Labile psyche and emotional lability. Lability - what is it? The meaning of the concept in medicine and psychology

Under such a concept as the lability of the psyche is meant the speed of the flow of mental processes associated, for example, with thinking or emotions. In turn, emotional lability (emotional weakness, weak-heartedness) is an excessive speed of change of pronounced polar moods.

The concept of lability (labilis - unstable) was originally used in physiology, characterizing the rate of tissue response to stimuli. After the term began to be used in psychology, psychiatry. However, if in psychological science, within the framework of emotional lability, the idea of a character trait, a feature of the nervous system that is characteristic of a certain type of temperament, appears, then in psychiatry this is considered as a pathological condition. Such a deviation can be a separate manifestation of disorders in the nervous system and psyche, accompany some painful conditions, and be a "trigger" for their development.

If emotional lability is considered in a psychological context, then this property of the nervous system is considered innate and relevant for the choleric type of temperament.

For choleric people, the speed of reactions and mood swings are the norm. Usually, a minor stimulus is enough for a person to uncontrollably demonstrate emotions. Although such instability of the nervous system is not pathological, it can cause the development of both mental and somatic problems.

Emotional lability as a pathological condition that requires correction means a combination of mental and somatic manifestations. Quite often, weak-heartedness is adjacent to VVD or vegetative lability. If vegetative lability appears, then in addition to mood swings, a physiological reaction to stress is noted.

The reasons for the negative state can be divided into two subsections.

Not physiological reasons

These reasons include upbringing, negative impact on the child, lack of attention. Often emotional lability is seen in the context of ADHD. Additional grounds are stress, traumatic circumstances at any age.

The basis for the emergence of weakness can be suicidal behavior or unsuccessful suicide attempts, neurotic states. Often, with neuroses or mental pathologies, the lack of control over emotions becomes a symptom or the basis for a worsening condition.

Somatic, organic factors

Emotional lability is often associated with somatic disorders. It is diagnosed under the influence of changes in the body that occur due to hormonal changes or due to age. That is why weakness is so characteristic of older people.

The presence of (an organic emotionally labile disorder) is also closely associated with weak-mindedness, and can be both a cause and a result. It is the asthenic syndrome in combination with emotional weakness that usually leads to depressive states, anxiety disorders.

Among the diseases provoking pathology, one can distinguish:

neoplasms, malignant brain tumors;
traumatic brain injury;
vascular pathologies;
hypertension, hypotension;
brain diseases.

A factor for the occurrence of emotional lability may be a lack of important microelements and vitamins in the body.

Symptoms

The main symptom is a rapid change in mood, attitude towards something or someone. Tears at the moment turn into uncontrollable laughter, and a good-natured state transforms into aggression.

At the same time, emotional lability includes affective outbursts. A person is not able to be aware of the actions taken, the instinct of self-preservation is dulled. Therefore, such people are capable, under the influence of emotions, of the most risky actions. Organic emotionally labile disorder is primarily associated with the presence of a feeling of joyful tenderness against the background of sentimental tearfulness.

From the point of view of physiological reactions, in addition to exacerbation of autonomic disorders, individuals with emotional lability may experience vasovagal (short-term) syncope. It appears with excessive emotional reactions, under the influence of which the vessels dilate sharply, and the heart rate noticeably slows down.

However, the pathological state of emotional lability must be divided into two options, depending on which the key symptoms change.

borderline weakness

This form is characterized by:

impressionability;
a tendency to give in to difficulties, the presence of internal experiences and increased anxiety;
quick change of interests;
emotions are bright, strong, going to extremes during demonstration;
tendency to emotional and physical exhaustion;
the inability to do one thing for a long time, which leads to difficulties in work, study; however, such individuals are quite flexible, therefore their level of adaptability to change is high;
ignoring prohibitions from parents in childhood.

impulsive weakness

For this variant of emotional lability, negative manifestations are more characteristic.

The main symptom is dysphoria (a gloomy, dreary mood that can coexist with negativism). Trying to "get away" from such a state, a person can become addicted to alcohol, become dependent on psychotropic substances.

Aggressive affective reactions are considered characteristic, in which not only surrounding things, but also people can suffer. Irritability is quickly replaced by anger. Touchiness, vindictiveness and vindictiveness, abnormal stubbornness are also noted. Due to these features, it is difficult for a person to get along within an educational or work team, and family life often does not add up.

Individuals with an impulsive type of emotional weakness find it infinitely difficult to do household chores. Such a need becomes the root cause for affective outbursts.

Under the influence of negative emotions, a tendency to destructive actions can develop. Aggression can be directed both inward, which leads to self-destruction, and outward, manifested by vandalism, violence and other antisocial actions.

