Apato-abulic syndrome

Apato - abulic syndrome (simplex) is a mental disorder of the emotional-volitional sphere, in which a person experiences a lack of emotionality, motivation, apathy towards everything that surrounds him, as well as a complete decrease in vital activity. This disorder is accompanied by inactivity and sloppiness.

The pathology usually manifests itself in adolescence, but in some cases it can develop at a later age. The main characteristic of the syndrome is emotional impoverishment. The changes that occur are not controlled by the person himself.

At the same time, people around may not notice these changes for quite a long time.

Terminology

In the case described, the term “syndrome” implies a set of psychological disorders. This use is justified, since we are talking about a combination of signs of 2 mental disorders: apathy and abulia.

Both conditions negatively affect a successful person because they affect his activity, will and desire to win.

Apathy is detachment from the world around us, indifference to the events happening around us. For a business person, especially a leader, this state is dangerous because there is no desire to be active.

Abulia is a pathological lack of the ability to make decisions based on reflection and the desire to implement decisions made. Lack of will is observed even when a person realizes the importance and necessity of the decision being made.

In psychiatry, abulia is considered a more severe form of apathy. If apatico-abulsic syndrome is recorded, one condition is superimposed on another. And this is fraught with serious consequences.

What is the danger of these conditions?

The loss of activity immediately affects business skills, the ability to make decisions and control their implementation. For a successful person, especially a responsible manager (leader), this combination can cause many negative phenomena, such as:

• errors in work;
• financial losses;
• loss of authority.

Without methodical treatment, apatiko abulic syndrome turns a successful person into a weak-willed doll. He is unable to perform even the simplest work. Loss of earnings, decrease in social status - all this is a consequence of the development of the syndrome.

However, lack of will is not the worst thing, experts in the field of psychiatry note. Abulia is one of the signs of the development of a more serious mental illness. It may indicate that the patient is developing mental disorders such as:

• schizophrenia;
• Parkinson's disease;
• dementia.

With the development of abulia, akinetic mutism may appear, in which a person, without losing the ability to move and speak, is practically in a state of waking coma.

Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the symptoms of a mental disorder in time in order to organize methodical treatment.

Treatment of abulia

Treatment of abulia is complex, since it involves methods of eliminating the root cause and abulia as a consequence. The root cause is treated with various medications:

1. Schizophrenia is treated with atypical antipsychotics.
2. Depression is treated with antidepressants.

Elderly people need attention from their relatives. Middle-aged people are encouraged to actively engage in various activities and hobbies. As for children, their treatment should be handled by a specialist. Parents themselves often nurture and groom their child’s abulous state, which is why he gets used to it, taking it for granted.

The main directions in the treatment of abulia are:

• Involvement in work when there is a reference to the fact that without the patient nothing will happen.
• Introducing it in the company of relatives and friends.
• Visiting interesting, diverse places.

Separately, we consider senile (age-related) abulia, which can develop against the background of thoughts that no one needs a person, everyone has abandoned him. Various events will help here, where relatives will attract an elderly person. He should feel needed, significant, responsible, which will create a desire to take action.

Additionally, physiotherapeutic measures are used:

1. Therapeutic swimming.
2. Phototherapy.
3. Oxygen barotherapy.
4. Therapeutic baths.
5. Mineral waters of thermal springs.
6. Spa treatment.
7. Highlands.
8. Rest in places south of your place of residence.

Homeopathy offers the following medications to eliminate abulia:

• Carbo vegetabilis.
• Kali phosphoricum.
• Glonoinum.
• Gelsemium.

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Symptoms of the syndrome

The main behavioral sign that a person has developed apathetic abulic syndrome is a noticeable decrease in activity. It happens in all areas: business, family, personal.

At the first stage, a refusal is recorded:

• hobbies, hobbies;
• communication with friends;
• active rest.

In his free time from work, a person does nothing, sits or lies, without thinking. Answers questions in monosyllables or ignores the interlocutor.

At work, an employee susceptible to the syndrome mechanically fulfills his obligations, does not show initiative, and does not participate in the life of the team. At corporate parties, he remains aloof or refuses to participate at all.

With the development of apathetic abulia, interest in work disappears, the patient begins to play truant, wandering aimlessly through the streets. A characteristic sign of the syndrome - a reluctance to go far from home - after some time makes a person completely refuse to leave the home.

However, it should be taken into account that such symptoms are not unique to the syndrome we describe. Therefore, there is no need to rush to conclusions. If it is not possible to immediately turn to a specialist in psychiatry for help, you can independently conduct a clarifying diagnosis based on a number of other indicators.

