What is mental balance?
Mental balance represents harmony in a person’s state of mind.
This process is dynamic, that is, it is constantly on the verge of balancing between stability and chaos in the inner world.
From the point of view not of psychology, but of physiology, mental balance is achieved by the balance of the excitatory and inhibitory systems of the body .
The human psyche is under the control of the brain , that is, higher nervous activity, within which the processes of excitation and inhibition are formed as the main psychoneurological phenomena.
The stimulating effect is exerted by the sympathetic nervous system, which generates activating impulses and is a key element of protection against aggressive influences.
In mental processes, such activity is manifested by concentration, seriousness, speed of movements and decisions, and swiftness .
The predominance of activation in a person’s inner world is sometimes accompanied by aggressive reactions and a tendency to conflicts, as a manifestation of a tendency to protect one’s own interests.
When inhibitory processes predominate, internal equilibrium shifts in the opposite direction. At the level of nervous regulation, this effect is exerted by the parasympathetic nervous system, which causes relaxation of spasmodic organs, inhibition of reactions, and relief of anxiety and anxiety.
At the same time, a person is more easily attuned to a calm, restful sleep, is able to make informed decisions slowly, and is not prone to quarrels and anger.
Both of these systems are vegetative, that is, they are not controlled by consciousness , but their role in maintaining internal balance is very great.
A higher level of maintaining mental balance is located in the cerebral cortex. There, certain behavior patterns are formed on the basis of life experience, upbringing, training and conditioned reflex activity.
With regard to mental balance, the type of these mental processes , which determines the speed and nature of their occurrence. These features are described within the framework of dividing people into temperaments.
Sanguine people are considered the most mentally balanced. They are optimists and tend to have a positive attitude and average reaction speed and mental activity.
Phlegmatic people are also stable. They have a lower speed and brightness of reactions, but are also more inclined to maintain mental harmony.
But choleric people are a striking example of mental imbalance towards hyperactivation , while melancholic people, on the contrary, reflect the slowness of mental activity.
Mental balance is reflected not only in characteristic behavior and appearance, but also in social and professional stability.
In the case of internal harmony, a person avoids conflicts in the family and at work and strives for a gentle and calm resolution of controversial situations.
How can a family help their sick relative and themselves?
Confidential contact with a doctor
“Mentally ill” patients are very sensitive to criticism and encouragement from the attending physician. Ask your doctor questions that concern you, because for many, schizophrenia is a poorly understood condition. However, there is a small “but” here. If the patient’s mental state does not fall under Article 29, then information about his health can be shared even with close relatives only with his consent.
Hospitalization
If the doctor insists on hospitalization, this means that the patient’s mental state cannot be corrected in a dispensary. What is the advantage of this treatment? Firstly, in a hospital it is easier and faster to select adequate therapy, since the patient is under medical supervision around the clock. Secondly, all medications that are prescribed to your relative will be received free of charge. And thirdly, in the hospital the patient is guaranteed to take medications. Many people are frightened by the forced placement of a loved one in a hospital. Relatives feel guilty towards the patient. But in fact, involuntary hospitalization is similar to an operation to open an abscess: an incision is necessary for the abscess to heal.
Risks are close
At the end of 2020, at a specialized conference dedicated to the dangerous behavior of people with mental illness, disappointing numbers were announced. 50,000 patients in Russia
, who are under constant dispensary observation, and coercive measures in connection with aggressive and unsafe behavior towards others were applied by court decision to more than 26,000 living in families.
It should be noted that we are talking only about people with official diagnoses, meanwhile, some experts believe that currently about 40% of people in the country suffer from mental disorders
, which have not yet transformed into serious illnesses.
How to live nearby?
There is a temptation to completely control your sick relative. However, by overprotection you deprive his healthy part of his personality (and, of course, there is one) of the right to at least some kind of autonomy. It is necessary to learn to separate a person and his disease. When a patient behaves aggressively or inappropriately, understand: now this is not your beloved son, grandson or husband. This is the illness speaking in him. Later, having “come to your senses,” your loved one will calm down and be able to interact with you differently. In our society, mentally ill people are treated with extreme caution. And that is why it is especially important for your relative to feel your support and love, to understand that you accept him for who he is. And lastly: do not try to punish yourself, take responsibility for what happened. You are not to blame for what happened. No matter what, life goes on.
How can you unbalance a person?
To disrupt mental balance, it is necessary to influence a person with a force exceeding the usual threshold .
Each mentally stable person is characterized by a certain level of stability of ongoing processes. They are expressed in the mechanisms of mental defense and adaptation.
With a sharp and strong impact on these mechanisms, they may not work or start late, when the processes of destabilization have already begun.
This is the so-called threshold of acceptable irritation. It varies within individuals depending on the area of influence: resistance to stress at work can be high, while conflicts within the family are perceived more acutely.
This trait of mental influence is called selectivity. To destroy a person’s harmony, it is also necessary to influence a certain “weak” place in his psyche .
A special position is occupied by people with a so-called vulnerable mental status .
In this case, the following negative events can occur in a person’s life:
- death of a loved one;
- serious illness of a relative or your own health problems;
- layoffs at work;
- threats from someone else;
- long-term depression;
- being treated in a psychiatric department;
- women after childbirth;
- divorce;
- cheating spouse;
- difficult political situation (war, natural disasters).
All these events create an unreliable background of increased readiness of the psyche to react.
On the one hand, this is a normal defense mechanism, on the other hand, it can lead to a sharp disturbance in mental balance due to the great mobility of all intrapersonal processes.