Correction

If emotional weakness is manifested by an impulsive type, with age and under the influence of changes in the hormonal background, its manifestations may fade a little.

However, in any case, the pathological condition needs help from specialists. Self-medication is often useless, especially in a situation where weakness is the result of somatic problems.

Along with drug therapy or psychological correction, such people are advised to exclude drinks and foods that “excite” the nervous system from the diet, give up addictions, balance their lifestyle, avoiding psycho-traumatic and stressful effects.

Treatment with drugs

The basis of drug therapy is the intake of funds aimed at curing the physiological cause that provokes disorders in the emotional sphere. If it is impossible to cure the pathology, then drugs are selected that block the further progression of the disease.

To mitigate the uncontrolled manifestation of emotions, which can provoke panic attacks, painful anxiety, the doctor may prescribe tranquilizers.

For sleep disorders caused by increased excitability, a course of antipsychotics is recommended, which can be combined with the use of herbal teas.

If this pathological deviation, combined with asthenic syndrome, leads to depressive states, it is necessary to resort to antidepressants for correction.

Psychotherapy

At the heart of psychotherapeutic intervention is the goal of identifying internal conflicts, fears, a possible psychological root cause of the condition. Correction is aimed at eliminating negative factors by working through the problem, relieving anxiety, working with stress resistance and self-perception disorders. Attention is paid to the control of aggressive behavior.

If there are problems with social adaptation and communication, it may be necessary to undergo training sessions, group therapy.

Along with the work carried out with the patient, family therapy is often carried out. It is important not only to teach a person to control emotions, to stop an affective reaction, but also to help family members find an approach to such a person, learn to respond correctly to mood swings of a person with weakness.

Despite the fact that the lack of control of emotional reactions brings a lot of discomfort, you should not assume that the condition is completely uncorrectable. Don't try to suppress your emotions on your own. Timely seeking help from specialists will allow you to get rid of not only the consequences of emotional instability, but also learn how to cope with the condition without harm to yourself or those around you.

Emotional lability, as well as weakness of mind, is a feature of human psychology. People endowed with this character trait are very afraid of all sorts of difficulties and obstacles that inevitably meet on the path of life. Their ability to fight with circumstances is very low, and almost always such people retreat.

Strengthening of emotional lability occurs in the event of the onset of adverse situations or conditions, when it is necessary to show willpower, to be restrained, to overcome one's fear and doubts.

What causes emotional lability?

According to psychologists, this violation often occurs as a result of physical health problems, when a person feels not strong enough and protected to defend his interests. What matters is the lack of certain knowledge and life experience. But the most important reason in most cases is improper upbringing from early childhood.

If there is an employee with a labile character in the team

Managers who are subordinate to employees with pronounced emotional weakness have a rather difficult time. But there are a few recommendations that will help make cooperation acceptable and fruitful. First of all, you should refrain from harsh criticism of such a subordinate, especially if other employees are present. If you want to make a remark, then it is better to do it without outsiders.

In addition, all negative comments should be as mild as possible. Otherwise, you may not get the result you expected. If the employee is a man, he will write a letter of resignation, and a woman can simply burst into tears from resentment and emotions that overwhelmed her. But the worst thing is when an emotionally weak person, after an insignificant reason, decides to commit suicide, although, of course, such cases are extremely rare.

But employees with emotional lability have their advantages. They are responsive to the problems of their colleagues, they know how to sincerely empathize, they are stable and constant in their attachments and preferences. In the case of the goodwill of colleagues, a weak-willed person quickly forgets about the troubles that happened earlier, they are replaced by new positive events.

Features of the behavior of people with emotional weakness

Emotional weakness also implies a labile character. Such people have a special behavior, and for them a very important moment in life is the psychological situation that prevails in the team where they work. The peculiarity lies in the fact that the most insignificant, even accidental rudeness, thoughtless word of a colleague can lead a person to a state of deep despondency, and at the same time, the most ordinary words of praise, expressed in a friendly manner, literally inspire and give new strength.

Interestingly, such employees may refuse a higher position with a pay increase if they know that a person with a reputation for being rude will lead them in a new job. Even the very possibility of conflict situations causes them a feeling of fear, and people with emotional weakness try not to communicate with those colleagues who seem rude or harsh to them.

Having a weak character, a person is subject to a very rapid change in mood, and is completely dependent on the prevailing circumstances. Just a small change is enough to change your emotional state.