Symptoms of abulia

Signs of abulia are:

• Spontaneous and incoherent movements
• Lack of purposefulness in actions
• Inhibition in reactions and expressions of emotions
• Passivity and lethargy
• Reduced social interaction, up to complete self-isolation
• Lack of interest in simple games (in children)
• Lack of interest in yourself as a person

Often, the symptoms of abulia are ignored, considering it temporary depression. This exacerbates a dangerous problem that becomes increasingly difficult to solve over time.

More than 9,000 people have gotten rid of their psychological problems using this technique.

Physical signs

A non-specialist can identify apathetic abulic syndrome by a number of the following external characteristics:

1. Facial reactions to external stimuli disappear.
2. Changes in voice modulation occur.
3. There is no autonomic reaction of the body.

The patient does not show his emotions with characteristic movements of the facial muscles. It does not show joy, irritation, sadness, confusion and other feelings. The face turns into a mask.

The change in voice is expressed by the absence of emotional notes in it. No matter what happens, the patient speaks in an even, colorless voice. Answers to questions are monosyllabic, and conversation is reduced to a minimum of words.

The body stops responding to external factors in the usual way. The skin does not turn red during an attack of anger and does not become paler from fear. Excitement is not accompanied by a sparkle in the eyes. This suggests that the nervous system stops transmitting signals to initiate appropriate reactions.

Psychological signs

The most noticeable psychological symptoms of the syndrome include the following:

1. Craving for affective actions.
2. Refusal of public moral principles.
3. Inability to express one's thoughts.

The latter is especially undesirable for a successful person, because a violation of communication abilities destroys all his projects and endeavors.

Affectiveness begins to manifest itself in attacks of cruelty, which the patient commits without reason, both against relatives or colleagues, and strangers.

In addition, this behavior manifests itself in an increased interest in everything that is public or social taboo:

• death and decay;
• sexual perversions;
• ignoring hierarchy;
• destruction.

A sign of immoral behavior is loss of modesty. The patient may walk naked in front of others, have sexual intercourse in front of strangers, masturbate, or defecate.

In addition, a person stops taking care of himself and does not observe the basics of basic hygiene.

Evidence of developing deviations is the occurrence of characteristic obsessive movements in the patient:

• leg swing;
• tapping your foot or fingers;
• rubbing hands.

The presence of such signs indicates that apatobulic syndrome has developed and it is necessary to take measures to treat it.

Apato-abulic syndrome

Apato-abulic syndrome is often diagnosed in adolescents aged 14-15 years.

Psychopathology, called apatho-abulic syndrome (AAS), is manifested by symptoms of two disorders at once - apathy and abulia.

Apathy is an emotional impoverishment manifested in a lack of interest in life. A person does not show any aspirations, has no desires or motivation to perform any actions.

Abulia is the inability to make decisions independently. This mental disorder is associated with a lack of willpower and weak character.

Symptoms of apato-abulic syndrome can be characterized as a sudden loss of interest in life and a complete lack of desire for any activity.

The development of this syndrome is well traced if there is enough data to draw a conclusion about the character and behavior of the patient before the onset of AAS. The specificity of the disorder is that it does not occur overnight. Symptoms of apathy and abulia appear gradually and progress slowly. People of all ages, regardless of gender, face pathology. Quite often, psychopathology is diagnosed in adolescents aged 14-15 years.

At the same time, AAS is rarely an independent disease. Typically, the development of the syndrome is preceded by some kind of mental disorder or head injury.

How does the pathology manifest itself?

With apato-abulic syndrome, interest in life is completely lost and a desire for loneliness appears

Main symptoms of the syndrome:

• pathological laziness;
• lack of shame;
• desire for loneliness;
• untidiness and neglect of hygiene;
• scarcity or complete absence of emotions;
• loss of interest in life;
• impoverishment of speech, facial expressions;
• motility disorders.

Apatoabulic syndrome is striking if a person has not seen the patient for a long time, and then finds him in a state of complete lack of will and lack of interest in life. In this case, the patient’s behavior will immediately alert and cause concern.

As a rule, patients with this disorder prefer not to leave their home. Quite often their place of stay is limited to the bed. A person deliberately chooses loneliness, does not make contact with other people, and demonstrates a lack of emotions and curiosity.

People with this disorder experience pathological laziness. Making any movement is perceived by a person as an overly tiring action, so people do not change clothes and neglect personal hygiene. A person constantly wears the same clothes and does not change clothes before going to bed. At the same time, the state of one’s own body and appearance do not evoke any emotions in the patient. Criticism addressed to the patient will not be perceived by him and will not cause any emotions, since the feeling of shame in apato-abulic syndrome is completely absent.

In advanced cases, indifference to oneself takes such forms that the patient relieves natural needs directly into bed, not paying attention to the look and smell of his clothes and the room in which he is located.