To throw a person off balance, it is enough to:
- increase stress at work or in the family;
- call a person to an unpleasant conversation at particularly sensitive moments;
- not to give in to a conflict if you are wrong;
- raise your voice at your opponent;
- create additional difficulties at work and in everyday life;
- misinform a person on any issue.
The list of these points can be continued, since disturbing the internal balance is a simple task in the conditions of modern stress-filled life .
One of the main mistakes of people with problematic mental health
This mistake is trying to completely eliminate stress from your life. Sometimes people with unstable psyches withdraw from the world around them - they quit their jobs, limit their social circle, and begin to rarely leave the house. But such a distance from reality makes the psyche even more unstable; a person cut off from life begins to see the world only in black and white, thinking loses flexibility and ultimately a prolonged depression and loss of desire to live sets in. If you begin to notice similar behavior in yourself or loved ones, you should immediately take action to prevent sad consequences.
What does an unbalanced person mean: an example
The imbalance of mental processes means their sharp variability under external influence.
It is easy to piss off such a person and turn a dialogue with him into a scandal or quarrel.
The following signs are typical for an unbalanced person:
- increased emotionality;
- emotional lability;
- hyperanxiety;
- inappropriate response to stimuli;
- the desire to prove to everyone that he is right in any situation;
- paradoxical stubbornness, followed by a sharp depression of activity;
- difficulty in communicating at the everyday level (“flashes like a match”).
A striking example of an unbalanced personality and the conflict that follows its activities is the development of a quarrel between spouses over everyday problems , for example, unironed linen, in a difficult work environment and problems with superiors.
Due to extreme fatigue and difficulties at work, a woman is not always able to have time to do all the household chores; if her husband considers such neglect in his opinion unacceptable, he will express his complaint about this.
In a state of severe fatigue, the female psyche is imbalanced, and the response to this may be a quarrel, scandal or mutual claim.
In the case of mental balance, the conflict would be settled by the promise to deal with things when possible. But when both spouses are under the influence of stressful circumstances, the severity of the reaction increases, and the psyche begins to react to habitual problems in an exaggerated manner .
It should be noted that people who have fewer negative aspects in their work activities have calmer and balanced family relationships , which is not accidental, because this situation contributes to the creation of mental imbalance of individuals.
Refusal to take medications
With schizophrenia, in addition to thinking and the emotional sphere, the patient’s critical attitude towards himself also suffers. Patients often ask the doctor to reduce the dosage of medications, and often they themselves “quietly” stop taking the medications. They motivate this with the words “I feel better.” It is not possible to influence the patient's decision through persuasion. The result of refusing to take medications is placement in a hospital. After discharge, the scenario repeats. What can you offer relatives? In modern psychiatry, there are prolongation drugs - medications that are prescribed by injection once or twice a month. They are as effective as tablets and are more convenient to take.
Energy in a peaceful direction
The patient, diagnosed with schizophrenia, a young, beautiful woman, discontinued her medications on her own after discharge. Over the course of a month, there was a sharp deterioration in his condition: delusions of religious content, aggression towards relatives and, as a result, forced hospitalization. This was repeated until a certain point, until something changed her attitude towards treatment. Perhaps it was the reluctance to end up in the hospital again. Maybe the endless conversations with the doctor had an impact. But the following happened: she began to regularly take medications and visit her doctor. The woman channeled her irrepressible energy into helping homeless people. She picked them up on the street, gave them food and shelter in her home for a while, then accompanied them to a shelter for the needy. She spoke enthusiastically about her charitable activities. This patient was never admitted to the hospital again.
How to behave with such people?
with such people everywhere and constantly.
Imbalance of mental manifestations is a constant companion to great success at work, as well as the current rhythm of life.
To minimize the unpleasant consequences of communicating with such individuals, you should:
- Be patient with complaints.
- Do not respond to raising your voice or otherwise engaging in a conflict situation.
- Whenever possible, agree with your opponent without violating your own principles.
- Try to smooth out the conflict with goodwill and friendliness.
- Do not try to point out to a person a solution to his problems or their cause.
- Do not use loud speech, but speak confidently and clearly.
- Avoid manipulation by an unbalanced person.
- Use affirmative language in communication in the present and future tense.
When communicating with such a person, you should show him your willingness to help if necessary and respect for his difficulties by default.
It is important to empathize if this person is important and close to you, but not to turn to pity.
You should not allow the personality to disturb your space and current state, but you should try not to get involved in direct conflict. The best strategy in this case is to ignore or avoid .
An unbalanced person seeks to subconsciously assert his position at the expense of others in order to feel his own worth in solving the problem. This transfer of behavior from an exciting subject to others is typical for unbalanced people.
In this case, you can directly indicate to the person his intention, using phrases such as “don’t try to take it out on me,” “don’t use me as a lightning rod.”
It is important that these words do not sound harsh or pretentious, causing retaliatory anger . First you need to convince the person that you understand that he has severe oppressive conditions, but at the same time he cannot show disrespect for others.
Aggression
Aggressive behavior can be observed in a patient both during an exacerbation and during remission. What to do? First of all, never argue. This is ineffective and also unsafe. It is necessary to try to verbally reassure the patient, go to another room, and give him the opportunity to come to his senses. Be sure to seek help from a doctor, do not delay hospitalization out of pity.
In what situations can aggressive behavior be observed? For example, if you prevent the patient from doing what he loves. No matter how strange this hobby may seem to you, it can be of great significance to your loved one. And any interference will be regarded as an encroachment on his personal space. You need to learn to control your negative emotions. In response to your dissatisfaction, the patient may respond with an aggressive response.
