This will save you from additional stress.
2. You need to find time to change your work process, go for a walk or sit in a cafe.
3. Relatives of a person with lability should try not to pay attention to his behavior. This will allow him to relax.
4. He should avoid noisy companies, stressful factors, and topics that can cause irritation.

Characteristics of species

Psychologists divide lability into two types:

1. Borderline. Characterized by apathy, indifference, detachment, frustration. A person expresses emotions weakly and inactively and withdraws into himself. Anxiety, absent-mindedness, and tearfulness are often observed.
2. Impulsive. It manifests itself as aggressiveness, anger, addiction to bad habits, bad mood, pickiness. Such people are characterized by suicidal tendencies. Without the help of specialists, a person is able to realize his plans. Moreover, an impulsive patient can harm others without realizing his actions. Hot temper, inability to control, unpredictability are the main character traits of the patient. A person is dangerous to others and himself.

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For the central nervous system, any type of lability is destructive. An unstable psyche has a negative impact on all areas of human life. Types of lability:

1. Nervous. It has a negative effect on physiology, health, and general well-being. Changes in blood pressure, impaired thermoregulation, rapid heartbeat, headache, weakness, and fainting are observed. The patient is unable to adequately respond to irritating factors and cope with depression. The slightest emotional distress leads to a significant deterioration in well-being and health problems. Difficulties are difficult to overcome, conflicts are perceived acutely.
2. Intellectual lability. This species is not a pathology. The term refers to a person's ability to quickly switch from one task to another without making mistakes. Such people are called resourceful and enterprising. They have well-developed creative thinking. They quickly adapt and adapt to new situations. The success of an individual depends on intellectual lability.

1. Emotional. Characterized by instability of the emotional background. Rapid changes in mood are impossible or very difficult to control. A minor reason causes strong laughter or tears. A person is dependent on his own mood and state of mind. In an instant he can stop doing something, let everything take its course. Lability affects sleep, perception of reality, metabolic processes and hormonal levels. Increased anxiety and instant mood swings make a person unbearable. Either there is an acute need for society, then you want to retire, hide from everyone. Periods of euphoria are replaced by deep depression and emotional devastation.

Emotional and nervous lability prevents a person from adequately perceiving the situation and reacting to it correctly. The condition can be temporary, when the nervous system is depleted under the influence of external factors, and permanent (with pathologies of the central nervous system, brain). A predisposition to lability is typical for adolescents and pregnant women.

general information

Lability in the general concept means mobility, in particular the mental state.

Emotional lability is not a simple deviation in human behavior, it is a disorder affecting the nervous system, characterized by a variety of emotions.

There are two forms of such lability.

1. Borderline type. The personality is characterized by instability of interests, increased anxiety, and inability to concentrate on one thing. Vivid, multidirectional emotions are characteristic. Such people often become fixated on their own failures, bow down to difficulties, and feel tired.
2. Impulsive type. Such individuals have a negative mood, a predominance of negative emotions, and often develop depression and bad habits. They justify smoking by saying it helps calm their nerves. They are also characterized by suicidal tendencies. They can direct aggression both towards themselves and towards other people or objects. Hot temper can lead to domestic violence or vandalism. Such people, as a rule, are vindictive and vindictive; they are irritated by difficulties in everyday life and the need to obey management.

Features of manifestation

Symptoms manifest themselves in different ways. Some people often change their mood, while others demonstrate inappropriate behavior. The main manifestations of lability:

• mood outbursts;
• sharp reaction to comments, the slightest criticism addressed to oneself;
• sudden onset of a state of euphoria, tenderness, sentimentality;
• tearfulness;
• anger, aggression, capriciousness, pickiness;
• swearing;
• restlessness;
• hot temper;
• touchiness;
• conflict;
• lack of composure;
• excessive enthusiasm for something and rapid boredom of the same thing;
• change of interests;
• exposure to outside influence;
• inadequate self-esteem (overestimated or underestimated);
• scandals, hysteria with throwing things, breaking dishes.

In addition, a person experiences a deterioration in physical well-being:

• blood pressure surges;
• cardiopalmus;
• increased sweating;
• Dysregulation of temperature indicators (cold sweat, hot flashes);
• headache;
• fainting;
• weakness.

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In fact, the symptoms here are vague and imprecise. Similar conditions are observed with hormonal imbalance, pregnancy, central nervous system exhaustion, depression, vegetative-vascular dystonia, and problems with socialization.

Manifestation of lability in a child

Children have an unbalanced psyche by definition. They are emotional and hot-tempered. Laughter through tears is a common occurrence for babies. In adolescence, manifestations of lability are present in all girls and boys. At the same time, you need to sound the alarm when attacks of anger, aggressiveness, capriciousness or apathy manifest themselves too clearly and often. Main symptoms:

• moodiness;
• hysteria;
• aggressiveness;
• imbalance;
• excitability;
• excessive vulnerability;
• isolation and isolation or fear of loneliness.

Parents need to be extremely careful. It is quite difficult to distinguish psychopathy from hormonal changes. If a child behaves inappropriately, it is worth understanding the reasons. In some cases, a frank conversation helps, in others, observing the reaction to various factors, in others, consultation with a specialist.

Manifestations of lability in adults

When a child behaves inappropriately, one can refer to capriciousness and lack of basic concepts about the rules of behavior. If an adult demonstrates emotions too vividly, you should think about possible diseases and treatment methods.