Note! A characteristic manifestation of this disorder is the patient’s round-the-clock viewing of television programs, while what he saw is not at all retained in the person’s memory.

People with this psychopathology noticeably change their speech. It becomes monotonous, loses its emotional coloring, facial expressions and gestures are either completely absent or very weakly expressed.

It is interesting that with apato-abulic syndrome, higher needs are lost, but lower ones are activated. Patients often exhibit hypersexuality and an insatiable appetite, bordering on gluttony. At the same time, patients are reluctant to make contact with another person, quite often they do not answer the questions posed and do not maintain a conversation, arguing that they are tired.

Forms of violation

Apato-abulic syndrome can be mild or severe. With a mild form of the disorder, the patient does not show interest in life and the people around him, but does not acquire pathological laziness. The patient can be involved in various types of activities, despite a noticeable decrease in the productivity of his work. This form of pathology can occur against the background of depression and schizophrenia and is characterized by a fairly favorable prognosis, since a well-designed treatment regimen can quickly return the patient to normal life.

In severe cases, the person categorically refuses to do anything. He needs solitude, spends all his time in bed, demonstrates complete emotional burnout and lack of any interest in others. The only action that such patients agree to perform is eating. This form of pathology requires complex long-term treatment, recovery is very slow.

Reasons for the development of the syndrome

Apato-abulic syndrome can develop against the background of traumatic brain injury

As already mentioned, apato-abulic syndrome almost never acts as an independent disorder. This pathology is one of the symptoms of the following diseases:

• schizophrenia;
• Huntington's chorea;
• brain injuries;
• tumor neoplasms.

Apato-abulic syndrome is most often diagnosed in schizophrenia. This disease is manifested by the breakdown of thinking processes and emotional reactions, and is designated in ICD-10 by code F20. Pathology can take various forms and manifest itself at any age. With this disease, the psychopathological syndrome progresses slowly. Most often, apatho-abulic syndrome accompanies paranoid schizophrenia in adolescents.

Huntington's chorea is a genetic disease manifested by hyperkinesis, in which a person makes chaotic uncontrolled movements of the limbs. The pathology is incurable and over time leads to the development of dementia, which may be accompanied by apato-abulic syndrome. In ICD-10, this disease is designated by code G10.

Apato-abulic syndrome can develop against the background of traumatic brain injury, inflammatory diseases of the brain, or the influence of toxic substances on the brain. In rare cases, the syndrome appears in patients who have suffered a cerebral stroke.

The cause of apato-abulic syndrome can also be a brain tumor.

Causes of the syndrome

Before talking about how to treat this disorder, you should consider the reasons why it appears. They are divided into:

1. Physiological.
2. Psychological.

In the first case, the development of the syndrome is facilitated by head injuries (general concussions, targeted impacts), in which the frontal lobes of the brain are affected. The disorder can also occur as a result of a stroke.

In the second case, the cause is nervous tension and stress. Therefore, it is mainly active, business people who are at risk. Excessive psychological stress causes apathy. Without proper treatment, it leads to the development of apatobulic syndrome.

Much less often, the disease occurs as a result of a genetic predisposition: for example, if someone in the family has schizophrenia.

Symptoms of the disorder observed in healthy people are caused by their personal characteristics (passivity, infantility). Modern psychiatry considers the syndrome as a consequence of a motivation disorder. Based on this, treatment methods for the patient are prescribed.

Causes of pathology

Among the causes of apatho-abulia are those associated with various traumatic brain injuries:

1. The syndrome manifests itself as a result of injury or tumor of the right or left lobe of the brain.
2. May be the result of a cerebral hemorrhage.
3. A consequence of brain damage as a result of exposure to toxic substances.
4. Recent studies indicate that the cause of the disease may be improper release of the hormone dopamine by the body.

As a result of damage to the brain, the disorder manifests itself in the form of weakened mental functioning and impulse control.

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A person’s ability to perceive speech, his social behavior, and motor activity are associated with the anterior region of the brain, which is responsible for the ability to think abstractly. And a region of the brain called the basal ganglia, which is responsible for movement.

The syndrome manifests itself during the period of maturation and is observed in adolescents 13-15 years old, but the development of this disease is possible at a later age against the background of concomitant factors.

One of the reasons for the occurrence of an emotional-volitional defect includes a predisposition to schizophrenia and various mental illnesses that are inherited. Mild forms of the disease can be observed in people who are in a borderline state and are unable to withstand stress.

Signs of pathology do not appear instantly, but over time. More often, the patient and people from his social circle do not realize the significance of the changes taking place and begin to sound the alarm when the disease begins to take a severe form.