How the disease manifests itself, the main signs

With emotional weakness (lability), a person's mood is constantly changing, he can laugh merrily, joke, and for no apparent reason become discouraged after a short time. This is explained by the fact that even a slight irritant, or slight fatigue, can cause a strong emotional outburst.

How does it look from the side? People around see that a person is offended by something, angry, he is literally seething with anger. Or, there is a complete opposite - these are tears of tenderness for the slightest reason. For example, a person may shed tears while watching babies swarming in the sandbox, or seeing a small kitten sitting alone in the yard.

People with emotional lability cannot hold back tears when watching a melodrama, and even when reading the press, especially if some incidents with a bright ending are described. Therefore, they very easily get out of balance, and give in to any provocation if there are those who want to play on their feelings.

Often, patients with emotional lability experience a vasovagal state. With a strong emotional shock, a person loses consciousness, the cause of this condition is the emerging vasodilating reaction. In this situation, the vasodilating system of the skeletal muscles is activated, and the centers of the vagus nerves are simultaneously excited. Thus, the heart rate decreases sharply. This causes a drop in blood pressure, cerebral blood flow becomes less intense, and the condition described above occurs - a person faints. The development of vasovagal syncope begins from the moment when thoughts enter the cerebral cortex, especially disturbing the person.

What diseases can be accompanied by emotional lability?

Emotional weakness is not only a sign of a weak character or a cost of education received in childhood. In some cases, it accompanies serious health problems. A sign of emotional lability may be present in vascular diseases of the brain and its organic lesions, in asthenic conditions.

Also, a similar symptom is accompanied by hypertension and hypotension, atherosclerosis, oncological diseases of the brain, cerebral thromboangiitis obliterans, and previous brain injuries.

Which doctor should I contact if there are signs of emotional weakness?

If you think that you have a weak character and suffer from emotional lability, or if this problem destroys the life of someone close to you, then you should seek the advice of a psychiatrist or neurologist. But first you should be examined by other specialists, on the recommendation of your doctor. This is necessary to exclude the presence of other diseases that could provoke emotional lability.

- This is a psychopathological symptom characterized by the ease of development of an affective reaction in response to weak and moderate stimuli. Patients are characterized by tearfulness, fearfulness, outbursts of irritation and anger, embarrassment, an open demonstration of joy. The mood is changeable, emotions are expressed, at the peak of experiences, self-control and the ability to objectively assess the situation are reduced. The main diagnostics is carried out by a psychiatrist, the method of conversation, observation and psychological testing is used. Treatment includes individual and group psychotherapy, family counseling, drug correction.

The concept of “lability” is translated as “instability, mobility”. The term is widely used in physiology to denote the rate of reaction of cells and tissues to the action of a stimulus. In psychology and psychiatry, increased emotional lability is understood as a pathological property of the psyche to give an inadequately expressed affect on an external event. It can be the central manifestation of the disease (with a personality disorder) or one of the symptoms of cerebrovascular syndrome, vascular diseases of the brain, endocrine pathologies. Epidemiological indicators range from 2 to 5%. Emotional lability is most common in children and the elderly.

Causes

Disorder of expressiveness of emotions arises against the background of violations of the central nervous system. Provoking factors are socio-psychological negative effects and somatic diseases that indirectly or directly affect the functions of the central nervous system. The most common causes of emotional instability include:

Stress. Prolonged psycho-emotional stress depletes the body's ability to self-regulate. Affective lability is formed with periodic lack of sleep, intense physical and mental stress, interpersonal conflicts.
Psychological situation. Emotional instability develops as a reaction to an unexpected adverse event. The reason may be the death of a loved one, divorce, an act of violence.
endocrine imbalance. Hormones affect the functioning of the brain regions responsible for emotions and behavior control. Emotional instability is often observed in adolescents during puberty, pregnant women, people with pathologies of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands.
Vascular diseases. Risk factors are hypotension, hypertension, atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels, cerebral form of Buerger's disease. At the heart of affective disorders is a change in the blood supply to the nervous tissue
neurological diseases. Emotional lability is a symptom of organic brain damage. It is found in craniocerebral injuries, tumors, neuroinfections, severe intoxications.
Mental disorders. The instability of emotions accompanies the majority of neuroses, psychopathies, dementias. It is the central symptom in emotionally labile disorder.

Pathogenesis

Emotions reflect the direct attitude of a person to objects and situations. Their expressiveness and orientation is an important component of the process of cognition of the surrounding world and one's own state. Increased emotional lability is a violation of the intensity of affective experiences. It occurs when there is an imbalance in the processes of excitation and inhibition in the nervous system with a predominant shift towards hyperactivation. Neural signal transmission is accelerated, focus is reduced. The severity of the emotional response becomes inadequate to the strength of the stimulus. At the same time, the content and orientation of experiences correspond to the situation. For example, a short separation from a loved one causes an uncontrollable attack of sobbing and crying.