In mentally healthy people, signs of lability appear with nervous and physical exhaustion. External factors are provocateurs. They get unsettled by personal problems, difficulties at work, and bereavements. In addition, adults become labile due to hormonal changes. Main manifestations:

• isolation;
• secrecy;
• vulnerability;
• hot temper;
• aggressiveness;
• tearfulness;
• excessive sentimentality;
• detachment;
• decreased self-esteem;
• mood swings;
• poor physical health;
• insomnia.

To normalize the condition, it is necessary to eliminate provoking factors and calm the nervous system.

Diagnostic methods

Patients are examined using several methods:

1. Conversation. The specialist listens to complaints and draws appropriate conclusions. The patient complains of uncontrollable outbursts of anger, tearfulness, and poor general health.
2. Observation. Consulting with a doctor causes some discomfort and anxiety. Unbalanced patients shake their legs, fidget with their fingers, twirl objects in their hands, and tap their pens on the table.
3. Psychodiagnostics. Psychological tests, techniques, and questionnaires are used. Based on the results of the study, the psycho-emotional state of the patient is determined. In case of asthenic syndrome, an additional performance test is carried out.

During the examination, the causes of lability are determined and directions of therapy are determined. In case of mental deviation, consultation with a psychiatrist is required. In other cases, you need to undergo a comprehensive diagnosis and examination by specialized specialists (endocrinologist, neurologist, cardiologist).

Behavior adjustment

Treatment in each case is selected individually. Methods and methods of therapy depend on the severity of the clinical picture and the cause of the pathological process. Conventionally, treatment is divided into medicinal and specific. In some cases it is possible to do without pills, but not without non-drug therapy.

Drug treatment

Includes taking sedatives and antidepressants. Sedative medications reduce brain activity and normalize the activity of the central nervous system. Antidepressants normalize the emotional background and increase performance. For physiological disorders, nootropic drugs are prescribed. These include Phezam, Piracetam, Aminolog, Gidazepam.

Valerian, motherwort, glod, Glycine or Glycised are prescribed as a sedative. Drug treatment with tranquilizers and antidepressants is carried out under the supervision of specialists. Medicines are selected individually.

Non-drug therapy

First of all, the provoking factors are eliminated. Sometimes it is enough to normalize your sleep and rest patterns and spend more time outdoors. It is recommended to do breathing exercises, meditate, exercise, and eat right. You must go to bed no later than 10 pm. The central nervous system rests and recovers during sleep. Sleeping between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. is especially beneficial. To get positive emotions, they communicate with pleasant people, watch comedy films, listen to music, and go swimming.

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Individual consultation with a psychologist

In our country, it is not customary to address your problems to a psychologist and pay money for someone to listen to you. A psychologist can be a loved one who sees the situation and knows why negative changes occur. If there is no such person, then you still need to go to a psychologist. The specialist determines the cause of the nervous condition and suggests how to get rid of it. Specific treatment methods include individual psychotherapy, group therapy, and counseling.

biofeedback therapy

The method of rehabilitation treatment stands for biofeedback. It is based on the development of self-control skills in patients to improve their condition. Treatment consists of special training and the use of equipment.

During the session, devices and a computer record changes in the functioning of body systems and transmit the image to the monitor. Information is displayed in the form of visual and audio signals. The patient hears how the body functions and reacts to various stimuli. A person learns to control his work, thereby gaining self-control skills in everyday life.

In 15 sessions, patients master the skills of nervous and muscle relaxation, learn to optimize the functioning of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and suppress painful manifestations on their own. The method has a number of contraindications and is not suitable for everyone. Among the contraindications:

• epilepsy;
• obesity;
• impairment of intelligence, memory;
• somatic and endocrine diseases;
• psychopathy;
• children under 5 years of age.

The duration of therapy is determined by the doctor.

Forecasts

Emotional lability manifests itself in all people during difficult periods of life. With an adequate reaction and support from loved ones, the condition quickly normalizes. People with a predisposition to lability need to learn self-control and find ways to relieve stress.

Effective ways to prevent lability are following a work and rest schedule, alternating physical and mental stress. Walking in the fresh air, good nutrition and communication with loved ones are mandatory.

Causes and symptoms of childhood emotional instability

A special feature of childhood lability is that it is difficult to diagnose. Mental illness can easily be confused with bad upbringing: banal capriciousness and spoiled behavior.

There are a number of reasons that accompany the appearance and clear formation of emotional lability in children:

• parenting: too strict or, conversely, lack of attention from loved ones, or spoiled;
• development of the disease, in this case emotional instability in behavior serves only as a sign.

Excessively strict upbringing leads to a child’s state in which he is in constant tension, is emotionally dependent on the world around him and reacts very sharply to any changes.

Lack of attention creates hysterical children. A labile child, demanding attention, resorts only to methods that are understandable to him - tears and hysterics. Without getting his way or achieving it, tears for the baby become the only way to communicate with adults and peers.

Being spoiled creates a person who is “simply hard to please.” A person who brings this trait into his adult life will never be satisfied with his life; everything will always be not enough for him. It will seem to him that he is being deprived, that he is not being given something. And this is constant stress, leading to emotional lability.

It is extremely difficult to diagnose children suffering from this pathology: exhausted parents who most often resort to strict educational measures, and children most often simply do not understand what is happening.

At home, sitting on the couch and discussing the child with grandparents or neighbors, a diagnosis cannot be made. Therefore, it is necessary to contact a specialist. In this case, qualified treatment from a neurologist, psychotherapist, as well as parental support is required.