Symptoms of emotional lability

The main manifestations are excessive emotionality, frequent mood swings. The most noticeable is increased tearfulness. Crying is provoked by sad and pleasant events - watching a melodrama, watching a child's game, emotional conversation. Reactions of this type are characteristic of vascular pathologies, organic diseases of the brain, asthenic syndrome. Outbursts of anger and rage are uncontrollable, but quickly fade away. Occur in everyday everyday situations, accompanied by frustration, dissatisfaction. Often they become the cause of impulsive aggressive and auto-aggressive actions - in a fit of anger, patients scream at children, bang their fists on the table, bruise themselves, provoke scandals.

Another common symptom is sensitivity to objections, criticism, rudeness, intolerance to the opinions of others. There is an uncontrollable desire to prove one's own innocence, to establish justice, to argue. At the height of passion, anger can suddenly be replaced by laughter or crying. Patients are characterized by increased fatigue, weakness, reduced performance. Sleep after experiences is superficial, restless, with frequent awakenings. Difficulties in concentration, rapid mood swings affect the ability to get involved in any business, to achieve goals. Patients are often in search of their vocation, trying different activities. They lack perseverance and focus.

Complications

In the absence of treatment, emotionally labile patients experience constant mental stress and fatigue, provoke conflicts with others. Often this condition leads to depression, suicidal thoughts, isolation from society. Nervous exhaustion is manifested by chronic fatigue, the development or exacerbation of somatic diseases. Decreased motivation and focus prevent patients from seeking medical and psychological help on their own. With the development of complications, they need the organizing and stimulating help of relatives.

Diagnostics

When examining patients with emotional lability, the main attention is paid to the causes of this symptom, the definition of the underlying disease. The presence of affective instability is detected by a psychiatrist, for differential diagnosis, consultations of somatic specialists are appointed: a therapist, neurologist, endocrinologist, cardiologist. Specific research methods are:

clinical conversation. Patients often talk about increased tearfulness, outbursts of anger, irritability, inability to control affective reactions, despite the understanding of their exaggeration, groundlessness. Often these symptoms are accompanied by quarrels at work and at home, general depression, depression.
observation. A conversation with a doctor is a stressful situation for patients, and therefore causes increased tension. Patients react too emotionally to the questions of a specialist: they cannot find words from excitement, cry, and easily succumb to conflict provocation. They are restless in behavior, perform obsessive actions to relieve tension (they shake their legs, tap the pencil on the table, finger the edge of the clothes).
Psychodiagnostics. The psychologist performs a study of the emotional and personal sphere using complex questionnaires (SMIL, 16-factor Cattell questionnaire, Eysenck questionnaire), as well as projective techniques (drawing of a person, color choice method). According to the results, the specialist assesses the presence of emotional lability, depression, reveals the likelihood of personality disorders, neuroses. If asthenic syndrome is suspected, tests are performed to assess performance (correction test, Schulte tables).

Treatment of emotional lability

To restore the stability of the emotional-volitional sphere, it is necessary to determine the underlying disease and carry out its complex treatment. Thus, etiotropic therapy can be carried out by a psychiatrist, neurologist, endocrinologist, internist, cardiologist and doctors of other specialties, including conservative and surgical procedures. Specific treatments include:

Individual Psychotherapy. Sessions are aimed at identifying internal conflicts, fears, correcting self-perception, restoring control over one's own body and its reactions. methods are used. The use of drugs is shown to reduce anxiety, tension, depression, and restore emotional calm. The psychiatrist prescribes tranquilizers, sedatives, antidepressants, and in case of severe behavioral disorders, neuroleptics in the minimum dosage.

Forecast and prevention

The prognosis depends on the course of the underlying disease, but a competent approach to treatment can always significantly improve the quality of life of patients, compensate for the symptoms of emotional disturbance with relaxation and self-regulation skills. The most effective way of prevention is the rational organization of work and rest. Periods of intense mental work should be replaced by physical activity (preferably in the fresh air). With signs of fatigue, you need to take a break, switch to another type of activity. A good night's sleep and proper nutrition are required.

Surely, everyone had an acquaintance whose mood could change several times a day and depended on external incidents, even those that seemed insignificant to you. Such behavior can lead to the idea of psychological lability, a peculiarity in the perception of the surrounding world, which causes a quick and immediate reaction to any event.

Labile psyche

The concept of lability was proposed by the scientist Vvedensky, who used it to estimate the recovery time of the tissue after its excitation. Today, the term is used not only in physiology, and therefore the meaning is somewhat modified according to the scope. For example, when it comes to the lability of the psyche, they mean its mobility or even instability. Some are inclined to consider such a feature as negative, seeing in it a weakness, but such an assessment is not entirely correct.

Speaking in the most general sense, then a labile psyche is a survival mechanism. Without the ability to quickly respond to external events and switch between them, a person would not have a chance to develop. But in some cases, psychological lability gives a person a lot of inconvenience. Since we are talking not only about a frequent change of mood, but also a significant depth of experience. And this has an impact on sleep, and on performance, and on well-being. With the inability to cope with too pronounced lability of the psyche, various health disorders can occur. In this case, specialist advice is required, since there is no single way to adjust your worldview. But such extreme manifestations are not so frequent, most people with a labile type of psyche, if they experience inconvenience, then short-term and insignificant, and others consider them easy-to-communicate people, responsive and sensitive.

You have probably heard the word "lability" more than once. What does it mean? Where is this term used? It came from the Latin word labilis, which means "sliding" or "unstable." This concept was first introduced in 1886 by N. E. Vvedensky, a Russian physiologist. The doctrine of lability is necessary for understanding the work of analyzers and nerve centers, for understanding how the mechanisms of nervous activity operate. So, lability - what is it? Let's look at the uses and meanings of this term.

Emotional lability

Every person is subject to mood swings. As a rule, it rarely changes and only when there is a good reason for this. Usually, mentally stable individuals have a stable mood, not dependent on minor daily events. And there are people whose emotions are not just replaced with lightning speed, but also for no reason. Such impulsiveness encourages a person to commit Frequent mood swings - this is what it is - just a character trait or pathology?

Is there a danger in emotional lability?

If we talk simply about increased sensibility, then this is a variant of the norm. This feature is possessed by many personalities of creative professions - musicians, artists, actors, writers. They deeply experience any feeling - hatred, love, etc., but the duration of these feelings is great, they need a reason. And we talk about the formation of emotional lability when the mood not only changes often and dramatically, but also everything is experienced very deeply. As mentioned above, this does not need a serious reason. Someone said an unflattering word, it suddenly began to rain, a button came off ... That's it, the mood will be dull even without serious troubles. And if a pleasant conversation immediately starts or someone says a compliment, then everything will be great again, although not for long. This is how emotional lability manifests itself. That this can lead to serious consequences must also be said. Indeed, along with the mood, sleep, appetite, views on the future, work capacity, etc. change. A person does not think about his actions, he acts with lightning speed. Such a problem requires the intervention of a specialist and treatment.

Vegetative lability - what is it?

To date, almost 80% of adults have vegetative disorders in the body. The causes of such an ailment are both structural and functional disorders in the work of such an important for a person. Because of this, the regulatory functions of the organs and systems of the body are violated. There may be malfunctions in the respiratory, genitourinary, cardiovascular systems, and so on.

Unpleasant and even frightening is the fact that the symptoms of this disease are increasingly beginning to appear in children and adolescents. As experts say, vegetative lability is “getting younger”. That this can lead to serious health problems, everyone should know. And especially the parents of children who are malnourished, sit at the computer for a long time, etc.

The symptoms of this disease manifest themselves differently in each person, which makes the diagnostic process difficult. This can be dizziness, and tinnitus, and heart palpitations, and headaches, etc. As a result, a person has poor sleep, irritability, nausea, fever, and so on. In no case should this disease be ignored, it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible in order to avoid complications.

BP lability - what is it?

There is such a very dangerous disease - arterial hypertension, in which arterial pressure constantly or temporarily rises. Distinguish (pressure is constantly increased) and labile (pressure rises, then decreases to normal). In 20-25% of cases, the second turns into the first, which requires constant medication.

Causes of the disease

Such a condition is multifactorial, that is, not one factor, but several, can serve as an impetus for its development. The main reasons for the development of hypertension include: abuse of coffee, alcohol, smoking, diabetes mellitus, excessive salt intake, vegetovascular dystonia, sedentary lifestyle, heredity, etc.

Symptoms of the disease

This disease is considered very insidious, because for a long time it may not manifest itself in any way. However, if a person periodically has a headache in the occipital region, he often becomes irritated for no apparent reason, sleep is disturbed, then it's time to consult a doctor. This may be the beginning of labile hypertension. If, however, this happened, you can not delay the treatment. You also need to rethink your lifestyle. You need to go in for sports, quit bad habits, eat right, relax in nature, get enough sleep, avoid stress.